Holiday yard decorations

What's everyone's opinion on the tons of multicolored flashing lights, inflatable characters, reindeer, sleds, etc. that make their appearance at this time of year?

I personally think a few strategically placed strands of white lights is nice (especially in trees), but everything else just looks gaudy and tacky to me. And it seems like it would cost so much money and effort to do it!

Thoughts?

I think everyone will have an opinion on this..

For me personally.. I like the crazy extremist who devote days out in front of there house making a spectacle of themselves and their home...

It reminds me that people are crazy and happy... and frankly i love it..

I wont ever go crazy though because I can't afford it. But for those that can.. more power to ya..

I like the festiveness and don't mind if it get a little gaudy.  I like some of the yard ornaments like the grazing deer and stuff like that.  I could do without the inflatable snow globes.  I don't like the all white lights though.  I think that the multi-colored lights looks much more festive. 

I just like some nice white lights.  A coworker of mine calls the inflatiable decorations lawn _uckery.

Original Post by soglialoro:

For me personally.. I like the crazy extremist who devote days out in front of there house making a spectacle of themselves and their home...

It reminds me that people are crazy and happy... and frankly i love it..

Hahah, I agree with this!

I like multi-colored non-flashing lights and some lighted decorations are fine but I loathe the inflateables!!!  I think they are so big and tacky and fugly! And they are everywhere! haha

But, I'd much rather see tacky decorations and inflateables than no decorations at all.. I'm all for the festivities!  Ooo, there's one house that goes all out - stuff everywhere and the lights go to beat of music.. you pull up and tune your car radio to a certain AM station and watch the show!  How cool are those people!?

way cool.

i like personal expression, so i can appreciate the understated white lights but also appreciate the rowdy, gaudy over the top displays too

and the inflatables... most of them amuse me, but wouldn't want them in my yard

but i do love the snoopy snowglobe inflatables that snow inside - i wish i had one of those!

Original Post by jolynn1972:

 A coworker of mine calls the inflatiable decorations lawn _uckery.

I am totally stealing that.

I think, to me, it's that Christmas is more about the spirit, not the consumerism...and the decorations look like a showy form of consumerism that ends up losing the feeling behind it.

I love well done lights, but HATE inflatables.  Tacky, tacky, tacky.  They are this generations plastic nativities.

Check out this website!!!!    http://www.uglychristmaslights.com/

You have to click on the collections on the left to get to the pix.  My favs are E for Effort and Christmas Hulk

I love seeing these massively tacky overdone houses.
However, if I were to actually do my own house up with Christmas Decorations, I'd probably go for a bit less. :) Lots of lights, maybe a couple of amusing slightly tacky lawn ornaments, but not much. I do like the lighted skeleton reindeer I saw last year. :)

Classic, simple decorations are more my style, so I don't particularly go for setups where the entire lawn is filled with inflatables and animated characters.  The only reason why we put out the two moving reindeer we have is because my sons love them.

Holly, evergreen wreaths and garland, simple white lights, home made grade school snowflakes on the insides of the windows, and I absolutely love luminarias.  There's one house in our subdivision that has the most beautiful nativity scene on the lawn, not too big, a wreath on the door with a cardinal, and luminarias lining the walk path.  It's my favorite house during the season.

But to each their own.

I like lights of all kinds. I love a yard done totally in white lights. I also love the yards done in multiple colors or one color scheme. I saw one last year that was predominantly blue lights with white accents. It was breathtaking, a very simple design that delighted all who viewed it.

I don't care for the inflatables. Tacky and gawdy. I wouldn't want to live near anyone who goes overboard as it attracks too much traffic.

I am too lazy to put up any lights anymore. If I lived somewhere warm, I'd probably still do it. I hate the cold and the idea of putting up or taking down lights in freezing conditions is not anywhere close to fun.

It's nice to look at when you are driving around town, but personally my family hasnt really gone to out of the way except for lights around the house and maybe one lighted decoration. When I see these things they are beautiful..but then my mind wanders to if the wind won't knock and carry something away, how much money it was to buy all of that stuff and if it was a b**ch to put up it's definitely going to be a b**ch to take care of. :P

I tend to take the "less is more" approach to decorating our house - a wreath with a single (electric) candle in each window, garland along the eaves with a mix of lights (clear mini-lights, yellow LED lights and the small copper coloured bulbs give a nice warm glow) - but I think everyone should be able to express themselves at Christmas, and if you love the Griswald look - go for it!

The one thing that does kinda drive me crazy though (I'm likely gonna get flamed for this) is that the houses with the collections of big Christmas inflatables also tend to be the houses that still have a decaying jack-o-lantern on the porch, orange "pumpkin" garbage bags full of leaves in a pile in front of the garage, faded plastic flowers stuck into plastic urns beside the door, a broken kid's swimming pool leaning up against the house and the tiny, shrivelled corpses of long-dead birthday balloons hanging from the mailbox.

Putting up seasonal decorations is only half the job!

Tacky, I think it is a total waste of money and looks like crap. split I agree with you about the decaying Halloween decorations. I wish they would do us all a favor and not put anything up at all. I prefer the white lights, or ALL Blue, red, green not the multi colored mess that is in most front yards.

on edit: I have to say my family has a great time going out looking at the christmas lights, we get some good laughs. So I guess I have to change my opinion some. It does create some variety in the show.

There's a house around the corner from me that has a lawn full of inflatables - for all occasions! This year his lawn was outlined by giant 6 foot candy canes and Christmas lights around all the Turkey and gobble gobble inflatables two weeks before Thanksgiving.  Made me feel rushed.. I'm like 'slow down there buddy!' Enjoy Thanksgiving first! ha

i think it's funny.  i wouldn't do it, but it amuses me. 

Original Post by jenniferthepennifer:

This year his lawn was outlined by giant 6 foot candy canes and Christmas lights around all the Turkey and gobble gobble inflatables two weeks before Thanksgiving.  

I really don't get the Thanksgiving inflatables.  Why are the turkeys smiling?  Or dressed up, in hats and such, like the people who are about to roast them in an oven?  What's wrong with pumpkins and colored corn? (Although, for me, that would be overdoing it - at most I put up an autumn wreath on my door and the homemade turkeys my kids made in school.)  In our neighborhood this year, the leaves were pretty enough no other outdoor decorations were needed, IMO.

i love classy christmas decorating.  i'm not going to lie, i'm incredibly opinionated about it, maybe because i'm pretty anal retentive.

i love when i see a house nicely lined with lights (whatever colour they prefer is fine...so long as they don't half-ass it and only do the bottom half or whatever).  and i love the look of lights placed nicely in trees.  but again...don't half-ass it.  if you're going to light the trees, do the WHOLE tree.  that's probably my biggest pet-peeve when it comes to decorating.  it's called a ladder, people...get one.  :)

as of the lightup/inflatable things...less is more.  a couple light up deer?  fine...cute.  5 deer, one inflatable santa, one inflatable snowglobe, a few wooden statues, a life size nativity scene, AND six elves?  TOO MUCH.

My closest neighbor has an inflatable christmas city, more down the street.

I am tempted to become the hoods Bagga the Ripper and stalk the night with a wicked fixed blade disemboweling santa's, elves, the entire snow globe skating troop, field dress those effing deer leaving vinyl remnants in my wake and fear in the hearts of inflatable snowmen everywhere....muhahahahahah!

Hello, my name is Terri and I am a Christmas light display junkie. 

My husband, son and I spent all day on Friday and Saturday putting up Christmas lights and yard decorations.  We even have a Santa in a helicopter on the roof. 

All decorations are old school, no inflatables.  We usually buy one new decoration a year.  This year it is a see-saw.  Santa on one side and three reindeer on the other.  Must admit, the house looks great.  We probably wouldn't go so "over the top" if our son wasn't so young.  Merry Christmas!