It is a special time of the year for the Galleway family who have decorated their large pine tree with lights bright enough to be seen from heaven in memory of a very special little boy.
After losing her son Kingsley in 2019, Lisa-Marie and Dave have decorated the tree in the front yard of their Innes Park North home upon the request of their other children, who asked for it to be lit well enough for him to see from above.
Lisa-Marie said although the time following their loss had been extremely tough, and putting moments of joy into every day had become a habit to get through the day, it had also provided them the inspiration they needed to get into the Christmas spirit and light up their home.
“It had been a very rough few years for our family and all five of the kids as we had lost their little brother Kingsley at full term to still birth,” Lisa-Marie said.
“My daughter asked if we could decorate the biggest tree ever so her little brother in heaven could see it.
“It broke my heart, and it was so important to her so we promised that we would make it happen.”
A cherry picker was needed to assist in decorating the tree.
Lisa-Marie said the tree, which was adorned in twinkling lights and giant bauble decorations thanks to the help of a cherry picker, could be seen from many streets away.
“The execution was a little harder as at first we tried to paint the beach balls for baubles, this didn’t work so we had to sew covers instead,” she said.
“The kids helped inflate each bauble inside a fabric skin and then they were wired to hang in the tree.”
Lisa-Marie said the 20m tree featured a total of 2000 lights throughout and 20 beach ball baubles, which made it a special sight.
“I got home the other night and the tree was visible from two streets away,” she said.
“I must admit we dragged a chair out and sat and soaked it all up in honour of our little boy who we miss every day.”
While the original plan was for this to be a one off, Lisa-Marie said seeing the excitement of her children and the enjoyment it had bought the community meant the decorations would continue into the future.
“The original plan was to do this once, as the cost to hire the cherry picker is high, but we have had so much enjoyment from seeing the tree and so many messages from neighbours and strangers alike saying how much they love the tree, maybe we will try and do it again,” she said.
“My daughter and all the kids are so happy with it and are already thinking about what we can do next year.”
Lisa-Marie has also created a Christmas wonderland for her children inside her home.
Not only is the outside of the house decorated, but inside the house is also its own Christmas wonderland.
To view what could be the region’s biggest Christmas tree, head to Pandanus Crescent, Innes Park North.
You can find more Christmas light locations across the region here.
