Kings Langley man begins 24-night Christmas party

02/12/2008

A father from Kings Langley is holding a 24-night Christmas party for charity.

Tony Spicer, 54, will dress as Father Christmas every night until Christmas Eve. Mr. Spicer will greet children and their parents coming to see his home, which he has decorated with thousands of coloured light bulbs and festive figures standing on his driveway.

For seven years now, Mr. Spicer has transformed his home into a winter wonderland and in so doing has raised tens of thousands of pounds for the baby unit and children's ward at Watford General Hospital, North London.

This year's 24-night Christmas party seems to have gotten off to a flying start: £275 was raised on 1st December alone, and Mr. Spicer described the turnout as "fantastic".
"I put the lights up for a bit of fun," he said. "The people that come round, they don't realise what they are giving me. It's running into thousands of pounds."

Recently Mr. Spicer block paved his driveway to make more room for the display. This year, he added 1,500 extra lights to the house and a further ten ornaments to the garden. "I'm really addicted to it," he said. "I can get up on that roof just as I did seven years ago. If I cannot get on that roof and I can't find someone to do it for me, then I will have to retire gracefully."