Xtravagant Xmas « FemiKnitMafia

Xtravagant Xmas

December 19, 2006

I’ve never met a contest I didn’t like. So when Kat posted the story about a J.P. resident that’s winning the love of his neighbors through 250,000 Christmas lights, and put out a call for other over-the-top Christmas light displays, I knew the exact house that could win me some fibery goodness.

Here’s my contribution:

As you can see, I had to park across the street to get a photo of this place, and I didn’t even get the whole thing in the picture. Here’s the other side:

As a public service announcement, I offer “Important Elements of Tacky Xmas Decorating”:

1) Saying to your embarrassed christmas guests, “people drive from miles around to see this.”

2) A light-up creche, or as Wifey calls it, “day-glo baby jesus.”

3) As many giant inflatable figurines as possible. Bonus points if they rotate.

4) Lights on every edge of your house and roofline, so that an architect travelling by night can immediately identify the year in which your house was built.

Should you find yourself with any of those problems, step slowly away from the christmas lights. The plastic honorary badge from the electric company is not worth it.

To give them some credit though — perhaps that house is simply the Kaffe Fassett of Christmas Lights? If so, my sensibilities run toward Debbie Bliss. This house is my style:

Anyone else want to play? There are rules and prizes… Anyone from Somerville want to offer some photos? I spent some serious quality time walking around Somerville in December. ‘Tis crazy crazy stuff.

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized. .

14 Comments Add your own

1. Ashley | December 19, 2006 at 4:39 am

The giant inflatable lawn figurine is my NEMESIS. Hate them HATE.
2. maryse | December 19, 2006 at 11:24 am

my whole neighborhood is a glow but nothing as dramatic as that. there’s a house in the next town over that would take this house OUT with all of the lights and inflatables and outrageousness. i have to go take a picture of it at night.

we have nothing. we are boring.
3. lindsey | December 19, 2006 at 12:17 pm

try germany. they’re not big on the lights, but they hang fake santas out of windows so it looks like they’re breaking and entering. also you can immediately tell where any americans live. they have those painful light displays.
4. PatchesMom1973 | December 19, 2006 at 1:59 pm

ooo I think I have a photo at home of a Union Sq./Somerville house being decked out. Santa and his sleigh being attached to a roof. I walked around Union Sq the day after thanksgiving, and people were in full gear preparing.
5. Anonymous | December 19, 2006 at 2:02 pm

In Goffstown, NH on one of the side streets going to the river is a house with an unbelievable display for Christmas. I loved taking my grandchildren there when the oldest were little because you could get out and walk thru the displays they had there. It was like a little animated village and amazing. I wonder if they still do it? We just put white candles in the windows & our multi light tree in the front window. Good enough for us.
6. Beth S. | December 19, 2006 at 2:53 pm

Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re going to win this.
7. Anonymous | December 19, 2006 at 3:06 pm

hey! i know that house!

i don’t envy that electric bill yo.
8. Danielle | December 19, 2006 at 6:53 pm

Mm, we took a drive by that house last week. Parked in the same parking lot, I bet. Now I want to go see the one near Kat to compare!
9. Kat with a K | December 19, 2006 at 7:39 pm

Um, wow. And yes, I remember some crazy houses in Somerville… I had candles in my windows, but I removed them from the Kitten-Safe Area so now it’s rather lopsided. Oh well.
10. JulieFrick | December 19, 2006 at 8:54 pm

OOh. Looks like it would be warm, at least, over there. What with all the current in the air. Holy Home Depot holidays, Batman!
11. Kat | December 20, 2006 at 4:26 am

Awesome! Thanks.
12. Dorothy | December 20, 2006 at 11:32 pm

I wonder if his neighbours have blackout shades. They’d never get to sleep without them.

Although, I must admit that I love the tacky Christmas as long as it all has a theme and fits together.
13. Teresa C | December 22, 2006 at 12:29 am

Hey!! That is the house I would have chosen. Across from a gas station, on a route that runs from your town to mine and across a state line? That the one? I kind of like it in a “would never do that to my house or my neighbors and they got every tacky thing they could find but I’m glad they did so I can look at it and smile and shake my head” sort of way.
14. Julie | December 27, 2006 at 8:54 pm

Crap, I totally could have won this. You ain’t seen nothin’ until you’ve seen Brooklyn Mafioso decorate their palaces. And I have it on film!

Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed