The village of Haughton in Stafford  is perhaps a little bit off the HoHoHo track, falling as it does a little outside the West Midlands – but Christmas is the time to forget such boundaries and one small photo in the gallery doesn’t really capture the true scale of the effort here.

 

Some of the villagers wait to greet you on the Green

 

It all started twenty years ago when one villager decided to get a little festive with the decorations outside his house and since then the habit has caught on like hot mince pies.  Now as the photos below show – many houses in the village give over their front gardens to a cast of snowmen, santas and lifesize reindeers.  As the displays have grown, so word has spread and the village has been featured on GMTV and Radio 1, with people coming from all over the world to see it.

 

Santa and unidentified reindeer stop off for some refreshments.

 

As well as brightening up the dark winter nights the displays also raise significant funds for charitable organisations. They collect for the Katherine House hospice and the Red Cross day nursury and have raised over £3000 pounds so far.

 

 

Snowmen from around the globe gather in Haughton. 

 

So if you happen to be passing over Stafford way – call in at Haughton,  you still have a few more days before twelfth night to chat to some reindeer and give a little help to local charities.

 

 

 

 

 

White Christmas