I’m a mum of 6, on benefits – I’ve spent £12.5k on my kids & decorations for Christmas, why should they go without?
LEA Carol adjusts a giant, bejewelled red and white candy cane decoration hanging on her Christmas tree before stepping back to admire her work.
The 37-year-old’s six-foot artificial tree is adorned with oversized lollipops, candy canes, and baubles as big as soccer balls because this is a season Lea takes very seriously, with no expense spared.
She’s been planning and purchasing gifts for her six children since January, spending more than £6,500 on presents alone.
On top of that she’s spent £6,000 on extravagant decorations even though it has meant racking up debt.
Meaning she’s spent £12,500 altogether for Christmas.
“I put about £3000 on my credit card and the rest I save for or buy in the sales,” she says.
“I have Christmas on my mind all year round. I just love the festive season.
“I don’t care what they cost or what people think. The decorations are lavish because that is the way my kids like them.”
Her sparkling Christmas centrepiece has so many decorations the tree itself is barely visible.
At the bottom, instead of a traditional christmas tree skirt, the proud mum obscures the base with a pink life-size rocking horse complete with six matching pink carriages.
Festooned with more than £450 worth of baubles and bespoke decorations it’s the kind of tree you might spot in a million-pound mansion or at Buckingham Palace – but instead, it takes pride of place in Lea’s semi-detached council house.
And it is just part one of Lea’s annual festive home makeover.
“I have spent more than one hundred hours decorating the inside and outside of my council house for Christmas,” she says.
“My house, living room, hallway, staircase and even the outside is a work of art. I have put up more than a hundred candy canes and gingerbread decorations.
“I will not be trolled for spending big on my over-the-top decorations. I am proud of my house and it’s a celebration of Christmas.”
Over the last four years, Lea’s decorations have become increasingly opulent as she’s stockpiled a mammoth collection including baubles from the likes of B&M, Lidl and Asda, as well as dozens of small and large Elf of the Shelves.
The former events manager also has bulging bags of ribbons, feathers and sashes, which she carefully stores in the loft in colour-coded boxes.
Lea lives in Manchester with her six children Pierre, 15, Harry, 12 and Tyler, five and twin girls Leigh, 11 and May, ten and her seven -month-old Rae where she rents a four-bedroom council house for £130 a week.
How can I get a council house?
To apply for a council home, you need to fill out and hand in an application to your local authority.
To find your local authority, simply use the Government’s council locator tool on its website.
Once you have access to your local council’s website, it should offer you guidelines on how to complete your application.
After applying, you’ll most likely have to join a waiting list.
Bear in mind, even if you are put on a waiting list, this doesn’t guarantee you a council house offer.
Your council should also offer you advice on how to stay in your current home and solve any issues you might have, such as problems with a private landlord or mortgage.
You are eligible to apply for council housing if you are a British citizen living in the UK providing have not lived abroad recently.
Each council has its own local rules about who qualifies to go on the housing register in its area, but it is based on “points” or a “banding” system.
For example, you’re likely to be offered housing first if you:
- are homeless
- live in cramped conditions
- have a medical condition made worse by your current home
- are seeking to escape domestic violence
Once you are high enough on a council’s waiting list, it will contact you when a property is available.
Some councils let people apply at the age of 18, while others let you apply even sooner at 16-year-olds.
EU workers and their families and refugees may also be eligible.
A council house is reached through a points system, so depending on your housing needs, you may be considered low priority.
The council will contact you about any available property once you are high enough on the waiting list.
There is no limit on how long you can expect to be on the waiting list.
Single Lea was forced to claim Universal Credit in May last year after she discovered she was pregnant with her sixth child and developed severe pregnancy complications.
“Just because I live in a council house and have to claim UC doesn’t mean I cannot buy my children designer presents for Christmas and create a winter wonderland for them,” she says.
This year Lea has decorations covering every inch of the house, as well as two more trees in the playroom and the porch.
Her front door has a bespoke Candy Cane Lane wreath and giant bow complimenting her festive rooftop display and hundreds of lights which decorate the outside.
In the entryway visitors are greeted with giant hanging sparkling baubles, life-size sweets and a light up Christmas penguin.
My staircase is covered in 140 decorations including red and white candy canes, giant glittering Christmas sweets, bejewelled presents, gingerbread decorations and flashing lights
Lea Carol
She says: “People are always gobsmacked when they see my feature staircase. Anyone can do the same, you just need to be super savvy and DIY skills.
“My staircase is covered in 140 decorations including red and white candy canes, giant glittering Christmas sweets, bejewelled presents, gingerbread decorations and flashing lights.”
But it’s when people enter her living rooms do their jaws really drop.
She says: “The Christmas tree is the centre of the room. This year it is over the top red and white.
“I always have a Christmas shelf which now extends down the side of the main room.”
Here, Lea has life-size elf on the shelf stuffed toys, edible sweet displays for the children, glittering candy canes, huge present boxes and Santa signs.
“For 2024 I have chosen Candy Cane Lane as my main theme,” she explains.
“I started planning it in April.
“I wanted the decorating complete for the start of November and spent a hundred hours being helped by my mum to create this year’s theme.”
Lea has invested in gingerbread themed cushions, blankets and specialist decorations to compliment her theme.
“I have decorated the downstairs playroom. It’s my new baby’s first Christmas. I want only the best for her and her siblings,” she says.
I shop constantly and if I see decorations on sale, I buy them. I might get a bag of baubles on sale for 50p after Christmas and turn them into a Harrods-style display
Lea Carol
Adding to the opulent display Lea includes life-size elves perched on the sofa, 1,500 fairy lights, helium balloon displays, a mile of ribbon and garlands on every wall and the ceiling.
Lea had to stop working in July 2023 due to severe morning sickness and pregnancy complications but that hasn’t stopped her from turning her house into something resembling Santa’s workshop.
Lea’s decorations may look like the work of an interior designer, but the former events planner is entirely self-taught.
Her love affair with festive decs began in 2019, when she couldn’t find a wreath she liked and, after watching hundreds of hours of YouTube tutorials, made her own.
She says: “I wanted it to be over-the-top glam, like you see in the United States. I loved doing it, and it snow-balled from there.
“I have six glue guns ready to go in each main room in case a decoration needs fixing.
“I shop constantly and if I see decorations on sale, I buy them. I might get a bag of baubles on sale for 50p after Christmas and turn them into a Harrods-style display.
How to look after your real Christmas tree
HERE'S what you need to know if you're buying a real Christmas tree:
First thing’s first: buy a pot (if it doesn’t come in one already).
You’ll need to treat your tree just like a houseplant and give it water and attention.
Make sure the container has good drainage – and it’s a good idea to put something underneath to catch the excess water.
Check the soil everyday to make sure it’s not drying out.
If it feels dry, give it some water. If it still feels moist, leave it alone as too much water can also kill a tree.
Also check the LED bulbs on your tree lights aren’t too hot as they could burn it, and keep your tree away from radiators.
When Christmas is over, try planting it in the garden so you can dig it up and use it again next year.
It’s a good idea to take it out of its pot when you do re-plant it though, as large trees don’t survive well in pots as their roots need space to grow.
“I keep a list of items and colour schemes and try to create an amazing new theme every year.
“My decorations are long term investments. What haters don’t realise is I re-use and upcycle and rotate them every three years.”
Lea is savvy with her money and how she manages to get her children designer goods at Christmas and all-year round.
She says: “I have saved, sold on designer clothes the kids no longer wear and gone without giving them the perfect Christmas.
“I have bought McKenzie and Nike tracksuits and the latest iPhones they have asked for.
“They wear the trainers all the time and they’re worth the money.
I am a savvy spender. Invest in my children’s gifts. I can even make money from them when they no longer need them. People should think before they troll
Lea Carol
“My older girls are wearing make-up made this Christmas. Their gran and I have gone over the top on their presents.”
Lea doesn’t scrimp in the run up to Christmas either and has gifted the girls a £240 P. Louise advent calendar, this year’s must have makeup range for teen girls.
She says: “I have spent hundreds on different designer makeup kits for them. They have also asked for iPad and Air pods.
“Unlike my lads, the girls love fashion from Shein. Temu and Primark so I hunted the sales to get them summer and winter outfits.
“Mum went nuts when I bought a super posh £180 red Moncler baby coat for Rae. But she looks amazing in it.”
Lea is also having bespoke red and checked Christmas pyjamas made for her entire family costing her £120.
I got our council house six years ago. It signified a fresh start for my family. It signified independence for me and I refuse to give that up
Lea Carol
She says: “Everyone loves Christmas PJ’s. I found a specialist seamstress on Facebook who makes bespoke PJ’s. Ours will be one of a kind.
“If I post pictures of my family, I will not scroll and see dozens of other families in the same PJ’s. It’s just another way I am making Christmas special.
“I am a savvy spender. Invest in my children’s gifts. I can even make money from them when they no longer need them. People should think before they troll.
“I used to worry about what people think. People jump to awful conclusions because I have six beautiful children and am a single parent, but I am sick of them making judgement calls.
“The trolls don’t realise many of my decorations are five years old and carefully stored and re–used. If more people bought designer clothes and then sold them when their kids outgrew them, they would not face a huge Christmas debt.”
According to Lea the key to her over the top Christmas splurging is planning and savvy buying.
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She says: “I start buying and stockpiling in January in the sales. I use Amazon pre-order discounts and spend hundreds of hours on Vinted, eBay and marketplace looking for bargains.”
“I am lucky I have the decorating skills to use items from Lidl, Aldi, and B&M and make my house look like a Harrods display.
“On social media, vile trolls call me over-the-top and selfish, but I do not care what people think.
“The decorations are lavish because that is the way my kids like them. I may currently be on benefits but why does that stop you going big on Christmas decorations?
“You need to love your council home and have pride in it.”
Lea became a single mum in 2015 after a breakup and had to rebuild her and the children’s lives.
The decorations are lavish because that is the way my kids like them. I may currently be on benefits but why does that stop you going big on Christmas decorations?
Lea Carol
She says: “I got our council house six years ago. It signified a fresh start for my family. It signified independence for me and I refuse to give that up.
“People do not know what I have lived through. I am a survivor. I have always worked.
“When I had to claim UC due to pregnancy complications I refused to be treated like a second-class citizen. I’ve now started studying law part time and aim to make a career out of it.I want to help victims of domestic violence.
“There have been times when I thought the trolls would win. Then I realised I would just make myself a victim again.”
Lea is planning to return to work once Rae is old enough to start nursery and the mum of six then plans to buy her house.
She says: “People will tell me I should be saving now, not spending on Christmas gifts and decorations. It is none of their business.
“When I am in position to buy my house, I will get a discount of more than forty percent because it is a council house. Banks accept that as a deposit.
“In the meantime, I know the gifts I give hold their value. My decorating skills are improving all the time, and my kids are getting valuable life lessons.
“This year the only Grinches in my life are the trolls.”