Cheryl Dinse has been bringing holiday cheer to her neighbourhood by decorating her house for more than a decade, but a Grinch is trying to ruin her Christmas spirit.
On Wednesday, she opened her mailbox in Sooke and found a letter. But this was no present.
“When I opened it up, I kind of was shocked at first,” she said. “A little bit fearful that somebody is angry at me.”
The unsigned letter, addressed to the occupant of the home, said: “Why don’t you give our neighbourhood a break. Haven’t you heard that less is more? Your house is the joke of the neighbourhood. It looks more like Santa’s whorehouse or a Christmas Abortion. Tone it down a bit!”
A friend decided to post the letter on social media, calling the writer a “horrible, rude, ignorant bully.”
The post has been commented on and shared hundreds of times, with many people reaching out to Dinse to thank her for her holiday spirit.
“People are commenting, spending the time to send me a lovely note. It’s unbelievable,” she said.
Neighbours and others, far and wide, are writing to Dinse telling her how much they love her decorations.
“Put this letter straight in the trash,” wrote one person. “What a grinch,” wrote another, who called the Dinse house “absolutely beautiful.”
Other fans suggested that Dinse add more lights and play Christmas music.
“This house brings me so much joy every time I drive by,” said another person.
Decorating the house is a tradition she and her husband started in 2012, Dinse said, adding it takes them three weeks to set up.
“The kids just love it. I’ve had cars go by when I’ve been up on the roof, attaching the reindeer and kids in the back seats just laughing and having a great time,” she said. “So I really enjoy doing it for them.”
Decorating the house this year also helped Dinse cope with the loss of her son, who died in September, she said. “I look at what I’ve done for the day and realize that my thoughts haven’t been focused on losing my son, so it’s been really helpful.”
She said she is not letting the letter writer crush her holiday spirit and encourages people to come by and view her house on Firwood Place.
“I guess I will just keep on doing it,” she said. “And I’ll keep making it even bigger.”
