Light Up Central is back for its third year, offering a festive way for locals and visitors to celebrate Christmas in Central Otago.

Households across the region are invited to join in by decorating their homes with festive displays.

It doesn’t have to be anything extreme – even simple touches can bring plenty of Christmas cheer and help create a magical atmosphere for everyone to enjoy.

The best part? It’s a free self-guided tour and The Central App will help you to find participating locations, vote for your favourite house, and explore the decorations at your own pace.

Want to add your house to the tour? You can sign up anytime for and be part of the festivities! Just click on our button Light Up Central

Voting begins from the 10th of December so don’t miss the chance to showcase your creativity and spread the holiday spirit.

Peter Hishon from Tall Poppy getting in the festive spirit. One of the main sponsors of Light Up Central - Image: File 2024

Mike and Margaret Payne from Alexandra, always go the extra mile every year to set up Santa in his sleigh in the front yard, along with Mother Christmas and the elves, and a 2.5m tree all lavishly decorated.

The extensive decorations spend 11 months of the year in the roof of their Bringan Street property, and only get dragged out on December 1 - and not a day sooner. It takes them 2 weeks to set them up.

People say they can see the massive Christmas tree from the other end of the street - and it’s quite a long one.

If you’d like to join in the fun and enter our Light Up Central competition, we’ve lined up some fantastic prizes to make it even sweeter:

• First Prize – A $1,000 Goodie Hamper from Paper Plus Alexandra
• Second Prize – A $500 gift from Jaime’s Jewellers
• Third Prize – A luxurious pamper experience at Harmony valued at $250

Light up your home, share the festive spirit, and be in to win!

Have a story to share or comment to make? Contact [email protected]