Australian family hangs 502,165 Christmas lights for world record

The Richards family property in Canberra, Australia, flickers like Santa's village, bathing awed onlookers in glowing reds and greens.

The spectacular display has earned the family their second world record for the most lights on a residential property, with — count 'em — 502,165 Christmas lights, according to Sky News.

David and Janean Richards told the Canberra Times they spent many, many hours stringing up the lights, which measure more than 50 kilometres, to raise money for the charity SIDS and Kids.

But the sparkling monument to Christmas cheer also became a wedding venue for David's cousin Luana, who married her fiancé Patrick Cormac at the home on Saturday.

[ Related: Thai children don red and green for human Christmas tree record ]

Of course, the display also won the Richards back their Guinness World Record, a title they first earned in 2011 with a display of 331,038 lights that took more than four years to build, according to Guinness.

In 2012, the Gay family in Lagrangeville, NY, beat the record with 346,283 lights they had also synced to 154 songs.

Charity, competition and a love of the holidays drove the Richards to another attempt this year, and the result has visitors staring open-mouthed and snapping pictures.

It's pricey to flick on all of those lights for the season; The Associated Press reported the estimated electricity cost would be $2,300 a month, which a green energy company had agreed to pay.