Northampton couple sets up stunning Christmas wonderland in back garden to fundraise for charities

A couple from Kingsthorpe have opened up their back garden winter wonderland to the public this Christmas to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis charities after their son was diagnosed with the illness.

For the second year in a row, Dan and Chloe Campion have transformed their garden into a Christmas paradise for local families to visit free of charge.

Dan Campion, 27, said: “For me, I have been doing it all my life really. If you had a chat with my dad, he would say I was bonkers.

“I used to decorate our house as a boy. I used to build caves in the kitchen using chicken wire and fake snow.”

The small local attraction, which opened to the public on December 1, includes a huge gingerbread castle, a forest with woodland animals and Santa’s Grotto. It is contained in two back gardens belonging to Dan and Chloe and then Chloe’s mother, who lives next door.

Also inside the garden is a ‘wishing pool’ where visitors can throw in coins that will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Toby’s Fund.

Dan and Chloe’s son, Toby, has Cystic Fibrosis and he will be turning four-years-old on December 13. Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited condition that causes sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system. There is currently no cure for it.

Toby’s condition meant that he could not go outside during the coronavirus pandemic, even when lockdown restrictions eased because of his vulnerability to infection. This also meant that he could not take part in public Christmas activities such as visiting Santa’s Grotto or other festive attractions.

Dan and Chloe were not, however, about to let their son miss out on the Christmas magic. They got to work scouring the Facebook marketplace for Christmas decorations being sold for cheap or given away and pulled together what they could.

They then put together a miniature winter wonderland for their children in their own back garden. When word got out about the display, Dan said people told them they would pay money to see it, which was what inspired the charity venture.

Last year’s display raised £1,800 for charity. Dan told The Chronicle & Echo that people queued down their driveway and up to four houses away.

This year, the couple have set up an online booking system to organise the eager crowds a little more.

The event has, so far, raised £1,414 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, averaging around £200 in donations to the wishing pool each night.

Dan, who is also the garden’s Santa Claus, said: “I can hear pretty much the whole garden from the Grotto, so when I hear them come through and go ‘[gasp] wow!’ - for me, that’s what does it.”

He added that his favourite thing about running the yearly event is watching his garden go from being a bear patch of grass to becoming “infinitely magical.”

He added: “In the current climate, everyone is struggling but why can’t the kids go and see Santa? People have to go pay £20 or £30 in the shopping mall to do this and it’s just not fair really, is it?”

This Christmas trail will run until December 11.