There's one in every neighborhood...

[urbpan]

I took this photo sort of as a study, so that cottonmanifesto would be reminded to take some great photos of this house. This place (known locally as "the Castle") is on the Arborway in Jamaica Plain, and they decorate for lots of different holidays, but at the end of December, they pull out the stops. According to this 2006 article, it costs over 2000 dollars for the month's worth of electricity. This year there are more lights than last year, notably the 20 foot tall star of David and the trio of cones at right, so that figure has gone up somewhat. I noticed in the past year a trend of combining images of patriotism with traditional xmas bad taste--is this a new thing, or is only new to Massachusetts?

Comments

[drocera.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just....wow. I wouldnt want to be their neighbor.

Here in our little neck of the woods we, too are seeing a trend in xmas/patriotism decorations, but to make it all that more gastly, we're also getting a big lump of religion thrown down our throats with it. I can't tell you many houses have a "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" placard or sign or banner set out there with their lighing and flags.

I'm not a big fan of the holidays.

[matthewdh.livejournal.com]

actually the neighbours've complained to the police about this practice of his.

[silvaerina-tael.livejournal.com]

On one community I'm in, someone created an LJ icon "axial tilt is the reason for the season"... Perhaps someone should put that up. I wonder how they'd react?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I love that icon so much.

[donnad.livejournal.com]

Have you seen this site:
http://www.uglychristmaslights.com/

Some of them are just so over-the-top it's scary, others aren't too bad.

GO to the "lights Archive" check out a few of those houses... Particularly "Velvet Rope" in the 2006 section. The one above wont seem so bad.

[grrlpup]

Flags are a popular pattern for those "net of lights" things here. That's the only patriotic element I've noticed.

[deederange.livejournal.com]

On the one hand, lights are a tremendous waste of electricity, but on the other hand, man, this makes me homesick.

Is that house still there on Rte 60, just after you cross over Rte 2 from Arlington into Belmont? That was my favorite, I used to take my mom out there to look at it, it had everything including a cowboy santa, multiple Jesuses (Jesii?), Rudolph, oh it was just so gloriously in bad taste, I loved it.

There was another further down Rte 60 into Waltham, off of (I think) Arbuckle street, where they had a million things, and Santa would stand out front handing out candy canes, and they had a train inside the house, and the people would invite you in to see the train. None of this is environmentally appropriate, but man, it sure was pretty.

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Yes, the Belmont house is still decorating. I drive by it on my way home from work every night.

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

I've noticed the trend in patriotic Xmas lights for several years now.

I *LOVE* this house. We drove past it just after Thanksgiving and HOWLED.

Every year, we try to do a Tacky Light Tour. Alas that Leominster and environs do not have the magnificent lights that, say, my parents have in their locale in Delaware. We do have the mad carver, though, this guy who fills his yard with hand-carved wooden Xmas figures every year.

[sin-agua.livejournal.com]

Our neighbor's house can probably be seen from orbit, and he has no innate sense of design, balance, or restraint. There is no theme, just a random assortment of every Xmas geegaw you can imagine, including Snoopy and Winnie the Pooh and some random penguin and a scary looking elf and a rocking horse...and way in the back, a nativity scene with a lit-up plastic Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. And snowmen. And angels. I almost would prefer it if they'd either go with the Jesus-based theme, or the Santa-based theme (reindeer, snowmen, whatever). There's something really wrong about a big plastic snowman watching over the baby Jesus. ;)

We grumble about their "display" every year, but honestly we wouldn't mind so much if they didn't also pipe a loop tape of Christmas songs (traditional and modern recordings, including Celine Dion - stabs ears with pencils). The music is SO LOUD, we can hear it inside our house, even with all the doors and windows closed. I don't mind hearing Xmas music once in awhile this time of year, but being forced to hear it from my bedroom from 5-11pm EVERY FRICKIN NIGHT since basically November 28th? Not so much.

Oh, and he's a cop.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

If I had a neighbor that played xmas music loud enough for me to hear it inside my house, I'd do something that I'd get arrested for. Not sure exactly what, but I know it would end up with me hauled off.

[sin-agua.livejournal.com]

Um, yeah - hauled off. Coppity cop cop. Did I mention COP? ;)

It's not LOUD in our house - just loud enough that I can't help hearing it in the bedroom. I usually just turn up the tv or radio. Thankfully they turn it off before we go to bed.

[calypso72]

Love the christmakuh trees.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

next year he has to hire a computer tech crew to automate.

the sad thing is that he rips it all out, throws it away, and starts over. he's rich, not green, and doesn't give a shit.

one of my favorite displays, just north of reading, was the life sized manger scene, with life sized horses, kings, joseph, mary, animals galore, etc. impressive. WHERE DO THEY STORE THAT the other 11/12s of the year? man.

#

[wandererrob.livejournal.com]

I've noticed it more as well. One of my nieghbors has a noticably red, white and blue theme going on. I'm not offended by it or anything but it just strikes me odd.

Christmas and patriotism have nothing to do with each other so I don't get it. Each to their own I guess.

We've just got white lights up. Next year we alternate to colors. :)

[bellelvsbeast.livejournal.com]

Dang that's sweet looking...;) There are houses decorated awesomelike, but not like this...;)
DANG holy crap about the electricity! I would not waste so much...wowow...