Merv Buckley's getting wired for Christmas | Offbeat

Alyssa Kimlin | 30th November 2008

Merv Buckley getting ready for another Christmas lights display.

MERV Buckley isn't your typical addict – his addiction is Christmas lights and the happiness his annual display brings to the thousands who flock to see it.

“It just sort of happened. My late wife was always a Christmas person,” Mr Buckley said.

“It has just got out of hand.”

Mr Buckley has been putting up Christmas lights at his Sprott Street house for the past 15 years and he doesn't look like stopping anytime soon.

“Christmas is the best part of the year,” he said.

“Everyone is that bit happier and that bit friendlier.

“The lights bring a little joy to a lot of people.”

But the joy comes with a lot of hard work, Mr Buckley starts checking his 45,000 bulbs mid-October for faults.

“I start getting them ready and I only use strings that are for outdoor use,” he said.

“I haven't blown up the house yet, so I must be doing something right.

“My biggest problem is storage.”

Sprott Street is well-known in Toowoomba for its residents' annual Christmas light displays, with about three-quarters of the residents participating.

Mr Buckley said new people had bought into the street this year and the existing residents made it clear Christmas lights were a “must have”.

“We told them 'unless you plan on putting up lights, don't buy',” he said.

“They have put up Christmas lights.

“The whole neighbourhood is a bit Christmas mad.”

But the Christmas spirit isn't confined to Sprott Street.

Christmas lights have gone up all over Toowoomba and Mr Buckley's son is one of the light fanatics who gets into the spirit every year.

“The lad puts up lights every year,” he said.

“It must run in the family, but he gets it from his mother.

“My grandchildren get into the lights – they dress up as elves.”

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