Come Christmas time you’ll see suburban streets illuminated with festive lights, but Yuletide-loving outback mum Emily Donnell gives her outdoor display a special country spin!
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Each year on the Donnell family’s farm in Tickera, SA, brothers Lachlan, 8, and Charlie, 6, whip out the spray paint and tinsel to decorate hay bales and transform farmyard trash into gleeful, glittery treasures!
“It started five years ago,” Emily, 39, tells New Idea.
“We’d seen all sorts of different Christmas displays and thought it’d be fun to do our own.”
With hubby Hayden, 40, and the boys lending their hands to help out, their annual festive attraction has become a much-loved, must-see for locals and beyond.
“People come from far and wide to see our Christmas tree made out of tractor tyres and Santa and Rudolph made from hay bales,” Emily says.
By stacking tyres on top of each other, painting them green and then carving a star from an old block of wood for the top, their Christmas tree stands pride of place at the farm gate entrance!
“We thought it’d be nice for anyone driving past to see and spread a seasonal them smile,” Emily explains.
Turns out the tyre tree brought much merriment and cheer, and the Donnells expanded their outback display.
“Next, we decided to have ago at making Santa and Rudolph out of hay bales,” Emily says.
Placing one hay bale on top of the other for Santa’s broad face and little round belly, Emily then marked out Saint Nick’s features, his red coat and black belt, then it was masterfully spray-painted by Lachlan and Charlie.
The kids love helping – it’s become a real family affair,” Emily says, adding the boys brought Rudolph to life by wrapping an old tarpaulin around his hay bale frame, used twigs for antlers and painted paper plates for his eyes and nose.
“People even pull over and hop out of their car to get a happy snap with the man in red,” she giggles. “It’s lovely to chat with visitors – we once had a German man travelling around Australia come and pay the paddock a visit as he’d heard about our bush Christmas bales!”
Always excited to get into the festive spirit each year, there’s a kooky new hay bale making its debut on their property.
“The boys are huge fans of Bluey, so we made Bluey and Bingo hay bales, too,” Emily says.
When Christmas is all but over, Emily and Hayden – who are not ones for waste – roll the bales out to give their flock of a sheep food and before long, it’s time to start dreaming about their next outback festive theme to show off come December 25!
“This year we’re making Pokémon hay bales and a hay bale Christmas koala and kangaroo,” Emily reveals, grinning widely.
“We love that our bush bales bring so much joy and give Christmas a country twist!”
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