I'd been meaning to write about this, but just didn't get around to it til now. Mark and I released our catty-bitch sides for an evening (just an evening you mutter under your breath) and drove around Omaha checking out Christmas lights. We didn't stick to just one part of town or even one socio-economic part of town. Why do I bring 'money' into it? Simply put, just because you have money doesn't mean you have taste.
My own disappointment with the evening is that I forgot my camera to photo-document that experience. Looking back on it, it's probably a good thing. I ran a stop light and stop sign as we were touring. I wouldn't have needed a camera to be another distraction.
I am pretty particular when it comes to Christmas lights. There aren't really 'rules' per se, but there should be some pretty easy to follow guidelines.
-First of all. Don't mix styles of lights. If you have some blinking lights, some colored lights, some big bulb lights... don't put them all out. Pick the kind you like and stick with that. Too much mixing looks sloppy.
-If you are going to insist on wrapping your leaf-less tree in lights, trunk and branches are fine (even if you do pick some bizarre combo of colors). decorating just the limbs is fine. But taking one strand of lights and wrapping is haphazardly around the trunk is not.
-Led lights hurt our eyes. Please stop.
-If you like those inflatable decorations, keep it limited to one, maybe to. Do not make the decoration larger than your house. Yes I'm taking to you Mr Neighbor who has an an inflatable snow globe that sprays fake snow around inside it around some wintery scene and is literally taller than your house. Your neighbors hate you.
-When decorating a pine tree of some kind try and decorate the whole tree, not just part of it. "Part" being defined as... just the top part or the side facing the street. I'll give you a pass on this if it turns out a strand of lights were burnt out.
-Try not to do the exact same thing as your neighbor. People won't know who did it first and it'll end up with both of you looking foolish. Break out your own idea.
-If you are going to break any of these... 'rules' then by all means GO BIG! Go all out. Over the top circus tacky, can be fun too. You'll get visits that way as well. But don't phone it in. You gotta commit to crazy.
I wish I had photos to show you examples of each of these things. But I don't so instead I give you...
...MORE CRAZY STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIALS!!!
In this clip, The Wookies are high as kites and Carrie Fisher gets someone to sing for her. My vote is Florence Henderson.
I posted this @ 12/23/2007 04:54:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
I'm a 30-something student of human nature. A music-lovin', groove-shakin', laugh-inducin', dish-cookin', gossip-slingin', type of guy. This is my diary of sorts...
