The Christmas spirit: how one home in Brackenfell brings joy to the community

What started as a simple way to entertain themselves and celebrate the festive season has, over the years, transformed 16 Dennegeur Road in Brackenfell into one of the Cape’s most magical Christmas destinations.

While many may not know their names, Rick van der Galien and his partner, Paulo Rodrigues, have turned their home into a household name for evening family outings after 20:00, drawing visitors from across the city.

Outside the property, spectators are greeted by a spectacular Christmas display featuring Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and a Christmas tree towering above the house itself. The magic does not stop at the gate. Inside, the home is equally enchanting, with an elves’ tea party, Santa Claus in the lounge and several beautifully decorated Christmas trees filling the space.

Van der Galien told the Weekend Argus the idea was born more than eight years ago when the couple decided to decorate their home purely for their own enjoyment.

“We just love Christmas so much, and when you watch Christmas movies you see all these beautifully decorated homes. We thought it would be special to do the same,” he said. “Then people started stopping and asking if they could take pictures or even come inside to take photos, and who are we to stop the Christmas cheer?”

For the past seven years, after opening their home to the public, the collection has continued to grow and evolve.

“These decorations are all imported because, for example, you don’t find 100-metre lights for a tree here, so you have to import them,” Van der Galien explained. “We also make sure to change things up every year. We have to, because kids will be kids and sometimes they break a light or two.”

Beyond the lights and decorations, the festive attraction has had a meaningful impact on the wider community. Van der Galien said visitors initially wanted to donate money towards the decorations, but the couple chose a different path.

“Because I work at a vet, I know how difficult the Christmas period is for animals,” he said. “Owners often go away and animals are abandoned. They don’t have voices and they miss being loved, so we decided to accept donations but give them to animal shelters instead.”

At present, donations collected at the home are shared among seven animal shelters.

Load shedding, however, presented its own challenges in the early days.

“The first year we were badly affected,” Van der Galien said. “Spectators would get very upset when there were random power cuts. From the second year we got a generator, and three years ago we went solar, so yes, we are also eco-friendly.”

The effort behind the festive spectacle is substantial. According to Van der Galien, it takes about a month and a half to put everything up, and another two and a half weeks to take it all down.

“But this is something we will continue doing,” he said. “Even though there are some grinches around, Christmas is about spreading cheer, and that is exactly what we are doing.”

That cheer has spilled over into the surrounding neighbourhood, where a nightly market has sprung up during the festive season. The market is run by Letitia Niemand and her seniors’ club, Fun4Seniors, just down the road from the decorated home.

“People would come and ask where they could buy things, so we saw an opportunity to showcase our talents,” Niemand said. “We do this twice a year – for Christmas in July and for Christmas. Everyone here is a senior, and they absolutely love doing this.”

Among them is Mandy Collins, 78, who is well known for her pancake-making skills. For “Aunty Mandy”, waking up at 4am each morning to prepare batches of up to 1 000 pancakes is a labour of love.

“It’s all about seeing how happy the customers are when they take a bite,” she said. “I live for this, for the seniors’ club. It makes you feel so included.”

Fellow senior Carole Barkhuizen, also 78, agreed, saying the market means the world to her.

Niemand added that most of the proceeds go towards sustaining the seniors’ club throughout the year, with each senior also receiving a cash envelope to spoil themselves.

“This is what the lights in Dennegeur have done for us,” she said. “They have made our community one.”

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus