It’s 4 p.m. and Garfield Ostrander is racing around his Esquimalt backyard to light up and blow up thousands of coloured Christmas bulbs and dozens of inflatables.
The 74-year-old former shipyard worker, who now works as a painter, is anxious because a line of people will soon form outside his home at 783 Hutchinson Rd. for the display’s 5 p.m. opening.
“It takes about two hours to get everything up and running,” said Ostrander, who has been creating his winter wonderland for three decades, launching it in 1994.
“It’s not just a matter of flipping a switch — there’s a lot of maintenance and if I run into something that ain’t working, I have to fix it or replace it.”
On a wet day, the six-inch tent pegs pinning down the inflatables can dislodge. “It’s like a landslide on the Coquihalla Highway,” he said — while high winds also mess with the display.
Once everything is plugged in and confirmed to be working, he cleans the sidewalk and takes half an hour to get all the candy canes out of their boxes. “You gotta be gentle because if you break them, the kids don’t want them.”
Visitors come on foot, on bikes, by vehicle and by tour bus to see the display. They first see the front of the house draped in lights and a 16-foot holiday Mickey Mouse on the front lawn, before moving on to a holiday dreamworld in his well-treed backyard.
While festive music plays through outdoor speakers, visitors walk along a short garden path, passing rows of towering, arching, whirling and twirling inflatables, plastic holiday ornaments, angels and a nativity scene.
Ostrander orders the yard inflatables and other elements online, buys cases of candy canes, and has been given some figurines. Donations help to cover his $2,000 electrical bill.
If you visit before Christmas Eve, Santa might be there, sitting in his throne-like gazebo from about 6 or 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. — another draw for the kids.
“It’s heartwarming — it’s kind of neat. I find it neat watching all these families,” said Ostrander.
There are enough bulbs — along with an outdoor wood fireplace — to keep visitors warm even on a cold night.
The busiest night is Christmas Eve, said Ostrander, who says thousands come every season, many of them generations of families and seniors making multiple trips.
Newcomers to Canada take extra delight in the display — they “can’t thank me enough,” said Ostrander.
As the brief garden path ends, visitors enter the finale: a miniature musical Christmas village that includes hundreds of animated figurines, an electric train and creaking vintage Ferris wheels and carousels that make a type of music all their own.
Ostrander, who was raised in Windsor, Ont., on the Detroit River, said his inspiration comes from the once hugely popular “Christmas Fantasy” display at Detroit’s Ford Rotunda — a gear-shaped building that was a top tourist attraction in the U.S. until it burned down in 1962.
In its first year, the Ford Rotunda display included Donner, Blitzen, Prancer and Dancer along with an 11-metre, 5,400-kilogram Christmas tree, according to the Detroit News, and a centre-piece — Santa’s Workshop with elves building toys on a miniature assembly line, three-dimensional portrayals of the Nativity and more.
Ostrander, a father and grandfather, said that was his childhood image of Christmas and that’s the atmosphere he tries to create.
“I see all the smiles and everybody having fun, including myself — the colour, the lights, the excitement, the emotional spirit of Christmas.”
Ostrander begins his set-up around Labour Day and it all comes down after New Year’s Day, except for the indoor display in his garage.
He used to meticulously erect and dismantle the indoor display over three weeks each year until about five years ago, when he decided he was better off to lose the garage space and just lock the door come Jan. 1.
Does he ever contemplate downsizing?
“Scaling it back? That’s impossible, that’s impossible. I don’t know how I could scale it back. There isn’t one item I’ve got out that I don’t like to look at,” he said.
He’s most sentimental about his collection of antique Christmas dolls in their fur-lined red dresses holding candles, as they conjure up images of a bygone era.
How long will he or can he keep it going? He doesn’t know. “As long as my legs keep working,” he said.
Each night after he shuts everything down, he retreats to his house for some well-deserved TV viewing.
“And then the next day I worry about everything again.”
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