IT TAKES Ray Parkinson a whole month to put up the festive decorations outside his house, but his front room is a trimming-free zone!

When he has finished putting up his army of Santas, snowmen and thousands of lights outside, he still has time to put up two Christmas trees and a singing reindeer inside his home, too.

But the Christmas-crazy grandfather says he likes to keep his sitting room decorations free of the fuss.

He says his wife Joan is happy to put up with the fun. He said: "She isn't into it all as much as me, but she likes it all. She certainly wouldn't go buying all the things though."

Joan said: "I'm not really a Christmas and New Year person myself, because my mum died at Christmas and it reminds me of her.

"But I'm happy for Ray to do all this. He's in his element if he's doing this for the kids."

She added the couple used to fill their sitting room with Christmas decorations until their children left home. They now chose to decorate the outside for the children in the neighbourhood.

"I don't like all the trimmings," said Ray. "I just do the two Christmas trees and the reindeer, but I don't go overboard indoors at all."

He puts down his festive frenzy to the encouragement he gets from his grandchildren and children living nearby.

"I love Christmas," he said. "I just love everything that goes with it."

His 10ft by 5ft front garden and the front of his house in Newton Street, Oswaldtwistle, is packed with Christmas decorations which light up the street and draw crowds of children.

He has a fibre optic snowman, a fibre optic Santa on a sleigh, twirling lights, a shooting star, bells, a Christmas tree, Father Christmas silhouettes, a nativity scene and a brightly-lit water feature.

He also likes to have some fun with the decorations, including fooling his grandchildren into believing one of the Christmas trees talks - with a hidden microphone.

"My littlest granddaughter knows there's a microphone there, but I can stand right next to her talking into it, and she'll still talk to the tree."

And this year he has invested in a Father Christmas suit, which he intends to put on a snowman.

His festive habit means he hunts out bargains throughout the year and has friends and relatives on the look-out too.

But he cannot put a price on how much the decorations have cost him since he got started four years ago.

He also says the bright lights are not a drain on his electricity bills, as he switches them off at bedtime and they come on with a sensor at night.

Are you as Christmas-crackers as Ray? If you light up your house ring our newsdesk on 01254 298219.