What is it With Boring Outdoor Holiday Lighting?

Certainly an interesting "take" on this subject! There have been seven votes already, and I was one of them. However, there are only two total posts in this thread, and I am the author of both!

Tonight I drove through several subdivisions in the Dallas area, hoping to find a 'shortcut' through to my home. I was astonished how many homes are lit exactly as I described! I found a few new variations: 1. The lawn "outlined" in a solid light cable, 2. Red, white and blue lights wrapping bushes, hedges, and tree trunks in solid color bands, and 3. the ever-popular "icicles" that I now see featured in bright royal blue or red!

One home had 11 oak trees completely banded in clear twinkle lights up about 12 feet, giving the effect of unsteady columns that were not correctly founded in the ground. One home had red/white/blue "columns" and about two "disco balls" suspended from each oak tree's lower limbs. One home was a carbon-coby of Terry Redlin's overblown Victorian two story, with icicle series lights on every gable and eave, with four tableaux, lighted with flood lamps of the manager scene, peace doves, angels, and Santa. There was so much going on there, I could only gasp with .... 'amazement'????

Ok, please tell me I am not the only Grinch in this cyberforum. There have got to be others that feel aghast at what they see their neighbors do to "celebrate"!! Sadly, there is new meaning to the term "trailer-trash" for me - these are the folks moved "up" one generation from there? Archie Bunker would fit right in. Please comment.

Hey, in my neighborhood, we have a guy who has Santa's sleigh being pulled by six pink plastic flamingos!

Re: What is it With Boring Outdoor Holiday Lighting?


Cobalt - i'm not sure what you think is traditional to the Christmas season. If i were to follow my mother's family traditions, decorations would simply be plain white candles - so simple white lights would be quite traditional. I don't think there are any 'rules' for what makes a Christmas decoration a Christmas decoration. We probably all have family traditions that make things Christmassy (or seasonal, or whatever) to us. I have a friend who decorates almost exclusively with Cola collectibles - it doesn't 'feel' right to me, but it's been her family's Christmas theme for close to 40 years - her mom loved Coca Cola. I suspect that anyone who doesn't decorate with Coca Cola stuff is having a barren Christmas to her eye.

A classic example of different strokes ...

I think of outdoor Christmas decorations as "the festival of lights", with light being the operative word, not the color. I love driving through my neighborhood and seeing all the twinkling. I'm especially fond of trees with white lights, but have no objection to porches, etc. I don't think it's a conspicuous consumption thing... I mean, it must be for some people, but that's not the impression I get around here. It's just kinda warm and cheery and festive.

I really enjoy a festive display, even finding amusement and entertainment in some of the tackier ones. We do some colored-light outlining of the front facade of the house, and a colored--light-and-evergreen-garland, sort of twining over the arbor that frames the side door (which is the primary entrance) and twisting around and among the evergreen trees and shrubs growing alongside the house. Its not "Theme Oriented", and sports no dioramas or tableaus, but it is Seasonally Cheery and "Christmasy". It is also a royal pain to dissassemble, something which usually takes place somewhere around the occurrence of January's Worst Blizzard.



timber

Tonight's dog walk was quite amusing, thinking about cobalt's question. There is everything possible in sight, from frogs in Christmasy outfits, to simple outlined trees, to houses that look like they've just landed on the planet with all the lights and doodads all over them.

I recalled my parents' visit here about 3 weeks ago. As i was walking them back to the subway, my father and i simultaneously commented on the tasteful simplicity of the display at one house, while my mother was oohing and aahing over another that had EVERYTHING, including some kind of motion detector that caused 'music' to sound from somewhere on the property as we approached.

and then i recalled quinn's joy, on another thread, when she found out JerryR is arranging for her to have a silver tree.

no rules, rule.

My wife and I love the lights. We go through many neighborhoods looking every year. I don't really care what color; just the fact the people had enough spirit to make the effort makes me happy.

"Spirit" this year in Dallas appears to be split to three lighting schemes: 1. outlined homes and light-wrapped tree trunks

2. any combination of lights, large nylon 3-d figures, and folderol

3. a wreath stuck on a door and/or some version of a yard deer with or without lights (choice of bundled branches deer or white metal deer strung up with tiny white lights. Head may or may not be wired to nod back and forth...)

It was funny last night to see rows of identical small apartment buildings dark and undecorated, with the one on the end lit from lawn to tip of the roof. Every window outlined in patterned colors of three vertical colors , giant snowman perched on the porch roof, red twinkle lights in white metal displays planted in the lawn from street to door, rooftop lights, every window some window 'cling'... In this affluent area, I bet there is some "talk", lol! One sees 'nothing at all in the dark' and then suddenly, Vegas! And back to "nothing".

Around the corner, a delightful upscale, gated apartment complex very tastefully decorated with garlands in swags and burgundy ribbons. All the maple trees where completely wrapped in lights BUT a switch that was so beautiful! Each major branch was wound from trunk to upreaching tip! With a few low-sodium bright white lamps spotlighting a few green leaved branches. They must have outlined perhaps 50 or more branches per tree. Stunning in it's expertize and like a magical fairyland tree.

Another home, every single part of the lawn and three sides of the house and the whole roof lit with mats, ropes, netting, icicles, and wrapped tree trunks - every bit red, white, or blue. No semblance of connection to "Christmas", but the ultimate is "my US flag is bigger than yours"?

hehehehe...I love my silver tree cuz its so corny! I would have never bought it for myself, I tend to be more traditional with a tree and that I think it what makes it so very grand.
Jerry has giant Polar Bears in his yard so, I think Im EXTRA traditional in comparison but, Ive seen them and they are cute.
I really do like the homes with lots of lights and stuff all over but, you know just to look at while driving by.
The more elegant and simplistic homes I think gives a feeling of peace while the crazy homes gives joy...and this time of year it all goes together.

Now I find myself moved from Dallas to Arizona, and with the move, a change in outdoor Christmas decor. So far, I see a great deal less outdoor lighting here, and little conformity. A lot with live trees featured flocked trees in mauve, lilac and blue - they were actually "pretty", so I wasn't 'grossed out', even!

One thing I really enjoyed on my travel of 1,000 miles was the view of Albuquerque, NM from the western edge of the city, going up the mountains. As I looked back, the amazing lights the city displays were even more "twinkly" or "sparkling" due to the number of homes with simple clear bulbs in outlined roofs or with clear "icicle" strands. There, it seems as if a star galaxy is come to earth and I did feel a particular holiday thrill...

By the by: Best wishes for all of you this season that humanity looks for "peace on earth and goodwill to all"!

Peace, love and hugs to you this fine Christmas Eve, Cobalt. Be well.