Edinburgh woman hopes her Christmas decorations in Portobello raise money for charity close to her heart
An Edinburgh woman hopes her amazing Christmas decorations in Portobello can raise money for a charity close to her heart.
Maria Lumsden, 44, put up her Christmas decorations last weekend for the fourth year running. However, she is collecting money for the first time this year from locals and visitors who come from near and far to see her incredible display outside her Windsor Place home.
With the addition of a huge 20ft high inflatable Santa this festive period, Maria is asking for donations in return for a photo with Santa, to raise money for a charity close to her heart - Narcolepsy UK- as she suffers from Narcolepsy and cataplexy herself.
Speaking about this year’s decorations outside her Portobello home, Maria said: “I got the massive inflatable Santa from Amazon, as a special addition this year. I like to add new things every year and it just continues to grow.
“It’s been four years now, so I wanted to add something special so I could collect money for charity.
“The charity means a lot to me as I suffer from that condition myself, I just want to raise as much money as possible through donations into my charity bucket and for taking photos of kids with the inflatable Santa.
“I’ve posted about it on local Facebook groups and the response has been great, lots of people coming by to see the decorations, although I’ve not raised much so far. So I’m continuing to spread the word to get more donations for this great charity.
“I hope people coming to see the decorations donate to Narcolepsy UK and make a real difference to those who suffer from this condition like I do.
“I’m not asking for thousands, not even a pound, pennies will help, it all adds up.”
Narcolepsy with cataplexy is a chronic neurological sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and a sudden, temporary loss of muscle control called cataplexy.
Cataplexy is often triggered by strong emotions like laughter or surprise and can cause symptoms such as a drooping jaw, slurred speech, or a full-body collapse. This condition can also include other symptoms like sleep paralysis and vivid hallucinations.
Maria explained why she spent a fair chunk of last weekend putting up so many decorations.
She said: “I love Christmas, it’s the best time of the year, and I love to see the joy on people’s faces going past, especially the kids.
“Although most of the decorations are up, I’m not quite finished yet, I’ve still to put lights on the Christmas tree and put up a projection of Santa waving on the side of the building.”
And with so many electrical decorations outside her home on Windsor Place, how does Maria afford the electricity bill each Christmas?
“It actually doesn’t cost much to run, as it’s LED lights, and my husband is an electrician so he sorts all that stuff, said Maria.
“Everyone is always asking about the energy bills, but it really doesn’t make too much difference to our average bill, and it’s not up for too long, just over a month.
“At the end of the day I do this every year to cheer people up, and this year hopefully raise money for charity, that’s all that matters.”