A Sydney woman has granted a little boy his Christmas wish by turning her family home into the North Pole using more than 100,000 lights, having announced an end to the spectacular annual display in 2014.
Every year, Helen and Kostas Mallikopolous open up their Christmas wonderland at Cremorne in Sydney’s north to thousands of strangers.
But in 2014, the couple, originally from Greece, announced the end of their annual extravaganza.
Helen’s daughter, Vicki Burnside, said the decision was made after her mother almost died while putting up decorations a few years ago.
“It was pretty bad. Mum was trying to straighten these large penguins on the roof and then fell a few metres to the ground,” said Vicki Burnside.
“She was rushed to hospital and she had to spend the next four months on the couch, doing nothing. That was hard because mum and dad run a cafe up the road.
“But this year, mum got a knock at the door from a little boy, begging her to put up the display and so she just couldn’t say no, he was so excited.”
The Mallikopoulos family spend two months decking out their Cremorne home with the elaborate display, which includes a snow machine creating a North Pole illusion, and illuminated Santas and Angels perching on the roof overlooking a manger.
Joanna Mercurio lives up the road and said the show always boosted the Christmas spirit of the neighbourhood.
“It’s so beautiful. Helen is like Mrs Claus — she really brings people together and that’s what Christmas should be about,” she said.
Ms Mallikopolous said her love for the festive season dated back to when she was a child growing up in Greece.
“My brother and I went searching for a tree one Christmas and I nearly drowned. We were trying to cross a swollen river on the back of a donkey with the tree and then we got into trouble,” she said.
“Christmas hasn’t always been kind to me after that and falling off the roof, but I still love it.”