A grandmother from Swansea has broken a festive world record for the largest collection of Christmas baubles.
Sylvia Pope, fondly known as Nana Baubles, is the proud owner of 1,760 festive ornaments – a total recognised by the Guinness World Records – but hopes to reach 2,000 by the new year.
Mrs Pope, who turns 79 on Boxing Day, spends months hanging the decorations every year, starting in September to ensure the house is complete in time for the festive season.
The bauble collection includes a wide range of ornaments from around the world, from memorable trips to Harrods in London, Macy’s in New York and from her local shops in Swansea.
Favourites include a lobster, hamburger, Big Ben, Disney characters and sentimental baubles made by her family and friends.
But her number one bauble is a Royal Doulton Royal Jubilee celebration edition, representing her “love” of the Queen who she thinks is “wonderful”.
She said her collection is an “enjoyment”, adding: “It is exciting to see all the different types you can buy.”
Meanwhile, Adam Wide, from Hastings, has landed the title for the largest collection of Christmas brooches.
The 68-year-old, who currently lives in Berlin, Germany, has been building his 7,929-strong collection of brooches since 1984.
He said his “obsession” started by accident when he came across a “beautiful brooch” when browsing at a Christmas market.
Since then his hobby is now worth a whopping £350,000 – with his most valuable being a plique-a-jour brooch made of platinum, diamonds, and rubies.
Brooches have been a fashion staple since the Victorian era and Mr Wide’s collection catalogues works from every decade since.
“One of the great things about collecting brooches is that it is accessible to everyone,” said Mr Wide.
“You can start off as I did, buying just a small brooch in Copenhagen and before you know it you have over 8,000.
“As soon as I started collecting, I was obsessed – it is fascinating.”
Mrs Pope and Mr Wide’s collections join historical festive-themed records including the longest wish list to Santa, consisting of 124,969 wishes in 2017, and the largest Christmas snowflake ornament measuring 3.2m (10ft) in 2019.
“We all need a bit of yuletide cheer right now, and records like these really put a smile on your face,” said Craig Glenday, editor in chief at Guinness World Records.
“Adam and Nana Baubles clearly have an infectious passion for Christmas and have created their own record-breaking winter wonderlands at home.
“It’s wonderful to be able to share their joy of the festive season with the rest of the world.”
