When Tasmanian local Marion first opened her home to share her Christmas display with neighbours 11 years ago, she never imagined it would lead to such an outpouring of generosity from the wider community.

So far, the 81-year-old from Hobart has raised more than $21,000. All the money raised has been donated by her visitors, and all has gone towards supporting our clients with hearing and vision loss access specialised services and care.

The idea was first sparked by her mother, who, prior to her passing 12 years ago, suggested Marion put out a donation box at Christmas to raise funds for children who could benefit from it. So, when Marion heard about NextSense and our support for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision, she wanted to give it a shot.

More than a decade on, hundreds of people show up each December to see the display for themselves, and all have heard about it through word-of-mouth. Marion says that generations of families have now been through her doors, with her original visitors now bringing their children or grandchildren along. She includes toys that dance or sing and loves watching the reactions from people of all ages and abilities.

This year, her nephew and his family have even made a special pilgrimage from their home in Western Australia to see the display for themselves for the first time.

Each year, Marion tries to rotate out the decorations and do something a bit different. This year she’s created an ‘international archway’ made up of decorations that her friends have brought her from around the world, marked with their names and which country they got them from.

Some of the other decorations are decades old, gifts from much loved family members and friends. One of her most treasured ones is an old church that lights up – also a favourite of her mother’s.

It takes Marion almost a month to set up, and a month to pack away, but she says it’s all worth the effort.

‘I get my pleasure from looking at the happiness on people’s faces,’ she says.

Check out a gallery of images of Marion's display below.