The Grinch who made Christmas: Whanganui collector lights up Castlecliff

The scene that greets night-time visitors to Trevor and Elaine Davies' Castlecliff home. Photo / David Shaw

Christmas comes but once a year, and that used to be once too often for one Whanganui man.

Now, Trevor Davies' Kotuku St home is literally lit up like a Christmas tree and his neighbours have joined the party as well.

Davies has inspired four of his neighbours to join him in entering the 2019 Versatile Light Up Your Home competition, making the Castlecliff street the most illuminated neighbourhood in the river city this year.

"Yes, he was a bit of a Grinch. But it was really the commercialism of Christmas that he objected to," said Davies' stepdaughter, Bernadette Cutelli.

"He loves seeing how much the children enjoy his displays."

It is not as if Davies' front garden is a dull place during the daytime, either.

The front end of a vintage Morris Minor is attached to the front fence and the letterbox is a 1950s petrol pump salvaged from a Waverley farm.

The concrete rhinoceros in the middle of the lawn and a lion's head fountain on the wall are just a foretaste of this garden of quirky delights.

When the daylight fades, visitors will see Rudolph the red-nosed rhinoceros surrounded by myriad lights and a whole family of inflatable Christmas characters.

"I still don't like Christmas," Trevor says.

Trevor and Elaine Davies with dog Buddy are lighting up their Castlecliff garden for Christmas.

"I do it for the children and it is a great way to socialise with the neighbours."

Wife Elaine agrees.

"We don't just know our neighbours by sight - we know all their names."

Elaine shares her husband's fondness for collecting unusual paraphernalia but a recent purchase took her by surprise.

"I ordered an inflatable reindeer that I thought was three feet high but it turned out to be much bigger.

"When we inflated it, it just kept growing and growing."

The reindeer turned out to be three metres high.

"It has good weights on its feet and can be anchored to the ground but we don't put it up every night because it takes so long to inflate," Trevor says.

The Davies have been welcoming at least 300 people to their festive home every night - and it is not just children who enjoy their displays.

"Groups from the retirement villages have been visiting and I make sure to keep the driveway clear for them to park the vans."

They anticipate an increase in traffic when the schools finish and Trevor says he will continue to enjoy playing host but might leave town when Christmas day arrives.

• The 2019 Versatile Light Up Your Home competition is brought to Whanganui by NZME Ltd.