By Douglas Whitbread
Kind-hearted locals in Britain’s ‘real-life Quality Street’ have adorned their homes with huge sweet decorations to raise funds for a foodbank this Christmas.
At least 15 families living in Boyce and Bransby Street in Sheffield, South Yorks., have decked out their terraced properties for the third year in a row.
Kayleigh Thomas, 37, was the first to create a Quality Street-themed display at her three-bed home, before getting her neighbours involved in the annual project.
But she says there’s more “quantity and quality” of the huge sweet decorations on show this year than ever before – with more than 300 adorning the properties.
Quality Street sent Kayleigh a one-tonne pile of their chocolate, which she’s been giving out to locals who bring foodbank donations to her doorstep.
And she’s been blown away by the variety of different chocolate-themed houses – while also adding to her impressive display.
Kayleigh said: “The people who have been involved this year have definitely done more. There are as many as 200 or 300 decorations. And we’ve got bunting as well.
“Everybody’s been quite original with their displays. All of them look quite different.
“We felt like having the full splash of colour all over the street just brings it to life. It just looks really cheerful and really festive.
“And I’ve got more decorations than ever. There are more massive sweets than there has ever been, and there’s a really brightly coloured garland as well.
“I’ve definitely gone to town on it this year.”
Kayleigh, who works at an international school, began decorating her terraced home in 2020, using cellophane from her florist to make the oversized chocolate boxes.
The following year, her idea “snowballed” as residents across two adjoining streets teamed up to raise thousands of pounds and pull in sacks of donations for S6 Foodbank, in Sheffield.
This year, she was particularly impressed by a newly arrived family’s sparkly offering – after they made a slogan on their window reading ‘Have a Quality Christmas’.
And she said another long-time resident had even made their own chocolate box-themed hat, which she felt looked “incredible”.
Kayleigh said: “Number 25, who moved in recently, have decorated their fence with tinsel and lights, and then inside they’ve drawn on the windows.
“It says ‘Have a Quality Christmas’, and then their Christmas tree is on show as well. So they’ve really gone for it and it looks amazing.”
“And this year, someone made a wonderful hat – Beryl was wearing it. It’s just incredible.
“All the chocolates are exactly the right shape, with exactly the right wrapping, but bigger. It’s like an easter bonnet, but it’s Christmas chocolate.”
Kayleigh said locals had been planning their displays for months, with the event helping to bring neighbours together.
She added: “On our WhatsApp group there’s always a message saying, ‘Who has the cellophane? Can I have it?’ Everybody has made their own, so that’s been great.”
And Kayleigh said her favourite chocolate had changed since starting the fundraiser three years ago – while joking that she might hold some back for herself.
She said: “I used to like the fudge, which is ‘the pink one’.
“But I’ve got into the toffee fingers, so that’s probably my favourite one now. There are a few around – both on my display and the street.
“I might sneak a few of them, but mostly I’ll be dishing them out to people. I’ve eaten so many of them over the last few years.”
Last year the street brought seven car-fulls of goods to the S6 Foodbank – with people welcome to bring donations to Kayleigh’s door when they visit.
They also previously raised nearly £2000 for the charity through cash donations
Visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/QualityStreetHouse? to donate this year.
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