"Santa's wh*rehouse": Neighbour lashes out over Christmas lights display
Cheryl Dinse said that when she received a letter generally addressed to an “occupant,” she didn’t know what to expect. So when she opened it and read the first sentence, “it kind of scared me,” she told Daily Hive.
This year, Dinse said she was not looking forward to the holidays, thinking it would be particularly difficult after losing her son recently.
“I just wanted it to go away,” she said.
Although, after keeping herself busy decking out her Sooke, BC, home in lights and ribbons for hours, “I realized that I hadn’t had any sad thoughts of my son.”
“So I thought, ‘Wow, this is really, really helping me get through my days.'”
Photo of Cheryl Dinse decorating her Sooke home. (Cheryl Dinse/Facebook)
When Dinse received the anonymous letter earlier this month, she said she was surprised and insulted by what someone in the neighbourhood had to say.
In capital letters, the handwritten note reads: “Why don’t you give our neighbourhood a break? Haven’t you ever heard that less is more? Your house is the joke of the neighbourhood. It looks more like Santa’s wh*rehouse or a Christmas abortion. Tone it down a bit!”
Marlene Norbury/Facebook
Immediately after reading, Dinse felt upset and feared the Christmas decorations surrounding her home would be vandalized.
“I thought, ‘What do I do about this?'”
Dinse’s home sits along the top of the hill along Firwood Place and can be seen when driving along Grant Road. So when decorated in lights, she said it’s hard to miss.
Cheryl Dinse’s Sooke home during the day. (Cheryl Dinse/Facebook)
Dinse has been decorating her home for Christmas since 2012. And over the years, she’s noticed folks stop to look at her home. However, she said she never would have imagined that someone in the area would be so offended by her home to go as far as writing an angry anonymous letter.
After some time thinking about how to react to the angry neighbour, Dinse shared photos of the note she received in a Facebook group meant for Sooke residents. Since posting online, pictures of her home and the letter have been shared a number of times and hundreds of messages of support for Dinse have poured in.
“That house is gorgeous! The decorating is so lovely and tasteful! Clearly, the letter writer is jealous because they know their house isn’t as nice. Keep up the good work, the nice people appreciate it!” one Facebook user wrote.
“I think your house is beautifully decorated and I love seeing it when I drive by. Thank you for your efforts and please know that it is appreciated by so many. Merry Christmas!” another person said.
And the support has made its way offline, with dozens of locals visiting Dinse’s home to take photos and gawk at the holiday decorations.
Cheryl Dinse/Facebook
Neighbours have even raised money for a Starbucks gift card for Dinse, slipped heartfelt notes under her door, and even gathered outside her home to sing Christmas carols.
The love, kindness, and generosity of the Sooke community are why Dinse plans on never leaving.
“Whoever this Grinch person is, little did they know that it just made my home more exposed now,” Dinse said.
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