From January to November, Petitts Lane in Romford, Essex, looks like any other residential road in the area but on December 1, it begins to glow.
Perhaps you have seen the viral videos on social media of the old market town’s very own Christmas Wonderland or maybe you live nearby and have seen the twinkling light display with your own eyes.
House number 66 has become somewhat of a tourist attraction over the years as the Grange family adorn their entire three-storey home in a plethora of technicolor lights and bespoke Christmas decorations.
Ian and Tracey Grange – AKA Mr and Mrs Claus – have put on their annual display since 2013 but this year has been bigger than ever.
Ian told MailOnline: ‘On the weekend the crowds outside are ridiculous. We get thousands of people coming. It’s crazy, proper choc-a-bloc!
‘I’m not even kidding you, it has got massive this year, real massive. We get people queuing up the drive way and down the street to take pictures and selfies. It’s never been this wild before.’
The crowds start to form at around 4pm every day as people travel from far and wide to see the Grange’s Christmas lights.
Parents and their children walk around in a LED induced daze, gawping at the sheer scale of it all and taking pictures inside the custom built igloo or the glimmering selfie frames.
Perhaps you have seen the viral videos on social media of the old market town’s very own Christmas Wonderland or maybe you live nearby and have seen the twinkling light display with your own eyes
House number 66 has become somewhat of a tourist attraction over the years as the Grange family adorn their entire three-storey home in a plethora of technicolor lights and bespoke Christmas decorations
Ian and Tracey Grange – AKA Mr and Mrs Claus – have put on their annual display since 2013 but this year has been bigger than ever
Ian, 54, told MailOnline: ‘Romford didn’t do their annual Christmas lights switch on this year because it was cut by Havering Council so it seems like everybody is coming to us instead!’
But, for the Grange family, it isn’t just about being the brightest and most extravagant house on the street.
Ian and Tracey have five children between them but only two, Keeley, 17, and Kayleigh, 18, still live at home.
Kayleigh was born premature at just 33 weeks and was diagnosed with scoliosis and global development delay, which impacts her speech and mobility.
The teenager relies on a wheelchair to get around and a tube in her stomach for fluids because she can’t take them down on her own.
She had to undergo surgery to have metal spinal rods fitted to treat the scoliosis.
‘Kayleigh also has a crinkling on the brain, so one part affects her speech and one part affects her mobility and that’s why she can’t walk and can’t talk,’ Ian explained.
Despite everything life has thrown at her, Kayleigh can still light up a room with her beautiful smile and infectious giggles.
She attends Lime Academy Ravensbourne in Romford, a special school that has helped her develop her confidence and teaches her skills such as moving around independently in her wheelchair, swimming and using a spoon to eat food.
Parents and their children walk around in a LED induced daze, gawping at the sheer scale of it all and taking pictures inside the custom built igloo or the glimmering selfie frames
Ian, 54, told MailOnline: ‘Romford didn’t do their annual Christmas lights switch on this year because it was cut by Havering Council so it seems like everybody is coming to us instead!’
Their daughter Kayleigh (pictured right with her friend Kennedy) was born premature at just 33 weeks and was diagnosed with scoliosis and global development delay, which impacts her speech and mobility
At its core, Ian and Tracey’s Christmas light display is a fundraiser for Ravensbourne school as charity buckets and QR codes are dotted around for visitors to make donations
They have already raised over £10,000 this year which the school plans to use to buy a minibus for day-trips and a life skills caravan that will be used to teach the pupils things like washing, cleaning and cooking
At its core, Ian and Tracey’s Christmas light display is a fundraiser for Ravensbourne school as charity buckets and QR codes are dotted around for visitors to make donations.
They have already raised over £10,000 this year which the school plans to use to buy a minibus for day-trips and a life skills caravan that will be used to teach the pupils things like washing, cleaning and cooking.
Last year, they raised around £8,000 which was used to renovate the school’s rundown backyard into a sensory garden.
However, the family have received some intense backlash from neighbours, passers-by and even strangers on social media.
Whilst most of the other residents on the street love the Grange’s decorations, some are unhappy with the attention it brings and have complained about the visitors parking along the road.
One woman even implied that they should stop doing it all together and consider their neighbours next year.
Whilst most of the other residents on the street love the Grange’s decorations, some are unhappy with the attention it brings and have complained about the visitors parking along the road
One woman even implied that they should stop doing it all together and consider their neighbours next year
Ian told MailOnline: ‘On the weekend the crowds outside are ridiculous. We get thousands of people coming. It’s crazy, proper choc-a-bloc!’
People have shouted abuse at the Grange family as they drive past in their cars and trolls on social media have attacked them, dubbing the family and their home as ‘tacky’ or accusing them using criminal activity to fund the electric bill.
‘How we fund the electric for the decorations is like the million dollar question!’ Ian laughed.
‘Everybody thinks we are plugging it into somebody else’s or the street lights outside and all sorts of stuff like that but the answer is no.
‘It is all done legitimately. Everyone thinks it comes to an absolute fortune but it don’t really. It’s all LED lighting so the cost of running it is actually quite minimal.
‘I don’t really take any notice of the electric bill, I just pay it. Of course it goes up this time of year but only by a few hundred quid.
‘People say we take money out of the donations to cover our costs, they call us drug dealers and accuse us of growing cannabis in the loft but the truth is, I run a successful business that pays for it all and we just do it to give a bit back to the community.’
Ian is the owner and CEO of Bonians Sausage Factory which supplies bangers to the food service industry across Europe, including hotels and catering businesses.
The businessman said that the biggest shame of all has been the behaviour of parking wardens in the area.
‘We explained to them that it is our cars parked next to our house down the side road and that we are doing it for charity but they don’t care, they just keep slapping tickets on all of our cars every single day.’
Outside, visitors Margaret, 54, and her daughter Nerissa, 19, were in awe of the glittering house.
Nerissa told MailOnline that the locals who have complained are ‘Grinches’ and said it has the first time she has truly felt in the festive spirit since she came home from Nottingham University to visit her family.
Elsewhere, Jemma had brought her two daughters, Jessica, 15, and Isabelle, 8, and her friend Emma to see the lights. Jessica is also disabled and in a wheelchair.
Jemma said: ‘I think it’s really amazing what they are doing here and its for such a wonderful cause. I can understand why the extra attention on the street might frustrate the neighbours but I think it’s all worth it.’
All of their decorations have been collected over the years and were purchased with their own money
Every single penny that is donated goes to Ravensbourne school and is used to improve their services.
Outside, visitors Margaret, 54, and her daughter Nerissa, 19, were in awe of the glittering house
Elsewhere, Jemma had brought her two daughters, Jessica, 15, and Isabelle, 8, and her friend Emma to see the lights. Jessica is also disabled and in a wheelchair
This year’s igloo was made especially for them and the snowy scene on their windows inside was done by the same artist that creates magical art on the windows of the Shard
Ian and Tracey told MailOnline: ‘To all of the critics and haters, we would actually like you to come and see what it’s all about and the cause that it’s done for. Or even go to the school and see all the good it has done.’
All of their decorations have been collected over the years and were purchased with their own money.
‘I would say all of the decorations outside came to around £50,000 and we spent roughly £20,000 on the ones inside the house. So all together, you’re looking about 80 grands worth of stuff,’ Ian told MailOnline.
Every single penny that is donated goes to Ravensbourne school and is used to improve their services.
Tracey explained: ‘They do all the work themselves, so none of the money goes to builders or contractors.
‘They have two handymen who work for the school and they do it all to try to minimise the costs so if they have any left over money they can spend it on something else for the kids.
‘They don’t get as much funding as they used to from Havering Council, so its our way of helping out and giving back.’
Even the five people who help with the 3 week installation of the decorations outside are volunteers and Ian and Tracey always donate an extra £1000 on top of the funds raised.
Special moments that have come from their Christmas Wonderland make all the backlash worth it for the doting mother and father.
‘One moment that made it all worth while was when a girl came down to visit on Sunday,’ the couple said.
‘Her name is Kennedy and she’s disabled as well. She uses a lie down wheelchair, like a bed on wheels.
‘She can communicate using her iPad and she told her parents that she wanted to come here “to meet Kayleigh the special needs girl who lives at the Christmas house.”
‘The pair of them were outside together laughing and holding hands, it was just lovely. That’s who we do it all for.’
Kayleigh (right) pictured with her new friend Kennedy (left) inside the light-up igloo
Even the five people who help with the 3 week installation of the decorations outside are volunteers and Ian and Tracey always donate an extra £1000 on top of the funds raised
People have travelled from all over to see the Grange’s home, including a family that flew over from Denmark and another that made the three-hour drive from Norfolk
But it’s Tracey who creates the rest of the magic inside the home, which isn’t open to the public but is as equally impressive as outside
Their living room is fully immersive and feels like a scene from Lapland with hampers covering the floor
Not a single corner of the house is left untouched by festive spirit making the home glow all over
Their table for Christmas dinner has already been laid with many seats for their huge family
The couple revealed to MailOnline that they plan to go bigger and harder next year and have already started ordering decorations, with a lot of it shipped in from China
Some of it is purpose made and professionally fitted by the same company that do the decorations for shopping centres like Lakeside in Thurrock and Bluewater in Dartford
There is a whole room in the house decorated from floor to ceiling like a beautiful grotto
People have travelled from all over to see the Grange’s home, including a family that flew over from Denmark and another that made the three-hour drive from Norfolk.
The couple revealed to MailOnline that they plan to go bigger and harder next year and have already started ordering decorations, with a lot of it shipped in from China.
Some of it is purpose made and professionally fitted by the same company that do the decorations for shopping centres like Lakeside in Thurrock and Bluewater in Dartford.
This year’s igloo was made especially for them and the snowy scene on their windows inside was done by the same artist that creates magical art on the windows of the Shard.
But it’s Tracey who creates the rest of the magic inside the home, which isn’t open to the public but is as equally impressive as outside, with a total of eleven Christmas trees and one room decked out like a grotto.
‘Next year, we are planning to get Father Christmas outside to meet the kids. I’ve already ordered miniature stockings and I’m going to fill them with sweets and colouring books and pencils for all the children when they come,’ Tracey said.
Ian added: ‘We also want to do a grand opening and have ice cream, hot chocolate and burger stalls outside to try and raise a little bit more money. We wont charge loads and it will add something a bit different.’
It’s clear that the Grange family have no plans to slow down as they are motivated by a truly heartwarming cause and seemingly unbothered by those who have turned their nose up at their Romford Wonderland.
To donate to Ian and Tracey’s fundraiser for Lime Academy Ravensbourne CLICK HERE.
Reflecting on all of the love they have received, they said: ‘To the people who have come down to see our house and donated we cannot thank you enough for the support and all of the donations given. It will make a real change for so many kids.
‘Merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all again next year!’
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