Christmas Lights

 

            “Oh that we could always see such spirit through the year.” 

                                                                            -   Lee Mendelson

 

Without exception, I enjoy Christmas time, and always have. Some of my fondest memories are of the holiday season. The lights and music lift my spirits every single year. The same is true in this 2020 global pandemic. The lights still shine, and music still sounds sweet!

We have an artificial tree that we purchased at Lowes a few years back. It is 6-1/2’ tall, which is perfect for us. The LED lights have eight or nine effects and color patterns, from white to multi-colored flashing. The best part is that we bought it on sale, and by opening a Lowes charge account, we got a bigger discount. It was the only time we used that Lowes card, but we ended up getting the tree for less than $30. Quite a bargain in our estimation.

I sometime refer to our Christmas tree as the “curse bush,” since our three cats bedevil the ornaments and lights, which results in some cursing. Most of this is from me, but the wife gets in on the action sometimes. One cat likes to stand up inside the center of the tree and swat at ornaments, though so far this year she hasn’t done so. The tree has only been up for six days, so the season is young. I am not holding out much hope.

Since the weather was nice the weekend before Thanksgiving, and I was getting a little antsy, I decided to put up some outdoor Christmas decorations. This was something I used to do every year, but haven’t done in four or five years. We usually just put some battery-operated candles in the windows. Hey, I’m retired. I don’t need a lot of aggravation – beyond the curse bush, that is. With our COVID precautions and the cancellation of a lot of our usual holiday activities, outdoor Christmas lights were a go! The window candles were also given the green light, as usual.

I went with “old school” stuff outside. We have a pair of Noel blow mold candles that are attached to the porch railings. We have a lighted nativity set that I zip tie to a plywood sheet that I painted white. The plywood sheet is secured to the ground with a dog yard stake. With all the wind we get up here, that keeps everything here instead of a neighboring farm field!

We strung a set of C9 lights around the porch railing, and strung a few sets of miniature lights in the shrubbery in front of the house. We have a lot of stuff that I didn’t put out, such as our blow mold Christmas tree and angel. I also have a couple of sets of animated candy canes, a set of large lit yard ornaments and a set of oversize yard Christmas light bulbs, and a huge animated snowflake. I wanted to spread a little Christmas cheer down here at the end of our dead-end street, but still make it fairly easy to take down again in January. Things that are zip-tied are easily to tear down. Stakes frozen in the ground, not so easy to remove!

When I was a kid, we didn’t usually have outdoor Christmas lights. In fact, I can only remember one time. Dad had stapled pine boughs around the door, and then secured a set of C9 lights to that. He finished with a star that he has made out of sheet metal and wired with C9 bulbs. They looked great, but he didn’t get around to taking them down until well into January. I guess that is why he didn’t put outdoor lights up very often.

I hope your Christmas lights shine bright, your hearts are filled with happiness, and that you spend some quality time with those you love – practicing social distancing, wearing face coverings and frequently washing your hands, of course!