The spaceship has landed. On our front lawn. OK, so you know that it's not a spaceship. It is our evergreen bush, wrapped with white LED lights as Christmas decorations. This is the first year we have used LEDs and we were surprised at how bright the LEDs are. They lit up the neighborhood! So we went out and got some small colored lights - they are much less bright, and we will relight the tree and see if it looks better. Stay tuned...
This debate runs in my head every holiday season - colored lights or all-white lights? Twinkling or steady? spare and simple or dynamic and showstopping. And the winner is...different every year, depending on what's happening in my life at the time. Last year, the most beautiful display I saw was an all-white lights display - all the trim on the house and bushes had tiny white lights. But the showpiece of it all was a 100-foot tree at the curb that was completely covered in tiny white lights - the entire trunk, every limb and every branch. It was a beacon on the street and looked magnificent. I don't know how many lights were used or how they got them to cover every bit of the tree, but it was inspirational and it moved me to prayer. I can't remember ever seeing a more powerful Christmas lights display and for me, it'll always be the one to beat.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Ken, it's wonderful that you still hold the Christmas spirit in your heart. Your special holiday cards are always a joy to see and read and I love the idea that you even decorate the outside of your home. As I get older, thinking about up even the smallest pre-decorated tree in my home feels burdensome. I never realized that the stress, frenzy, commotion and noise that surrounded the holidays were actually fun times. At least that's how I like to characterize it, now that the house is quieter.
Happy Holidays to you and Kathy. May the Christmas spirit always be with you.
I actually contemplated getting a "fake" tree. But I just cannot do it. I will get a real tree this weekend as I love the fragrance. It is always a little different size, too. Bringing up the "buckets' of Christmas ornaments and decorations does get more difficult every year; however, I do several trips instead of carrying up the heavy plastic containers. The best part is hanging so many of mom's ornaments :-) I like your decorated bush! bsk
ReplyDeleteThank you both for your long and informative posts. In Guilford, Connecticut, they have a number of private residences around the green, and many of them just have a single, white, electric candle in each window. The effect is STUNNING! I like the story of the all white lights, and I can understand the power of that - the subtlety of that. For years we just used one electric candle in each window. Now, since we will be traveling, we just do the bush. And I think that the colored lights are better in this case, because the colored bulbs are much less bright than the LED's.
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