A couple who have attracted thousands of visitors to their street by lighting up their home at Christmas are bowing out on a high.
Gary and Anna Gray’s house has been a brightly lit beacon that’s brought families flocking to Hamilton Gardens in Armadale during the festive run-up for the last four years.
They’ve raised thousands of pounds for worthy causes in the process, this year raising over £3500 that will be split between both Alzheimer Scotland and For the Greater Good.
However, Armadale Illuminations – as it’s known – isn’t just about the lights. It’s a musical extravaganza and this year’s theme was ‘Christmas Rocks’. It features a 30-minute show with 25,000 lights and a selfie station to capture the moment with your children and family.
There have been incredible scenes shared online of hundreds of people dancing in the street.
The show will run for the final time on Christmas Eve and won’t be returning next year, as Gary and Anna have decided to return to Christmas past, when hundreds of people didn’t appear outside their front door every night.
Gary said: “This is the fourth and last year for Armadale Illuminations, it started off as a bit of fun for the neighbours during Covid. My neighbour shared it in the local community group and then people just started coming.
“We’ve had a different show entirely each year, and this year it was Christmas Rocks and finished with Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer. It’s been brilliant to see everyone dancing.
“This year we’ve raised £3500 for Alzheimer Scotland and For the Greater Good – a local charity that buys Christmas dinners for people less fortunate. We normally raise around £2000 so we’ve almost doubled it this year.
“We had three or four hundred people here last night, it can get crazy. The neighbours are all out helping us.
“It’s been great fun but it’s just too much work now, it can take me up to two months to set up. It’s been the best thing, but we’re just normal people and it’s grown too big, we want to end on a high.
“Normally we refuse all media enquiries, but this year we thought – why not, it’s our last year. We’ve had the BBC, Radio 5 Live, Heart radio, and Channel 5 all here.”
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