This Liverpool house is sparkling again with 30,000 Christmas lights for Alder Hey

A Liverpool house has been wrapped in almost 30,000 Christmas lights to create a fantastic festive spectacle in aid of Alder Hey.

This is the third year that Helen and Marty Walsh have decorated their Hunts Cross home with a sparkling illuminated display, putting on shows to raise funds for Alder Hey.

And this year the couple have added a tribute to 2023’s biggest movie sensation, with a Barbie pink music and light sequence.

They’ll switch on the Liverpool Christmas Light Show this Friday, December 1, then have themed shows three times a night at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm until New Year’s Eve.

Their two previous events have raised a total of just over £3600 for the Alder Hey charity, which has gone towards helping the children in a variety of ways from visits by characters from TV shows to much-needed medical equipment.

Helen and Marty first came up with the idea of lighting up their house on Palmerston Drive to support Alder Hey after it helped their son Charlie, who’s now 10.

They’ve sourced illuminated features from across the world on the internet, and spent a weekend in October installing them all.

“It takes two full days to do, we put up all the house ones one day and then the mega tree and the garden ones the next day,” says Helen.

After plenty of testing to make sure the music and lights are perfectly in synch, they’re now preparing to welcome crowds again.

The 6pm show will be a Christmas one, followed by a Disney/movie theme at 7pm and a different selection of Christmas singalong tunes at 8pm.

There’ll be a mix of festive classics like Fairytale of New York, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day, and Do They Know It’s Christmas, along with pop anthems such as Livin’ On A Prayer and Get the Party Started.

And this year there’s the Barbie bonus as part of the 7pm sequence.

“Last year we added Sam Ryder’s Spaceman ahead of Eurovision, so this time we thought we’d reference Barbie because it was the big thing the year,” adds Helen. “Everyone’s still talking about it and the songs are being played all the time so we wanted to do our own little tribute to that with a very pink sequence set to Aqua’s Barbie Girl.”

Each show lasts around 35-40 minutes, and those going to watch can donate either by throwing cash in buckets or the couple have a contactless option and Just Giving link on their website. There’s also a raffle on there with some fabulous prizes including a Liverpool shirt signed by Virgil Van Dijk and signed items from Jamie Carragher’s 23 Foundation.

Helen says visitors come from across Merseyside and beyond to see their Liverpool Christmas Light Show and local families often bring visiting relatives to join in.

“Because this is our third year people do know about us and they make it a family trip now. We get lots of repeat visits, and some of our neighbours are there every night because they love it so much.

“Everyone says how fantastic it is, we’ve not had one negative comment. The house opposite sold recently so we’ve got new neighbours and they were left a note by the previous owners to say, you’ve got the best seats to the best show in Liverpool!”