SWNS via SWNSChristmas has come two months early for neighbours of a South Lanarkshire house fully decked out with festive lights.
Ian Cochran, 68, decided to illuminate his Hamilton home on October 1 to bring some much-needed cheer to the children living on his street during the pandemic.
The granddad-of-two unpacked his haul of Christmas decorations last month, and spent two weeks fixing them to the front of the house.
Ian said: “We find it very gratifying seeing the reaction to people of all ages enjoying them.
“I thought about it early September knowing many people will be depressed with dark winter nights approaching and possibly no contact with anyone then, and nearer Christmas, with their families.
SWNS via SWNS“It makes us feel happier knowing it’s brought some smiles during these troubled times.”
Wife Helen, 68, added: “The lights have been going up for 35 years.
“We started in our last house, and then moved here. People are coming out to look at them. Somebody was dancing outside.”
The lights are only being switched on at weekends, in the run up to Christmas.
Helen added: “You should hear the kids screaming. One car was pulling up and as they pulled away, another was pulling up.
“It is a bit of cheer.”
The Cochrans aren’t the only ones celebrating the festivities months in advance, Amanda Clark, of Edinburgh, told STV News she put up her tree and hung her decorations three months early.
The mother-of-two decided to bring Christmas forward after dealing with difficult family news during the coronavirus pandemic.
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