12 Secrets to Winning Best Street in Ipswich’s Christmas Lights Comp

Thanks to father-daughter team: Rev. Arthur Trevor Foote and Juanita Foote for inviting me for a chat and walk-through of 24/26 Pommer St. Thanks to Daniel at 32 Pommer St too. These notes and photos show the work behind a win, and the joy you bring Ipswich each year.

Pommer Street Christmas Lights at a Glance

• Best Street winners (2025): Pommer Street, Brassall (24, 26 & 32).
• Why this report exists: to show the work behind the sparkle, and give the winners proper credit.
• Reality check: months of setup, weeks of pack-down nightly switch-ons, fixes in the dark, endless Bunnings trips, and hedge maintenance mid-December.
• Purpose: use “secrets” for your own install, or just appreciate what locals are doing for Ipswich families.

Today we’re focusing on Best Street (Pommer St), but every house in the comp deserves credit. The time, money, and effort behind these displays is massive.

View all winners here: Ipswich Winning displays.

🔢 By the Numbers

• 2025 Best Street win: Pommer Street, Brassall
• 3 houses in the street entry (minimum needed to be eligible for Best Street)
• 24, 26 & 32 winning house numbers on Pommer Street
• $500 Best Street cash prize (plus Council-installed “Best Street” street sign)
• 26 nights encouraged to run for public viewing (30 Nov–25 Dec)
• 6.30–10.30pm finalist judging window (Wednesday 3 Dec)
• 8 weeks of setup before switch-on (24 and 26 Pommer St.)
• 2-3 weeks of pack-down into boxes and storage
• 300+ powered light sets / plug-pack items per main house (reported estimate)
• $3 rough electricity cost per night per main house (modelled estimate)
• 1,000 glow sticks given out to visitors (and 100s of visitors on a big night, reported)

Here we have a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to win Best Street in Ipswich’s Christmas Lights Competition, and why ALL the winners deserve real credit.

How the lights comp work:

Best Street is judged as a street effect.

• Best Street is a team category: 3+ homes or businesses on the same street (each property enters, one main contact)
• When it counts: lights on nightly 1–25 Dec; finalists judged Wed 3 Dec (6.30–10.30pm)
• Judging is street-facing: exterior display, assessed from the front of the property
• Entry media matters: finalists are selected from your photos/video, so submit your best
• What judges score: first impressions, light & colour, showmanship & Christmas theme, non-light decorations, atmosphere

The 12 secrets below are built around that reality. Steal them if your street wants to compete, or read them once and you’ll appreciate every good display in Ipswich a whole lot more.

1) Recruit 3 committed houses

You can’t win Best Street with one house. Get 3 neighbours who are genuinely in. Then lock in the basics: shared look, shared switch-on times, and who owns which jobs.

Pommer St from above.

Pommer Street collective

Local tip: you have to live on the same street, but you don’t have to be immediate neighbours.

2) Make the street one show

Cohesion wins. Pick one colour palette, one style, and one repeating feature across all 3 houses (think arches, roofline style, or a signature prop). A street that feels like one display reads as “best” before anyone even steps out of the car.

24 Pommer St front view.

3) Win the kerbside glance

First impressions happen in two seconds. Nail the big shapes people see from the road: roofline, entry, and clean edges. If it looks messy from the kerb, you’ve already made judging harder for yourself.

32 Pommer St front view.

4) Build one hero moment

Showmanship is one big idea, not 50 small ones. Give each house one “hero” feature, then add one street-wide hero people talk about. Make it clearly Christmas, clearly intentional, and easy to remember.

26 Pommer St side yard with snow machine.

Bubble machine at 24 Pommer St.

Christmas photo wall in 24 Pommer St backyard.

5) Choose and control colour

Colour looks best when it’s controlled. Choose a main colour family and one accent, then stick to it across the street. Random colour feels like leftovers, even if you spent a fortune.

24 Pommer St looking north down the street.

6) Light it in layers

Atmosphere comes from depth. Build three layers: foreground (fence/garden), mid-ground (verandah/windows), background (roofline/trees). It looks richer in real life and in photos, without just blasting brightness.

Taken from 26 Pommer St driveway looking south.

7) Use props to tell Christmas

Props are what make it feel like Christmas. Use fewer props, make them bigger, keep them on-theme, and place them where they can be seen from the street. Lights are the paint. Props are the story.

26 Pommer St front view.

8) Zone the power to stay on

A display can’t win if it’s half out. Zoning and a proper power plan keeps the show running when something trips, and something always trips. This doesn’t reduce the labour. It stops the labour being wasted.

Electrical planning (the part you don’t see)

Zone map around the house

This is what “serious planning” looks like. Every area has a job, and a way to isolate it.

Flow from the board to the lights

Good power is boring. Boring power is what keeps the street on every night.

Powerboards and plug density (winner scale)

Reality: hundreds of plugs means you need labelling, grouping, weather protection, and the ability to fault-find fast.

9) Make it safe to walk

Atmosphere dies when people feel unsafe. Keep the frontage walkable, hide trip hazards, and keep cables tidy. A neat, safe setup looks more “finished” to visitors and judges, and it’s kinder on families with kids.

Easy access to side yard Christmas features at 26 Pommer St.

10) Enter with judge-ready media

Your entry needs to look like a finalist. Take wide shots that show the street working together, plus one hero shot per house. Add one short video that proves the vibe. Clear, bright, simple wins.

11) Maintain it all December

December is operations. Things break. Weather hits. Gardens grow. Winning streets plan small maintenance jobs so it still looks sharp mid-month, not tired and patchy.

Did you know: the hedge problem

Yes, that means taking lights off, trimming, then redoing it. In Ipswich summer.

12) Know your time, money and power

Know what you can spend, how many hours you can realistically give, and what it costs to run each night. Pack-down might only be a few solid days, but you still feel it. Planning is how you avoid the mid-December “we can’t keep up” moment. All the winning houses take months to setup (and cost many $1,000s to purchase all the gear).

Quick facts (prize, work, electricity)

Common questions (answered)

Storage and labelling (how you survive year after year)

Important: labelling doesn’t make it “quick”. It makes it controlled. It saves your sanity, speeds up fixes, and stops you buying the same thing twice.

Is this everything there is to know?

Use these “12 secrets” as a checklist. If your street wants to compete next year, use the 12 secrets above as a checklist. You’ll still work hard, but you’ll waste less time and have fewer headaches.

Experience is key. 24 Pommer St has been an entrant every year since 2021. 26 Pommer St since 2023. They have gradually improved.

Admire the dedication. If you don’t want to compete, no worries. This report still does its job. Now you know what sits behind the sparkle, and why these households deserve respect.

Have a look for yourself. Go and see the displays across Ipswich. They’re doing it for the community, and for the kids in particular. If you see the homeowners out the front, a quick “thanks” is worth more than most people realise.

🎄 Merry Christmas from Ipswich Insider

Me and the family wishing you a Merry Christmas.