The little drummer boy sits beside Frosty the Snowman, the sunlight bouncing off his pointy orange nose. Next to him is a nativity set and a family of skiers all lined up waiting for Santa to arrive.

Unlike traditional Christmas scenes adorning homes across Kiama, these decorations are made using recycled golf balls and tees.

Kiama Golf Club member Jane Wall has combined her two passions, golf and craft to capture the spirit of Christmas. And those lucky enough to know her are likely to have a Christmas Wall Ball on their mantelpiece or window sill.

“Last year I gave my neighbours a family of golf ball skiers,” says Jane. “They are mad snow bunnies.”

Jane also gifted her sister a special Christmas golf ball she created using their mother and grandmother’s costume jewellery.

“Mum passed away in July and left us all this jewellery that was hers and her Mum’s,” explains Jane.

“I wasn’t going to wear it, but I wanted to keep it, to honour their memory so I’ve incorporated it into the costumes I make to decorate the golf balls.

“That way Mum’s still a part of our Christmas.”

All of the Christmas golf ball decorations made by Jane use recycled materials and have a special meaning for those she gifts them to.

Her latest Christmas creation is a Canterbury Bulldogs-themed golf ball for a friend who lost her brother recently. It will sit proudly atop his grave.

A former pro golfer in the 1990s, Jane worked as a police officer when she wasn’t on the European tour. Like all first responders she was trained to run towards danger, not away from it.

Jane’s job as a police officer embodies the bravery and selflessness we all witnessed watching the horrific footage from Sunday’s Bondi shootings when 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl, were killed by two gunmen.

She also worked as an Ambulance NSW Triple Zero operator, supporting people through their most harrowing moments.

Frontline work comes at a cost and Jane is among the one in 10 Australians who have experienced PTSD, with first responders at even higher risk due to repeated exposure to trauma.

“Policing was what I loved and I was good at it,” says Jane “I was told by my superiors that I cared too much but in this job you can never care enough and unfortunately some of the things you see never leave you.”

The golf ball decorations are one way Jane manages her PTSD, a lifelong condition that can knock the wind out of her sails at any given moment.

She has avoided the news since the devastating massacre, the worst in the nation’s history since Port Arthur. She knows the images of two active shooters, police running towards gunfire and people fleeing for their lives, will trigger her PTSD.

In her years as a serving officer, Jane saw the worst of society. Now she looks for the best, choosing to focus on the things that bring her happiness.

While the nation was glued to their screens watching the horror at Bondi Beach unfold Jane was busy fossicking through her local recycling centre for pots and bits and bobs to create a fairy garden.

“I do it because it makes me smile, and it makes the people I give my creations to smile as well. You need to find those small moments of joy when things are at their worst,” she says

Playing golf - she has an excellent handicap of two - and crafting provided an escape from her worst days at work and kept her mind busy during the Covid pandemic.

When the PTSD was its worst Jane knew she was in “real trouble” when she couldn’t even play golf; one of the things she loved most in the world.

She credits the ladies golfers at Kiama with “pulling her up and out of a black hole where I would just beat myself up over everything”.

Jane slowly recovered her confidence and started playing again.

“The ladies got me back on the course, helped me get my game back on track,” says Jane.

“But without that support, from my partner, the golf ladies and having the game and the golf ball Christmas decorations for therapy, who knows where I would be.”

So if you have received a Wall Ball Christmas decoration, know that it is so much more than a quirky present. It’s a reminder that a kind word, supportive hug, or a simple smile can go a long way this silly season. It can change lives.