Thursday, December 18, 2008

Beaucoup Christmas!

(It's pronounced boo-coo. Don't ask me about the spelling, that's just how the French do it. Because they're kind of spikey and, well...kind of French.)

I think my earliest memories of Christmas Lights on Steroids come from the trip on Highway 59 between Ottawa (where we lived) and Lawrence (where my great-grandmother lived and all the family gatherings took place), KS. A few miles south of Lawrence, there was a house off the highway that really stood out from all the others with the quantity of lights and elements used--eventually they even had a fully lit sign that read, "Merry Christmas from the Smiths!" We also noticed throughout the years that the displays got more and more elaborate until one year abruptly they had disappeared altogether. We entertained many theories...maybe they moved? Maybe the neighborhood got together and signed a petition to ban it? Maybe the wife died and the husband was just too sad to keep putting the lights up? Who knows? It's a mystery to this day.

When I was in high school, a radio station in Kansas City sponsored a contest of "White Trash Christmas", and it just so happened that the winner of said contest lived not so far from my Dad's girlfriend's house. It was this huge house on a corner and they just went wild. Their display didn't have any order, it was just lots and lots of lights. The house was on a little hill and they had strings of lights just sitting on the ground streaming down from the house and ending with a set of lights still in the display case. It was pretty impressive.

In Jersey, there is a family on the street where my closest friend there lives who just goes to town on an Elvis-themed display. There's only one street that feeds into the little group of streets where she lives too, so often during the holidays it takes her a long, long time just to make her way down the street to get home. Crazy.

So I know that people can get "into" their Christmas lights and give the Disney Spectacular Main Street Electrical Parade a run for it's money, but nothing prepared me for this.

This is someone's actual display from last year. They actually timed it on a computer to music. I was stunned.

My favorites are the Amazing Grace and Carol of the Bells, but I haven't watched all the videos from this year yet.

I thought Grant and I were doing good with our tiny tree, two stockings and two strands of silver garland around our doorways...

Then again, I could see this becoming something he finds neat, gets into and learns everything possible about until he optimizes and masters.

Luckily I don't have to worry about that possibility until we have a house.

4 comments:

Danielle said...

Yeah, so after seeing the Holdman lights, I'm pretty well convinced there's no point putting up our own lights ever again. I mean, plain lights are well, just plain. It just seems so boring now.

jk. Maybe someday we'll put up lights. But they won't be cool.

Laura said...

We saw that website after reading Danielle's blog too! That was soooooooo cool! I can't believe he broadcasts the music on a short wave FM, so when people drive by, they hear the music in their car!!! Too amazing. 7000 sq ft of extension cords - that's over 2 miles!

Anonymous said...

Ashley,

I happen to know the story to the house that was on the way to Lawrence! The woman that lived there was very sick with cancer and Christmas was her favorite holiday. Therefore, her husband went all out with the decorations. She did die and he decorated one more year and I believe even let people tour the inside of the house. I have heard that he was in fact to sad to continue doing this decorating any longer. I believe he has since moved away. Just thought you might be interested to know!

Kaci Kesinger (McMahon)

Jacqueline said...

That surely is an amazing feat. In Albuquerque there was a home owned by the Buggs, who are Mormons, who decorated to beat the band and people used to drive by slowly all night during the holidays. He added to it every year. It wasn't synched to the music tho. Then one year vandals got to it and stole a lot and vandalized the rest so he doesn't do it anymore. So sad.