Christmas decorations

I always liked Christmas decorations. My father used to put up the big lights that would eventually burn your house down if you weren’t careful. I’m not as interested in decorating as he was though.

Last year, someone who thought they knew where I lived said “Your house looks really nice.” I guess they realized that I had no idea what they were talking about so they added “with the Christmas lights…”. I thought for a moment. We put up a lighted wreath on the side of the house, a small tree (and I mean small, a two foot potted fake tree with a string of lights) and one other wreath. We liked it, but it certainly didn’t catch your eye from the street.

I paused for a few seconds and then had the sense to ask “Where do you think we live?”. That’s when we worked out that the house they were talking about is this cute little Victorian house about a block away from mine, where they put out lights and decorations for almost every holiday. Seriously. Pink flowers for Valentine’s Day. They’re retired, so more power to them.

Last year some neighbors of ours hired someone to come in and put their lights up. It looked nice, and the thought of not having to untangle lights, and even worse, put all the lights away after the season is over was enticing.

But what really is the point? Let’s skip all the “Jesus is the reason for the season” slogans. Let’s just say it’s ok if you want to decorate your house for Christmas and put up lots of lights. The retired couple down the block get a lot of fun out of doing their decorating. People stop by and say “that’s really pretty.” You might admire a neighbors yard and say “Wow, that took a lot of work.” If they hire someone to do it maybe you could say “Hey, nice job finding even more ways to spend money during the holidays.”

I’m beginning to sound like Andy Rooney.

I did enjoy a Christmas parade tonight and the Jackson State Community College jazz choir, Innovations, put me in the Christmas spirit this weekend. The site adventconspiracy.org has me thinking of other things that might help me be less grumpy this year. If the Grinch can grow to embrace the season, maybe I can too.