IT may be only the start of October but Christmas has come early for one West Belfast family.
Mary Crooks is known to her Valleyside Close neighbours as 'Mary Christmas'.
Mary's long-standing tradition of decorating her Springfield Road house from top to bottom in Christmas decorations – including dozens of inflatable Santas – has been passed down generations from her own children to her grandchildren now.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, daughter, Sammy Jo said: "My mummy started off with a Christmas tree and a Santa and just built it up over the years.
"She is known in the street as ‘Mary Christmas’. She has been doing it from we were no age and more now with the grandkids around.
"We lost daddy two years ago and Christmas was never the same for her but I took it upon myself to get everything set up. I am really into it now!
"All the grandkids know that come the end of September and the start of October that nanny’s Christmas decorations go up. Mummy always put them up early. All the neighbours know when to expect them.
"I started at the weekend and still have more to do. Depending on the weather, it will be another couple of weeks before it is finished."
With Halloween still to come, Sammy Jo has a simple message for those who think it is far too early for Christmas – "don't be a Grinch!"
