22 December,2011 04:32 PM IST | | ANI
A family in Australia has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records after decorating their home with the largest number of Christmas lights.
David and Janean Richards, from Australia's capital Canberra, decorated their home with an astonishing 331,038 different lights.
The display had to be turned on for at least 10 minutes, and filmed in a video, which was sent off to London for verification.
Following the switch-on ceremony earlier in December, the family has now been declared the official record-holders.
The annual Christmas display has been growing larger since Mr Richards started it four years ago, and this year's show required hundreds of hours of work.
In the end it included more than 18 miles of lights, as well as 15,000 cable ties and a 60ft Christmas tree at its centre.
"I did it for my kids initially and then it just got bigger and bigger," the Daily Mail quoted Richards as telling Canberra Times.
"I remember one year a mother and child came through the driveway thinking no one was around and they started dancing to the music - it's all about putting a smile on people's faces," he said.
The display is being used to raise money for SIDS and Kids, a charity which aims to reduce mortality among infants and new mothers.
Richards, who refuses to tell anyone - including his wife - how much the lights cost, says this year is the last in which he will put up the record-breaking display.
He plans to pass on the lights to someone else who wants to fundraise for the charity.
