It was Christmas Eve, 1989, when the Garofano family were given unimaginable news.

At just five years old, their youngest Son was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer – Orbital Rhabdomyosarcoma.

John Garofano, 68, said spending Christmas Day with the family in hospital was tough, but he was grateful for the support they received.

“I was in hospital with him when this lovely elderly couple came into the room with a bag full of toys – it brought tears to my eyes!” Mr Garofano said.

It was a Christmas miracle when his Son was discharged from hospital, and so Mr Garofano started his Christmas Lights campaign to fundraise for the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation.

“We wanted to give back to the hospital after how much support they provided during such a difficult time."

It takes Mr Garofano two and a half months to transform his Roselands home into a Christmas extravaganza, which boasts around 250,000 lights.

And thanks to a Costco theme a few years back, the display has grown to include giant Christmas characters including a koala, kangaroo, Mickey Mouse, Olaf and more.

It’s a whole family affair, with the youngest Son dressing up as Santa and all the grandchildren also getting involved.

“Since starting our Christmas lights, we’ve been able to contribute over $180,000 for the Lights for Kids Campaign.”

Mr Garofano’s eldest daughter, Filomena Collins, said her dad takes immense pride in setting it all up.

“And every year he gets to celebrate his birthday on December 1 by switching the lights on!” Ms Collins said.

Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Bilal El-Hayek said the display is famous amongst locals and attracts people to visit our City.

“It’s not surprising that they won the votes of the community and took out the ‘highly commended’ award in our annual Christmas Lights Competition,” Mayor El-Hayek said.

“The Garofano’s are just one of the wonderful families spreading festive cheer in our community. I encourage everyone to check out our online map and visit the impressive displays across our City.”

For more information about the CBCity Christmas Lights Competition, visit cb.city/ChristmasLights

The 2024 CBCity Christmas Lights Competition winners:

𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐣𝐚𝐫 / 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝

• Winner – 13 Austin Crescent, Belfield
• Runner up – 6 Second Street, Ashbury
• Highly Commended – 8 Clisdell Ave Canterbury

𝐁𝐮𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚 / 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝

• Winner – 40 Phillip Street, Roselands
• Runner up – 31 Bungalow Road, Roselands
• Highly commended – 124 Karne St Nth Roselands

𝐁𝐮𝐧𝐲𝐚 / 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐛𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝

• Winner – 15 Whittle Avenue, Milperra
• Runner up – 27A Norman Street, Condell Park
• Highly commended – 26 Harcourt Ave East Hills

𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐚 / 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝

• Winner – 43 Surrey Avenue, Georges Hall
• Runner up – 1-18 Fifth Avenue, Condell Park
• Highly commended – 99 Birdwood Road, Georges Hall

𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐢 / 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐝

• Winner – 105 Rawson Road, Greenacre
• Runner up – 9 Marina Crescent, Greenacre
• Highly commended – 28 Hixson St Bankstown