When I was a kid, my mom put as much work into her Christmas decorating as any department store. Maybe more, considering she had two kids squabbling in the background. There were garlands and wreaths and bows and bells and tiny towns nestled in snow. Santas and sparkly lights abounded. We even had a hand-carved olive-wood nativity set that we brought home from Bethlehem.
Those decorations dazzled me all through childhood. I couldn't wait to come home from school and sit near the Christmas tree and take it all in. Oh sure, my mom went a little overboard and she wouldn't get hired as a tasteful professional holiday decorator (a side gig for many design professionals come Christmas). But her family loved it. I was always a little mopey when she took the decorations down and packed them back into the attic. It was the least merry day of the year!
When it comes to holiday decorating, I say more is more. String up so many lights that your neighbor gives up in defeat, like the guy who spelled out "Ditto" on his house and started an Internet meme. Most people admire Ditto guy's cleverness. I wonder what the house next door looks like on the inside!
I write this, of course, knowing that I would never follow my own advice. My decorations are pretty — all soft twinkling lights and white and silver accents — but hardly giddiness-inducing. Maybe that's why I fantasize about maxing out my credit card at Michael's on all things Christmasy.
What about you? Do you keep it tasteful or do you really go for it?
Image: NBC Chicago
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LOL @ that pic! Awesome
My budget keeps my decorating minimalist. I have a small tree and hand-me-down ornaments. However, if money was no object, I would go straight up ridiculous. Seriously, my Christmas lights would make my house look like Fairy Land.
Ugh, horrible and wastefull. Luckily its still very rare in Switzerland but there are always some victims of this terrible American fashion. Yes, children probably love it, but since when is the taste of children deciding what your home decor is?
if that photo is for real, it's wonderful !!! Made me smile. I still like to take a drive with children to certain streets where the lights are artfully done. It brings a kind of happiness --well, one that children have and adults lose sometimes.
fulinlin sounds like a lot fun.
My holiday decorating had always been somewhat restrained and low-key - lots of muted colors and natural materials. But now that we have a young son, I call our house a technicolor Christmas! Kids go crazy for that stuff and it's a fun way to offset the doldrums of short/cold days. It's only a few weeks out of the year, why not get a little crazy? Now, back to building my tabletop Christmas village...
Now that's originality! Great photo!
lol Love that pic too!
I prefer MarciaR's taste with delicate colors and natural materials. I really like vintage like deco. I'm not keen on over glowing front-porches as illustrated by the pic.
Love the photo. I used to not go overboard but decorate with the kids in mind. This year after putting up half of what I used to I realized I don't like all the cluttery stuff and that same day took it all down. Now just have the tree and some pine branches. I'm even considering not considering not decorating the tree. Maybe just a string of lights?
It's pretty just as it is.
That photo is great.
That's what I'd do if I had a house next to an insane Christmas decorator.
lol babyengine, my thoughts exactly.
We're pretty restrained any year and this year, due to crazy making work for both of us, I am in my minimalist stage. After I put the light son the tree yesterday, I just wanted to leave it there; the hubster wanted some decorations so we did add our natural ornaments--glass pinecones and acorns and some cardinal ornaments. That is enough for this year.
If I lived in a house and had the budget, I'd go all out too! When it comes to Christmas decorations, it's NEVER too much!
How to tell when you've done too much: your circuit breakers / fuse boxes give up. Then, remove one set of lights, and you're good!
I will note though that right now I have exactly 1 string of lights up, and it's one I use year-round as mood lighting. I just haven't found a good place for more in my current rental, or a safe place to keep my ornaments out of my cats' reach. Hopefully inspiration's hammer will swing by before Christmas.
I really don't like all the decorating until I actually get things out and start. This year my oldest got to put the ornaments on the tree all by herself she was really proud of herself. We painted the salt-dough ornaments that we made last year and hung on another tree. My budget keeps me from going crazy, almost everything I have is hand-me-downs, but I cherish them because they brought such joy when I saw them. I do think that if you have kids you're going to let them have fun with the decorating, so they can have that silly overflowing joy feeling.
Go for it! For the first time in our holiday decorating history we have said good bye to white lights for our tree and gone with mini coloured lights on a dimmer. Love that the dimmer makes all the colours a bit more muted. Christmastime is about fun. It is permission to be a bit gaudy and over the top with your decorating. Our tree is filled with homemade decorations from our kids and one of a kinds we have collected over the years. I love the look of themes trees but then they always have a bit of a retail cold look to them. I say go for it... have fun. In no time it will be the new year and our homes will be back to business as usual.
Our house is small, and we have little else in the way of decorations but a tree, but the glow from that tree alone warms the whole house. We set it up in the front window of our living room, so you can see it from the street outside, or from almost any area in the house because of our open floor plan. All the festive fun of the holidays with the simplicity that retains the focus of the season.
I will be the first to admit that I have been fairly lazy lately, so the thought of going overboard on the exterior decor is way too overwhelming - however, I absolutely love driving around my town and looking at the lights!
I don't do a lot--just the tree and a wreath on the front door. Just too many other things to do and my boyfriend isn't into Xmas all that much. I do like the sparkly stuff, though, and have lots of bright, colorful, sparkly ornaments on the tree and as many lights as I can fit on there. My favorite ornament right now is a hot pink glass octopus (with glitter and googly eyes!) that I bought last year. : D
I like a more subdued style myself, but I've NEVER begrudged my neighbors who really get into the holiday decorating spirit.
For some of these folks, it's the highlight of their year. And it's one of the few times they can break out of the mold and do something creative and different. (Even if their "creative" effort is buying a lot of things and putting it up - well, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, and I'm not going to knock someone for trying)
If you find yourself feeling grinchy, just take a deep breath and remember it's only temporary, and the lights will be gone soon.
I love that our block is on board with holiday lights - our son loves walking by or driving up the block an extra time on the way home. I am always sad to drive through streets where no one has lights up. Same in the summer, our block always has the nicest pots and plantings.
I do try to keep the decorations to one area of the inside of the house, we just have a tree and our mantel decorated in the living room and a couple of other things. I try to aim for festive and stop short of cluttery or cheesy.
I like touches here and there. Haven't put up a christmas tree in years. I love to decorate for christmas though, in my style. But I love, love, love to go out at least one night, driving around to see all of the local "more is more" neighborhoods and take in all the lights and over-the-top decorations...and when I go back to my humble, peaceful abode, I'm a very happy camper!
Great photo!
@Kaete, true, not into doing it myself, but I get a kick out of those who do.
It was a big thing in Ireland a few years ago (when folk had money they thought they could throw around) so it divided people regarding 'taste', some saw it as crass, some saw it as harmless season expression, and some saw it as essential... that is untill money got tight and people realised that our energy bills were higher than the United States.
The photo's brilliant and reminds me of one family who used to really go over board every year. They had their dead son's name spelt out in lights 'Fono' on top of their house!!! We used to call them 'The Fono Dodd memorial illuminations'.
Personally, I hate when folk put up their decoration's too soon. I try and leave it to the last week before Christmas and then take them down at 'Epiphany', 'Twelfth night', 'Little Christmas', "Nollaig na mbán'.... that is, Jan 6th. I couldn't live in 'Christmas land' for longer than three weeks so it kills me when I see decorations in November!! I'm numb to the season when it actually comes around then :(.
It is my husband and my first christmas as a married couple and we don't have very much in the way of decorations. A few striped tea towels (from my wedding shower), a little snowman statue (a white elephant gift at last year's family party), and a garland I bought at crate and barrel last week (we have all that wedding money!) make up all we have. That is, except for a box full of christmas ornaments. I spent last spring completing my degree abroad in Scotland, and my husband spent a few months for work training in Switzerland. We agreed that wherever we went we would pick up a christmas tree ornament (or key chain, or large charm, anything that a ribbon could be added to to hang on the tree). We both did a lot of traveling during our time there, and turns out we were able to fully cover our first christmas tree with memories of our travels. (as well as a few we have both taken from our parents and have been given by friends). Next year we definitely need a bigger tree!
Thus, the vast majority of our christmas decorations are memories of places or people. I know I never want to change that, so I've decided to let our collection grow as it will. Who cares if your holiday decor is tasteful and color coordinated for the three weeks it is displayed when each piece you unbox and unwrap brings back exploring a castle, or tiem spent with your grandparents?
I don't like the light pollution. That and tons of plastic ornaments just makes me shudder.
I hang oranges with cloves tied with red ribbons in the house (and some years gingerbread cookies as well). Have christmas stars in the windows, advent candles on the kitchen table, and a wreath on the door. We don't bring in the christmas tree and the full array of ornaments until the week before christmas.
I do love my friends old house though, where her mother has a collection of santas that cover all surfaces possible. There is hardly room to sit for the soft toys in their sofa! But those things are loved each and every one and to me that makes all the difference.
I love Christmas lights, and love admiring it when people go crazy with the holiday decorations. My own taste leans toward the more natural/classic/classy/Martha though. Pine cones, boughs, holly, acorns and a simply decorated tree. This will probably change when I have kids though.
I remember growing up there was a large white New England style farmhouse in my town and the lights visible from the outside were kept at just one single candle burning in every window, with a simple pine wreath on the door and pine boughs wrapped along the fence. It was absolutely stunning - and once I'm out of a rental, it will be my Christmastime decorating inspiration.
Even if I had the money, I don't think I'd go too nuts. But I like visiting those crazy neighborhoods with all the lights, hot chocolate in hand!
@ velsa, i agree.
consumerism is NOT christmas spirit. all those plastics, energy consumption, light pollution....
a nightmare. it looks like someone tied bombs to fairies and they exploded all over the house.
not to mention christimas isn't universal, i can understand a wreath, or a string of white lights, but save it for the inside of the house.
Ditto @Kaete.
I love that picture, perfect humor!!!
It’s only couple weeks out of the entire year, I say go for maximum decoration madness, just as long as its lights are not aimed at my bedroom window. Sure I’m all grown up and my décor is minimalist with white lights, candles, silvery ornaments, and garland and wreaths I make myself, but the little kid in me wants to see my entire neighborhood look like fairies went on a rampage. Admit it, all that gaudy goofy glory is just what the doctor order to lift the winter blahs and blues.
And it's not "wasteful" when the lights and decor gets used again year after year after year ....
Where I live (in very broke Ireland) many of the neighbours still do go mad with the exterior lights, but as a concession to the economy they seem to be putting them up later, to save money on the electricity bills. Some are nicer than others but I love seeing it all, including the one house that is so spectacular in past years they used to do mini-bus tours to see it. Winding home through my housing estate on the bus after dark is amazing.
I can't afford outside lights myself and with my single glazing the condensation makes me fear electrocution with anything electrical hanging in the windows so I've had to make do with fake snowflakes. Just hope the neighbours don't think I'm the grinch!
We always return to the States to spend Christmas Eve/Day with my family, so we don't even bother with a tree.
So far (this is our 2nd Christmas married), we just hang up some twinkle lights from the tree that covers the front patio. It looks lovely :) Next year I'll probably get a few things for the living room as well.
That being said, I'm really glad there are people in this world that go all out!!! In my hometown of Richmond, the paper publishes addresses for a "Tacky Light Tour". I hope we get to go see a few this year!
Ugh, you know what? I have cancer and seeing some beautiful Christmas lights at this time of year pumps my nostalgia and lifts my spirits. Seeing some campy, over-the-top lights can do the same thing.
To anyone who's complaining that lights are wasteful and (pejoratively) American, I can only say that I'm glad not to be spending my holiday with you and your snark. Rant over.
Amen Akay!
I think the thought of just how angry my Christmas lights are making some grinches may be almost as fun as the lights themselves :D
I do like to keep my decorating tasteful, but I hold nothing against those who go all out. And if you hate it, you have the rest of the year to look at your dark colorless street.
To those worried about power consumtion:
We have been using LED Christmas lights outdoors for 3 years now. Less than 10 watts for a string of 50, and the colours are much more subdued and "classy" IMO. We light a big (4 ft diameter) wreath on our front wall plus our porch railings for less power than a single fluorescent light bulb.
And I love the "ditto" house! :)