While a number of homes on the hedge-lined Sycamore Place in Ferryhill have been decorated this Christmas, one house truly stands out.
The white picket fence of number 19 is adorned with candy canes and gingerbread men, which spread across the whole front garden.
The Gingerbread House display – fuelled by more than 200 batteries – draws hundreds of people to the street each festive season.
But many will be unaware of the story behind it.
‘Christmas can be a hard time’
The incredible display was created by Mrs Bray.
“I started this Gingerbread House persona seven years ago,” Mrs Bray told The Press and Journal.
“I dreaded Christmas after losing my mum and my best friend so I decided to go overboard and fully embrace it.”
The mum-of-three said the “fabric of her family’s lives” changed when her mum and best friend died in 2016.
“My mum had terminal cancer for 18 months,” she shared. “It was really hard, she went too early.
“Then my best friend died suddenly. When it came to Christmas we always had both of them so it was a big hole.”
Escaping to her garden to decorate for the holidays gave Mrs Bray an opportunity to face her grief.
“I could go out to the garden and cry and have space,” she said. “As well as the grief, I was dealing with loneliness with my husband and eldest son working away.
“People can find Christmas a hard time. There’s a lot of pressure for it to be full of joy and family, but it isn’t always happy for everyone.”
The Gingerbread House brightens up Ferryhill
The Gingerbread House has “snowballed” over the past few years with Mrs Bray investing in many a Christmas-themed balloon to brighten up her garden.
“We have the lights on between 5pm and 8pm each evening,” she said. “And, in the lead up to Christmas my husband puts out the speakers to play cheesy tunes.”
As well as helping combat her own loneliness, going to see the colourful display has has given other people a reason to head out from their homes at winter.
“We can make new memories and not forget the old ones,” she added. “Do what it takes to get through.
“I’ll go out to the fence and talk to people too, they’ll open up.”
In honour of her mum, Mrs Bray decided to use her festive house as an opportunity to raise money for Cancer Research in its first year.
Since then, she has raised money for different charities through a donation box and online fundraiser, with this year’s donations to go to Unicef UK.
Conversation