A famous ‘winter wonderland’ house in Tameside has managed to raise thousands of pounds for charity after only being set up for just a week.
It’s the house seen all across Greater Manchester.
And not just because it’s been festooned from top to bottom with some of the most spectacular Christmas lights and decorations you’ll ever see, but because it’s also gone viral online, racking up thousands of views, interactions and comments from admirers all over the region.
The house on Baroness Road in Audenshaw has certainly been drawing the crowds in over the past week, and it’s all been for a very worthy cause too.
Jamie Stirling has been putting lights outside his, now famous, home to celebrate the festive season for the last three years, but thought that this Christmas, after what has been a year like no other, the decorating should be taken to the next level.
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And that’s exactly what he did.
Included in the collection of decorations this year are more than 20,000 twinkling lights, traditional bells and ribbons, a gigantic inflatable Santa, and even a twelve-foot Christmas tree complete with candy canes for visiting children to take home with them.
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Ice skating penguins also take up the driveway, and a family of reindeer are found in the front garden.
What’s more is that, as well as the traditional decorations, a letterbox on the side of the house also means children can post their letters to Santa – and every single one gets a personal reply too.
Speaking on this year’s festivities, Jamie said: “It’s been getting more popular every year but with lockdown I wanted something for the families and kids to enjoy. If we’re all going to be locked down, then we may as well just have a walk around and enjoy some Christmas decorations.”
“I’ve had people come down from Liverpool, Ramsbottom, Swinton, and Bury,” he said. “People have been driving a good distance to come and see it.”
The decadent display is thought to have cost near to £4,000 to put together, but according to Jamie, it’s money well spent, and it’s money he’s making it back in the name of charity too, as he’s already raised £2,000 that will go towards the region’s struggling families.
“We’ve really put some thought into it this year as we’re raising money for charity,” Jamie said.
“It’s had hundreds of shares and thousands of likes on Facebook and I’ve been contacted by local media [so] the general response has been really good [and] people have told us it’s great what we’re doing and it’s nice to see,
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“It makes it feel like a normal Christmas despite no one doing anything with the lockdown.”
He continued: Last year, people were trying to donate and I hadn’t even thought about trying to raise money, so this year we’ve decided to do a fundraiser for Wood Street’s Christmas appeal, for toys for struggling families [as] we thought it would be nice to do donations for them with lockdown bringing all the problems everyone’s going through.”
Gemma Quinton / Sunflower Daze Photography
All donations before 9th December will be contributed directly to Wood Street Mission, and the remaining funds raised after that cut-off date will go towards the similar initiative – Hits Radio’s Cash for Kids Mission Christmas appeal.
“We’ve been really surprised with the donations – we didn’t set a specific target but thought that £500 would be brilliant and then within a week we’d hit £2,000,
“It’s been a really big success – really good.”
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And this success of the decorations and donations has already got Jamie thinking forward to what he can do to make sure 2021 is even better still.
“It’s definitely been worth it,” he explained, “everyone’s been calling it ‘the Christmas house’ and asking if it’s going to be a yearly thing and I’ve thought with this year’s success, I’ll definitely bring it back and already have plans for next year,”
“The amount of people turning up just to see it shows how it’s worked really well for everyone,
“I’m really pleased.”
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Boyzone to reunite for exclusive New Year’s Eve special on the BBC
Danny Jones
2025 has very much been the year of the comeback – be it Oasis, Britpop fashion in general, or short bobs and pixie cuts – so it’s only fitting that we round off the calendar with one last reunion, as throwback boyband Boyzone are set to feature on a TV special on the BBC this New Year’s Eve.
Turns out ‘All That I Need’ to make a year memorable is a load of 1990s nostalgia.
Now, obviously, despite plenty of other music names enjoying a second renaissance over the past 12 months or so, nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour.
However, if you asked us to guess which group from the era were also going to reunite this year back in January, there’s not a chance we would’ve said Boyzone.
Boyzone are telling us about coming back together for one final run in their most unforgettable concerts yet 🎤
After news first began circulating earlier this week, it has now been confirmed that musician turned presenter Ronan Keating will be getting back together with two of his former bandmates.
Joining the 48-year-old for ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’, ex-Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch are part of an exciting live music lineup.
Other names include actor and singer, Shona McGarty, who recently starred on season 25 of I’m A Celeb, as well as fellow 90s pop artist Louise Redknapp and singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
The exclusive reunion comes after the success of the recently aired Boyzone: No Matter What documentary show.
Spread across three parts on Sky, the docuseries (named after their hit song from 1998) looks back on the career and journey up the charts back in their heyday, all the way up to the present. After seemingly striking a chord with fans and the lads themselves, it looks like they’re not done after all…
Yes, not only is the festive TV special going to see three of the original members performing alongside each other again, but
Here’s hoping that turns into a springboard for something even bigger, and we get a Manchester arena show sometime soon.
As for the programme itself, ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’ will be broadcast on BBC One and made available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
One in 10 Brits are fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party, new survey finds
Emily Sergeant
We’re in peak office Christmas party season right now.
With just a week to go until the big day itself is here, many businesses across the UK are treating their staff to night out to celebrate both the festive season and all of the hard work they have been putting in throughout the year… and as you can expect, these are usually quite eventful gatherings, shall we say.
But now, a survey by has shed light on just how ‘eventful’ they actually are, as a new survey has revealed that, apparently, one in ten Brits face some sort of disciplinary action or dismissal due to their behaviour at Christmas parties.
The study was conducted by After Drink, and included more than 2,000 participants.
During the research, it was highlighted that 89% of employees admitted to drinking alcohol at these events, Lad Bible reports – with 65% of these confessing that they drank “excessively”.
One in 10 Brits get fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party / Credit: Kraken Images | Mimi Thian (via Unsplash)
There are a multitude of incidents which could lead to disciplinary action in the workplace nowadays, but according to the survey, some of the common reasons following festive celebrations with colleagues included inappropriate comments (23%) and even getting into fights (21%).
16% of these incidents were because of drug use during the event, while inappropriate interactions with colleagues accounted for 14%.
Some of the legal reasons you can be fired from your place of work after a Christmas party include gross misconduct, drunken behaviour, and fighting of any kind.
Despite all these risks, however, Christmas parties still remain as popular as always, and a whopping 79% of respondents said they are planning to attend theirs this year.
Emily Sergeant -
4th December 2020 
