If all goes according to plan, I'll be spending the end of December visiting faraway loved ones, so decorating my own apartment is one of the projects I had to cross off my holiday to-do list. Luckily, a few of my across-the-street neighbors have big, beautiful Christmas trees covered in sparkly white lights, and they generously leave their curtains open for all — or at least me — to enjoy!
The two trees in question are both classy and restrained, but really I'm a sucker for any sparkly lights. One year, a neighbor covered their fire escape in at least a dozen mismatched strings of lights and I absolutely loved it — and was very sad when the lights were taken down. Can't pretty lights stay up all year? They're inoffensive, reasonably affordable, and, of course, pretty.
Now, I don't want you to think I'm hiding behind my curtains, staring into my neighbors' apartments. I keep my curtains open as long as possible, until it's truly dark, and the neighbors turn on their trees at early dusk, so it works out nicely. There are a few hours when I get to enjoy the festive sight of their trees whenever I happen to pass my window, and when I sit by the window reading I definitely feel like I'm basking in the glow of the wintry cheer. Even if the glow is all the way across the street.
Do you ever just skip the decorations, content to enjoy the sight of your neighbors' sparkly festooning? Maybe we should all take turns decorating, and make a rotating schedule!
(Image: Shutterstock)
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I thought this post was going to be about borrowing your neighbors' spare lights instead of buying your own! There's nothing wrong with looking at other people's decorations. One of our favorite things to do during the holidays is drive into different neighborhoods and see how people are decorated. Some people are very simple and classic while others love their 8 foot tall inflatable santas and still others choose to go all out in really amazing displays.
I'm with PI. I too like to do the drive to my neighbors and see the lights. Love it.
I'm the one that drives to family for the Holidays so I stopped decorating years ago. This year I decided not to buy a tree but to decorate. I found an artifical tree in my stash that is about 1-1/2 feet high. I strung lights on it until I could not go around the little tree any longer and it's so cute so I continued decorating.
I work from home so as soon as I get up, I turn on the tree and the string of lights on my low bookshelf that look like poinsettias. I have tea lights in christmas style candle holders and all the Christmas stuff animals live on the fireplace mantel. I'm really glad I decided to decorate this year! It brings a smile to my heart each day I wake up. Bathroom is even done..
Pi, the drive is a tradition for hubby and I. The past couple of years we take a neighbor who doesn't drive and is somewhat housebound. We make an evening of it. It's something I look forward to every year.
There are a few that has that thing where the lights are sync'd to carols and those are always fun. There's at least one where the carols are on a special frequency you can get on your car radio.
Those of us who do not celebrate Christmas are nevertheless happy to mooch off our neighbors holiday decorations!
I love the festive air, people put so much effort and love into decorating spaces. I walk around my neighborhood and though I dont celebrate christmas, I feel a part of them!! Its lovely:)
It was a holiday tradition for my family growing up. All us cousins (6-7 of us) would pile into my aunt's van and she'd drive us around the neighborhood and the city for over an hour or two just looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve while all the adults back home got some peace and quiet. It's still one of my favorite memories and I hope to do it with my kids someday!
We have a new neighbor (from California) who has put up so many lights, it shines bright into everyone's apartment all night. It's garish and gaudy. I do appreciate neighbors lights, but there is a line that can be crossed.
I myself put up zero carbon footprint decorations. I like to think it's a nice counterpoint to decorations that can only been seen at night and that it's nice to see some during the day as well.
HAHA I have to admit, it's a guilty Muslim pleasure to see all of the holiday decorations, and especially the lights because even when we put up our own during Ramadan, it's nothing compared to what most people do, and certainly not comparable to an entire neighborhood's worth!
This post makes me feel better, we're the only ones on our block with any lights up. We're in one of the most liberal/environmentalist neighborhoods in Seattle, and while we usually consider ourselves in their environmentally conscious camp, Christmas lights are something I have to give in to. It's a tasteful amount, but we definitely stand out in our otherwise dark at night neighborhood.
Hahaha, I will say that the fact that my neighbors directly across the street have a lovely set up that goes up the day after Thanksgiving like clockwork makes me a little bit lazy about getting my lights up. The plan is to do them tomorrow. :)
I can't be bothered to decorate, & don't care for lots of what I see, but there is one outdoor tree in town, an 80 footer (they rent a cherry-picker) that is so beautiful I make a point of driving past it every night from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Sometimes I think it may be a portal to Narnia.
I don't do much, but I probably wouldn't even decorate as much as I do if I didn't have kids. This year, we didn't hang lights outside, but we have a "candle" in each window, and two trees that are visible from the street.
As far as neighbors "mooching" goes though, I'm all for it. Our neighbors got us the leg lamp from the movie A Christmas Story, and we have it right in front of our middle dining room window. They said they thought it would be more fun to look across the street and see it than to have it in their own house!
Err, isn't the point of putting up lights for other people to enjoy them? Holiday cheer? Anyone? Bueller?
I do wish I had more neighbors who decorated, actually. My street looks kind of bare and cheerless around the holidays. I put in a bare minimum of effort -- a string of lights outlining my two front windows on a timer -- and if even a couple more people would do that, it wouldn't look so darn grinchy and cold. Here in Chicago, we have many months of dark winter streets ahead of us, so it's nice to kick off the months of dreariness with a little more lights and sparkle.
Ugh, just thinking about the months of January through April makes me have to go watch Elf.
Yes! I wish more people in my area decorated. I'm in a small condo complex where each unit has either a patio or a deck that more or less faces into the central area, so it'd be fun if they all had lights up. It seems to vary year to year, though. ... And not just during Christmas season: Even something as simple as an undecorated pumpkin set by a neighbor's outside door during Halloween season causes me to smile.
I live on a six-house cul-de-sac. Everyone on the street except our next door neighbors does
SOMETHING. (They are very private -- I'll be kind -- and don't do much of anything outdoors, including garden.) But is a wreath or something too much to ask!? You don't have to be religious (I'm certainly not) to decorate in the Solstice season, just for the fun and glitz and "good will toward all" business... They depress me!
Oh, no, no. I could never make it through the season without the twinkle of lights. Although,I have toned it down a few notches since the kids + g-kids transferred cross country:( Even so, dh & I still take the traditional drive around town to see the lights. And back when we were traveling every holiday season, my home was still aglow. I NEED The Light!
I'm totally with you on guilt-free non-decorating. I have adopted a modified decorating protocol at my small garden home. In addition to limited space I have 2 dogs, so a traditional tree standing on the floor isn't feasible. I inherited my grandmother's ornaments 2 years ago - most of them are fragile glass from the 50's/60's - and my mom and I made 2 ornament trees using styrofoam forms that we covered with a silver metallic fabric. We pinned the ornaments on for a really amazing effect. They fit beautifully on my mid-century room divider so I get "Christmas impact" without having to get all crazy with decorating. My neighbor across the street has grammar-school children and they have 3 inflatable atrocities in their front yard. Which, admittedly, make me smile. I think there are lots of neat things you can do to mark the season. And if what you do brings joy to someone else, then you're succeeding. "There are two ways to spread light - be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."
aagh! The inflatables! A big part of me hates them and I'm firm with the kids that we'll never have one, but our neighbors on one side have a Santa on a motorcycle that goes up right after Thanksgiving. I just can't hate it though, they also do all their other decorating, which is beautiful, and they seem to be the catalyst all the rest of us on the street need to get going with our own decorations. If it wasn't for the only people on our block with an inflatable, there'd probably be a lot less decorating and it'd all happen on Xmas Eve!