Tinwell Forge near Stamford to light up for Christmas

There is not a bare spot in sight at a house which has been decked out for Christmas.

The O’Regan family have been bringing Christmas joy to the area since 2006 by covering their Tinwell Forge house, near Stamford, in over-the-top decorations.

It was the idea of Chris O’Regan as a child but quickly became a family tradition with his mum Linda and dad David.

Chris, who is now 43, said: “The inspiration is just Christmas.

“Once we got to the point of just putting up all sorts of lights, the priority was making sure there weren't any empty spots.

“It is important to make it as impressive as it can be.”

David died in July 2021 from cancer aged 76, but Chris and Linda are keen to keep the tradition going.

Chris said: “A lot of people are saying they are cutting back Christmas lights but we are going bigger.

“We have managed to increase the lights without increasing the costs by changing the times we are switching them on.”

Although over the years the family has accumulated a large collection of decorations, each year they can’t help but add more.

New additions this year include a nativity scene and a Santa climbing up a ladder.

He said: “We usually know when we take things down if they need replacing and we look back at photos to see if there are any obvious gaps.”

Chris said they never seriously considered not doing it because of the joy it brings and have instead made it even bigger than before.

The building operated as a forge from 1915 before becoming a post office in 1929. It was reopened by the family in 1983.

All of the equipment was removed from the former forge and last year Chris transformed it into a Christmas grotto.

This year the adjoining workshop is also being decorated.

On Sunday at 4.15pm, which is just after the village childrens’ Christmas party, they will switch on the lights and open up the forge to allow kids to venture into the grotto.

Donations at the event will go to the village church.

Do you know of a house that’s been decorated for Christmas that’s more impressive than Tinwell Forge? Tell us in the comments.