Woman ‘obsessed’ with Gonks spent £500 decorating her house with them for Christmas

Susan has amassed 30 gonks this year alone. A mum obsessed with gonks has amassed a £500 collection of Christmas-themed ones which fill nearly every corner of her home. Susan Lowden began collecting the egg-shaped dolls with frizzy hair in 2019, and soon found she couldn't see one without buying it. Her 135-doll collection is made up only of festive-themed dolls, based on the Nordic version of Santa Claus, all with long bushy beards and knitted hats. The mum-of-one even has gonk-themed bed sheets, tea cups, a toilet seat cover and cushions. The 52-year-old always buys them in pairs but admits she has to be pickier now and they have to fit her festive red and grey colour scheme. Susan, from Aberdeen, started with small ones but soon added larger ones to her family - including a 3ft ceramic doll called Chris who sits in her kitchen. This year alone she has added 30 gonks to her collection. "I started buying gonks in whatever shop I went in that had them and I was hooked," Susan explained. "They only come out at Christmas. They stay in the loft and spare room for the rest of the year. I think they're calming and you can't see their faces so they're not looking at you." Susan said gonks are "peaceful little things". The gonk collector admits she used to name them all but now has too many to keep up. "I have one called Chris in the kitchen who's a 3ft ceramic gonk. "My favourite ones are a pair I bought from Dobbies garden centre in Aberdeen and they are a boy and a girl holding two halves of a heart that fit together." Susan said as a consequence of her gonk collection, she can't have a big Christmas tree because it won't fit in the living room. "I really want to buy a 5ft tall gonk but it's £165 - I keep going back hoping it will go in the sale," Susan said. Her 26-year-old daughter calls her a "crazy gonk lady" but Susan doesn't plan to stop collecting them anytime soon. Her favourite places to buy gonks are the Range, B&M, Dobbies garden centre, Home Bargains and Aldi. "It's only me and my husband Graeme, 58, at home so we need to fill the space," she said. "I just love gonks. They make me happy and they're not doing any harm." Related links:

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