Last night, I took the family around Winston-Salem to view the variety of light displays people have put up for their homes. Some Christmas displays were relatively conservative with icicle type lights hanging from their eaves. Perhaps they have reindeer in the front yard or they had inflatable Christmas icons like Santa or Frosty the Snowman seem to be popular this year.
Then there are those who think Christmas is the time to indulge their inner Las Vegas stage show designer.
I have seen homes lit up with so many lights that street lighting is redundant. I have seen homes that crowd their front lawns with everything under the sun: lights, inflatables, nativity scenes and so much more. A bit too much.
Yet there were two homes or drives that stood out for me. Both were along Jonestown Road. The first is on Lazyboy Lane. From the road, you can see a series of arches wrapped in lights to give the effect of a tunnel or path. As you drive along the one lane road, you will see a series of lighted displays. Some were obviously store bought but there are others that showed the creativity of the people along the street as they wrapped lights in a variety of poses to show a candle or a cross. Some of the trees had their entire branch structure traced with lights to a lovely effect. In a way, it was like driving through a neighbourhood version of Tanglewood Park’s Christmas Light Display.
The other location is up the road a bit off at Hazelwood Drive which is just off Crestwood Drive. This is a home where the owner went all out. They set up a light show synchronized to music which you can listen to on your FM radio. It was simply amazing. Very well done especially when you realised that many of the displays had multiple lights on them for different colours and effects. There are also a menagerie of inflatable of every kind in the back yard but they seem more of an add on to the show rather than enhancing it. One wonders what this light show as well as the increased traffic has on the neighbours. But I guess for 2-3 weeks of the years, everyone is willing to put up with it just to see the show themselves.
As for us, we fall into the conservative camp though not for lack of prompting from the kids. Never decorate our home before for Christmas on the outside. But since this is our first Christmas in a home that we can truly call our own, we decide to do something.
We have a classic home facade. No porches, no balconies, very flat with windows with shutters on the sides. So like many others in our neighbourhood with similar homes, we have a hand made wreath on the front door, candles for each of the windows facing the street and our conical hedges wrapped in light nets. Very formal and elegant. Next year, when I can get a tall enough ladder, I may put small wreaths on the windows along with the candles. I doubt I will do much more than that. Being loud and over the top is just not me. I prefer to concentrate my efforts on the inside of the home where I can enjoy it in comfort.