When Allison DeMarco signed the rental lease on a West Palm Beach, Fla., house earlier this year, the real estate agent gave her a warning: She was going to have to decorate for the holidays. (more after the break)
Gabriel Lane, it turns out, sets a high bar for Christmas decorations, with nearly all the neighbors trimming their houses and yards extravagantly. Highlights in recent years have included Bill and Janice Schaefer's illuminated 50-foot oak trees, and Harold Watty's hand-made wooden nativity scene.
Ms. DeMarco accepted the challenge. She and her boyfriend, a retired fire lieutenant and amateur carpenter, got to work creating wooden snowmen, trains and toy soldiers. They now flank the house, part of a winter wonderland that draws hundreds of visitors to the street starting in early December.
On some evenings, "we have a hard time getting out of our driveway," says Judith Scott, a Gabriel Lane homeowner for 29 years, who says she once counted 300 cars passing her house in an hour. This year, she added to her display with the purchase of two multicolored LED-light strands with 14 blinking options, at a cost of about $78 each. Over the years, Ms. Scott says, her spending on holiday lights and other decorations easily exceeds $3,000—and that's not including the December electric bill, which usually goes up by about 30% to $300.
The uncertain economy, high jobless rates and continuing foreclosures haven't dimmed some people's enthusiasm for holiday light shows. Purchases of Christmas decorations this year are expected to rise by as much as 5%, beating the 3.8% growth rate a year ago, says Unity Marketing Inc., a Stevens, Pa., consumer-trend research firm.
In some neighborhoods, newcomers receive very explicit instructions. Residents of a block of rowhouses in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood put on their own "Miracle on 34th Street" between Keswick Lane and Chestnut Avenue. They drape light strands from one side of West 34th Street to the other, like an overhead curtain; one resident builds a Christmas tree entirely out of hubcaps.
A few weeks ago, Trey Perkins, a circuit court law clerk, says a neighbor hand-delivered a note telling him "the day of the official lighting" was Nov. 28 and detailing the busy schedule of events: A big crowd of visitors, followed by an appearance by Santa Claus riding on the back of a truck. "Promptly at 6 p.m.," the note continued, "a countdown begins. When we get to ONE all houses turn on their lights." The note specified that lights should be on each night from around 5 p.m. to midnight, and all night on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. "We hope that you will want to participate," the note said.
Mr. Perkins was reluctant at first. But when it became apparent "that this was really happening," he says, he and his housemates fashioned a nativity scene out of robots, made from air vents and beer cans. "We didn't want to be left out," he says.
Some streets favor a color scheme. The neighbors on Coliseum Avenue in Live Oak, Fla., typically decorate their houses in white lights.
In Bismarck, N.D., residents on Northview Lane decorate the trees lining the street in alternating reds and greens. Brian Francis, an exterminator for a pest-control company, and his wife, Melody, go the extra mile, with a computer program that choreographs their lights to "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" and "Christmas Wrapping."
To keep from losing power, Mr. Francis had to hire an electrician to upgrade his electrical capacity by running additional wires to the house. His electric bill typically increases by about a third in December to $200. Thanks to low-energy lights and a timer that turns them off at 10 p.m. weeknights and midnight on weekends, Mr. Francis says, "It's not as bad cost-wise as people would think it is."
Northview Lane neighbor Larry Jahnke says heavy traffic can cause problems. "When the road gets icy and cars can't make it up the hill, then you get major traffic jams," he says. At that point, all the cars on the street have to back out, bumper to bumper. "That happens every year," he says.
Some streets organize like clockwork. Neighbors on Sheridan Lane host an official light-up of their street every year in Boonton Township, N.J. They meet some time around Thanksgiving at a neighbor's house to discuss the date and time of the lighting. Just before the lighting, which this year was on Dec. 5 at 6 p.m., one neighbor dresses as Santa Claus and hands out candy canes to the children on the block. The Brownies are invited to sing Christmas carols. Everyone counts down, and all the lights come on at the same time.
The real draw, though, is Christmas Eve. A dozen houses on Sheridan Lane, plus nearly 20 more on adjacent streets, light up with "luminarias"—lighted candles set in sand inside paper bags. Neighbors contribute $15 each toward the cost of materials; four designated "captains" are charged with setting up the luminaria along sections of the road. The town designates the streets as one-way on that night, and motorists turn off their headlights to savor the effect. "It's a wonderful feeling," says resident Barbara Buck, director of religious education at a nearby Catholic church.
The Gabriel Lane light fest began in the early 1980s, when a few homeowners, including Ms. Scott, took their light displays to the next level. Feeling inspired—but definitely not competitive, residents say—others soon followed.
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