i've been thinking about driving around the neighborhood some evening and taking pictures of the various light displays, then having people rate them on here.  you know we could do "overly tacky", "tacky", "plain gaudy", and on down to "understated elegance".  need better categories tho.

I think you'd luv my bush all lit up.

We have no house lights up this year. I felt it was important that when we finally owned a home, we advertise that we didn't have to ask a landlord for permission to hang lights. Anyway, we never got 'round to it this year, which is probably for the best as I don't want to hurt hubby's feelings by telling him I really *hate* those icicle lights.

*sigh*

But the tree is pretty.

I'm with you about New Year's Eve. I'm counting the days to getting to kiss this year adios!

What about retro-tacky? Where it's intentional? And only inside the house, not visible to outsiders?

I love New Years / Eve too. The fireworks display in the City is always great to watch, and this year - I think its 24 HOUR FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT ! I also like champagne. :)

Yay.

Those gaudier cheapo Christmas decorations are likely to be families that let their children decorate and let them pick out the decorations too, lol.  I personally agree though.  I much more love the simple white lights and the blue lights that have become popluar the last couple of years, than the multi-color extravaganza that's been used in the past.

Love the quote, btw.

I heard today on our community radio station that Walmart now has over 35% of retail sales in the US. This can't be healthy. Our country is on the verge of fascism, and already there in some respects. Christmas has been co-opted.

i feel you on this christmas business. and i feel you even more on the champagne. in fact, it reminds me of a qreat quote from the film "25th Hour" (you may enjoy this) before he is sent off to prison Ed Norton's character holds up his glass and says "Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends" there's a New Years toast for you.

i dont have a tree up either.

i hate being broke

but i understand your notion of new years and fresh start.

if only it were that simple

right?

I only have ONE Christmas decoration up so far this year. I just can't seem to get in the Christmas Spirit. my whole attitude this year is Bah Humbug. I'm much more looking forward to the New Year. After all, next year just has to be better than this year, right?!? I am hoping to go see Christmas lights, but other than that, no biggie.

By the way, I found your site through VelvetGlove! I happened to see your link on her site. At any rate, take care and Happy Holidays!

On my street, some people living on the second floor of a triplex have sticking out of their front balcony some kind of hot(?) air balloon in the form of Santa in his sleigh, with a reindeer. The whole thing is about eight to ten feet long, is lighted from the inside, and hangs in mid air by the virtue of a little fan pushing air in it and which we can hear walking on the sidewalk below. Until an hour ago, this was definitely the tackiest Christmas decoration I had ever seen, followed closely by a Chrismas tree working on the same principle and planted (?) in the back yard of the same triplex, at ground level. But these have been pushed aside by the tackiest of them all. I have never seen anywhere anytime someone who would be so confused in his mind as to not understand that Christmas Day is, of all the things ever invented by Mankind, anything BUT National Day. A flag, for Chrissake! These people should be sued for destroying child innocence.

I'm an old fart (maybe) and on some things I can be rather conservative. I don't really like single or dual colored Christmas lights, but rather those multi-colored ones. However, I never accepted that those wonderful inside-frosted translucent lights we had in my childhood had been replaced by those glitzy transparent 'new rich looking' bulbs they started to use in the seventies, along with kinky colors like purple and other non-Christmas horrors. Lately, they started to sell again those frosty bulbs in some stores. They finally got to their senses :)

The year before last, mini-light icicles were a big hit. All white cord and all no-color light bulbs. In a country where real icicles are a pain in the butt because they are dangerous, can break and fall on people, and are a tell-tale indication the house is not well insulated and may have been sold a little more than what it should have, who needs artificial icicles?

In general, though, people here, as down there, have nice decorations. In the 'popular' neighborhoods of course. The poorer, the more decorated. In upscale districts, people leave for down south for the Christmas period and don't bother decorating. Driving through these districts on December 25 is like driving in Tchernobyl. Especially that they all have those Tempo car tents in winter that make their houses look like atomic-bomb shelters.

I love your deconstruction of the vulgar. It's that simple.

I got a great laugh from "Unto us a savior is born and a deep discount given." I needed that today. Thanks.

yes, rawr is in order! ;)~

ha! or you could sing "Tiny Bubbles" ah, good times...well you simply *must* rent Maria Full of Grace! it's a great film.  HAHAHA! "Unto us a savior is born and a deep discount given."   that's fantastic!

jase

Hey....well, actually, I dont' even remember you telling us to tell our crushes that we like them....lol I have a single strand of lights in my front window. They're the icecycle lights, and they're pretty. So, why don't u celebrate x-mas? Religious reasons?

Have you changed your nick?  I'd love to reconnect to your myspace.  It was fun reading it.