Is It Too Early For Christmas Lights? Readers Weigh In [Block Talk]

Find out what's happening in Across Americawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Follow Bill for more Christmas lighting etiquette tips:

“Stop the nonsensical competition on how many wreaths you can paste on every window of your house; it looks ridiculous. More is less, people. Also, why do people have to outline their entire roofline and house frame with those tacky big round white bulbs creating all the light pollution? It’s totally garish and looks more appropriate on Harrods Department store or the carnival Ferris wheel while you eat your glazed double-fried corn dog.”

‘Whatever Makes People Happy’

It’s probably a good thing Ladidi10 lives on the other side of the country, far away from Bill. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would appreciate the Laguna Beach (California) Patch reader’s unapologetic support for Christmas lights and decorations any time after All Hallow’s Eve.

“Life is too short and should be enjoyed and celebrated every chance we get,” the reader said, calling herself “an easy-smile woman.”

“So, any and all lights or celebrations is a win for me,” she said.

Also follow Ladidi10 for more holiday lighting tips: “If you feel you must honor Thanksgiving then try unscrewing the blue and green Christmas lights so you can have yellow, orange, and red lights with a turkey day theme til after Thanksgiving.”

Durham-Middlefield (Connecticut) Patch reader Bev takes advantage of warm weather to get her outdoor Christmas lights ready to turn on Thanksgiving Eve.

“But this year, Thanksgiving is so late and there is so much work involved in decorating inside and out, we just may get an earlier jump on ushering in the Christmas season,” Bev said.

Toms River (New Jersey) Patch reader Chrissy says the earlier, the better for light displays — “after Halloween, if the weather cooperates, so they can be enjoyed for a longer period of time.”

“It doesn’t matter to me when I see holiday decorations. Whatever makes everyone happy,” Chrissy said.

Thanksgiving: ‘The Middle Child’

Across America Patch reader Laura thinks Thanksgiving gets cheated.

“Thanksgiving never gets its time,” Laura said, calling it the “middle child” of the fall and winter holidays, stuck between Halloween and Christmas.

Concord (New Hampshire) Patch reader Maggie Mae hopes not to see any holiday lights in the neighborhood until after Thanksgiving.

“If I do,” Maggie Mae continued, “I’ll be annoyed.”

Maryland Patch reader Therese wouldn’t annoy Maggie Mae.

“We do it right,” Therese said, repeating, “We do it right: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas.”

Lower Providence (Pennsylvania) Patch reader Tom thinks people should wait until the day after Thanksgiving to turn on their lights. He’s looking forward to seeing what his neighbors do this year.

“I love holiday decorations,” Tom said. “It helps the season feel more special and the lights are always gorgeous.”

Click Here: ospreys rugby jerseys

Across America Patch reader Judy said the more lights, the better, “especially on someone else’s electric bill.”

As for when to turn them on, any time “after the Thanksgiving food is digested, not counting leftovers this year.”

“We should start a new holiday and turn them all back on March 1st when we’re sick of winter,” Judy mused.

Christmas Threw Up On Pamela

Woodbury (Minnesota) Patch reader Junie is trying to be a good neighbor, even though she thinks it’s OK to turn on lights earlier this year because Thanksgiving nudges up against the end of the month. But she’s waiting.

“I try to be mindful that others may feel more strongly about lights than I do,” Junie said.

“I think they’re great,” she said. “No one in our neighborhood goes crazy (nor do we), but it just builds more excitement for the holiday season. There are a couple of houses in my city that go all out and are always fun to drive by at night. Would I like to live next to one of those houses? I’m not sure, haha.”

Inside Junie’s home, the decorations come out of packing and start going up on Nov. 1.

If Junie could just do this one thing for Across America Patch Pamela: Take the decorations before they lose their shine — within 30 days of going up “or once your religious beliefs permit.”

It’s as if Christmas threw up on Pamela’s neighbor’s house and no one bothered to clean up.

“Our neighbor who has his indoor tree up all year, in front of a window. We see it when we wake up and when we’re leaving or returning to the house, and close our curtains at the end of the day,” Pamela said. “The star finally fell off in August. It is so awful looking.”

Pamela is a holiday hardliner who doesn’t want to see any of the special days get the short shrift.

“Multitasking by handing out Halloween candy, chewing on a turkey leg and wrapping gifts is zero fun,” she said.

“Personally, I feel if you see the lights too early, you can actually get bored seeing them up for weeks before Christmas,” said Patch reader John, who said the second week of December is the optimum time to turn on lights.

If his neighbors can’t do that, he would like for them to cut down on the number of “giant lawn figures and overlighting that makes it look more like a carnival.”

‘Takes The Magic Away’

Like several other survey respondents, John thinks commercialism has diluted the meaning of Christmas.

“We forget we are celebrating the birth of Jesus,” John said. “There are not enough crosses or displays of Christ, Mary and Joseph, as we saw many years ago.”

Al V., who reads Huntington (New York) Patch and Northport (New York) Patch, said lighting up the neighborhood any time before Thanksgiving is “absolutely unnecessary and takes the magic away from the actual holiday.”

“Christmas is a religious holiday and unfortunately people forget that aspect of it,” Al said. “It actually takes me out of the Christmas spirit to see trees and decorations now.”

Al gets a live Christmas tree and leaves it up from the first week in December until the Epiphany, the Christian holiday on Jan. 6 that commemorates the visit by the wise men to the baby Jesus and Jesus’ baptism.

“Meanwhile, most people who put their tree up super early take it down the day after Christmas or by New Year’s, which to me is still part of the holiday season,” Al V. said “I’m not sure when or why things shifted but personally I think it’s ridiculous.”

Ginna, who reads Sachem (New York) Patch and Massapequa (New York) Patch, doesn’t like the shift, either.

“They have been showing Christmas movies since July,” Ginna said. “This takes away from the magic of the season, as does decorating too early. Let’s enjoy pumpkin spice and turkey dinner with our loved ones first, then we can fully immerse ourselves in the Christmas spirit.”

West Chester (Pennsylvania) Patch reader Jo said her only “beef” with Christmas light is with the people who take down their decorations before the day of the Epiphany.

Otherwise, have at it.

“Whenever you want to turn them on!” Jo said in answer to the survey question. “I decorate the day after Thanksgiving but for those who are traveling, that will not work, so do it when it works for you.”

In California, W. Barnes decorates on the first day of the Advent, the four-week season of preparation and anticipation that takes place in the four Sundays and weekdays leading up to Christmas. This year, Advent starts on Dec. 1.

The Bay Shore Patch and San Francisco Patch reader looks forward to neighborhood Christmas decorations.

“Many are creative and done with good taste when they include the Holy Family in the visuals,” W. Barnes said.

“Never before Advent,” said KK. “I saw a Christmas tree inside someone’s house. The tree shouldn’t go up until after your spiritual preparation is well underway.”

‘Craptacular’ Display ‘A Seasonal Eyesore’

Katheleen, a Fredericksburg (Virginia) Patch reader, said the best time to decorate for the holidays is “when you want to.”

“If someone wants to celebrate early, why not?” Katheleen said. “The more, the merrier. We could use more outdoor lights in our neighborhood.”

Patch reader Ellen doesn’t mind when neighbors turn on their lights now that daylight saving time has ended.

“It gets dark early, and the lights are pretty,” Ellen said.

Except when they’re not. As previously noted, readers have limits, and some neighbors test them.

“What I don’t like is when it’s not well-thought-out and it’s a busy mess with no reasoning. I call that ‘craptacular,’ ” Ellen said. “ I also don’t care for when someone who leaves lights up all year doesn’t straighten them and half are falling down. I find it looks trashy.

“Too many blinking and chasing lights reminds me of a tacky used car lot. I prefer old school traditional simple and classy,” Ellen continued. “However, hopefully, if someone loves all the junky-looking decorations, they take them down. It’s a seasonal eyesore.”

Aurora (Illinois) Patch reader M. summed it up, “Too much plastic junk.”

‘Inflatables Are The Best’

Dunedin (Florida) Patch reader Jim said he “can’t stand the blow-up decorations,” calling them “tacky and terrible for the environment.”

Blow-up decorations had defenders, including Brick (New Jersey) Patch reader Patricia.

“Inflatables are the best,” said Patricia, who lets her 11-year-old son dictate the decorating calendar. “We put up our Christmas inflatables and other outdoor decorations on Nov. 10.”

Across America Patch reader Kay draws the line at “the big blow-ups and the decorated large skeleton.”

“Christmas to me is celebrating Christ’s birthday and not a pagan holiday,” Kay said.

Uh-oh, look out Ranger, or rather, Ranger’s neighbor.

“He left the big giant skeleton in the yard and just put a Santa Claus suit on it,” the Patch reader said.

“I’ve got some pretty incredible and creative neighbors,” Ranger said. “One neighbor always has a big, 3-foot photo of her husband’s head and, depending on the holiday, she just puts a different hat on it — Christmas is a Santa hat, Fourth of July is an Uncle Sam top hat, Cinco de Mayo is a sombrero, etc.”

About Block Talk

Block Talk is an exclusive Patch series on neighborhood etiquette — and readers provide the answers. If you have a topic you’d like for us to consider, email [email protected] with “Block Talk” as the subject line.

Catch up on Block Talk

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.