I’ve spent £27k making my home a Christmas wonderland, the trees were a grand & it took 15 hours a day for a WEEK to do

CHRISTMAS has come early for a joyful dad-of-two who has spent over £27k on decorations.

Lee Gilbert, 58, started spreading Christmas cheer on November 4 by putting his impressive decor up.

The store assistant’s living room has been taken over by a carnival inspired Christmas village which costs £15k.

Lee has seven Christmas trees dotted around his home in Evesham, Worchestershire.

He said: “When I noticed Christmas decorations are being put up early in shops, I thought why not?

“It is my favourite time of the year so I didn’t have to think twice.

"I've always loved Christmas but never in a million years thought my collection would be so big.

"But I wouldn't have it any other way.

“I’ve spent ten years collecting props for the village which now takes over my living room."

Lee was flabbergasted when he saw the Christmas shops in Florida in 2010.

One item in his basket led to another and he ended up with £500 worth of decorations.

Lee said: "It all snowballed from there! The shops in the US are unbelievable, they are as big as our supermarkets.

"The first item I bought was a Disney bauble of Pluto.

"My Disney collection has increased over the years – I now have a Disney gallery of lights.

"And lots of Disney baubles!"

Christmas-mad Lee visits Florida every other year and now brings a spare suitcase to bring back the festive goods.

His main tree which is in his living room is decorated with memories from his trips.

Lee has spent over £1,000 on Christmas trees alone.

He has a tree on each side of his front door and multiple in his living room along with the Lemax village.

He said: “I love Disney and I love fairground rides which is a lot of what you can see in my home.

"Every year there are new Lemax products and I can't resist.

"There’s fairground rides including a carousel and rotating swings.

“They also say carnival catch phrases such as ‘roll up, roll up’ and ‘scream if you want to go faster’."

Lee has used eight days of holiday to decorate from 3:30am until 7:30pm.

The village has been completed with houses and toy shops.

He said: "It is like a military operation.

"My mind is on overdrive and I can barely sleep as I am thinking about what to put up first and where to put it.

"So I get up and start decorating at 3.30am – this way I can do it in peace whilst the dogs are asleep.

"If I was to start any later, I'd be up until 3am decorating so at least this way I can relax on the evening and unwind.

"All of the decorations are stored in a cupboard under the stairs – which is hard to believe as there are so many of them.

"But with my retail experience, I am very good at packing stuff away neatly and efficiently.

"It takes a lot of time and dedication to make sure my house is full of festive cheer.

"I am working every day in December except for Christmas and Boxing day so now was the perfect time.

Lee has spent approximately £10,000 on decorations for his 7 foot 5 artificial tree.

Many baubles have become collectable items as they are purchased from bespoke stores in Florida, US.

One of which is a Shamu whale bauble – now worth £600.

COST BREAKDOWN

LIGHTS – £980

BAUBLES – £7640

*Each bauble in America is approx £22-£30 and he has over 400.

7F5 Christmas tree – £600

TINSEL £80

LEMAX VILLAGE – £15,000

ADDITIONAL TREES – £610

DISNEY BAUBLES – £300

LIMITED EDITION DISNEY ANIMATION TREE – £300

DISNEY GALLERIES OF LIGHT – £1000

VILLEROY AND BOCH – £300

OUTDOOR LIGHTS – £1000

TOTAL – £27,810

He said: "I have seven trees in my house – one of which is a limited edition Disney tree.

“I visit America a lot and they have Christmas shops open all year round so i’ve collected quite a lot of glass blown baubles.

“Each one tells a story as they have the date and where we got it from.

“At the end of the year, the shops in the US – smash them all making every bauble with a date on – a collectable.

“The tree is a constant reminder of all the happy memories we’ve created.

“Our home is very cosy and atmospheric.

“Anything could happen outside but when we are indoors, we feel safe and warm with the flashing christmassy lights.”

Lee’s neighbours are wowed by his efforts.

He said: "I often see little children walking past and pointing with their mouths open.

"They are in awe with all the lights which is great because I am too.

“I really hope our lit up home makes families who walk by feel happy.

"I usually take my decorations down at the end of February so I am chuffed that they can stay up for four whole months this year!

"Surprisingly, my electricity bill is just an extra £100.

"LED lights are great economically plus we only have the lights on in the evening."

Meanwhile, savvy parents swear by the Christmas ‘four-gift rule’ which saves them time AND money.

And this crafty mum created a teepee Christmas tree which you can crawl inside.

Plus mums are going wild for this cardboard Santa's grotto from The Range, which costs just £9.99.

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