Just put them up this afternoon. I feel it's a bit too soon, but seems like everyone else has them up and more.

Also, more people have more and more of those giant blow up Santas, etc. We have lighted reindeer and sleigh...but I can't see any beauty in those giant balloons.

We do. We have the Christmas star that used to grace the Glosser Bros. department store in downtown Johnstown. It has been up on our house every year other than the year my mother died and 2 years before that when hubby and I were in too much pain to put it up. (Me from RA and DH from carpel tunnel). And we have the 8 foot wide wreath that goes at the peak of the house up. We used to outline the house in C9 lights but haven't done that for several years but we are thinking about using the flagpole to put up a light-tree, we have not done that for years.

The warm weather has helped produce some beautiful displays.

I like to decorate my front porch for all seasons/

I am in total love with my new Christmas lights that I ordered from QVC. Bethlehem lights has been having a regular show on QVC this season showing all the new lighting These are LED lights that are driven by 3 D Btteries and you can set them to just twinkle or just light They have an automatic on off feature. I set it for them to go on about 5:30 and they stay on for 6 hours then turn off automatically then sleep for 18 hours then do it all over again. Thebaterries should last till over New Years Day.

I got two strands. If I decide to put up a tree indoors I think I'll get more. no hssle and they are really bright.

Havnn't been out at night to see anyone else has lights up.

Outside, I have a small tree and a bush with lights on, plus I put up my Charlie Brown tree by the window today. Looks pretty good now that it's trimmed! Every year I say I'm not going to do it, as I live alone, don't do a lot of entertaining, etc. But DD#4 said, "But, Mom, don't you do it for yourself?" And she's right, of course......love the nostalgia of it all.

Several in our neighborhood have new lights and display items this year. I was thinking to myself, maybe the economy isn't as bad as I thought. I really like the LED's.

Lots of lights on houses around town. I don't have lights because I have rain gutters and metal soffits. Nothing to attach lights to. In CA I used to put up lights at Thanksgiving and take them down on New Years Day.

Linda, my husband uses some sort of clips that attach to the bottom shingles to hang our lights... we have rain gutters and metal soffits too.

That said, I don't know if we will even have any outside lights this year. DH has been busy every weekend and he'll be bringing up all the other decorations and the tree next weekend. If the weather is nice, he may get lights hung up... if not this will be the first year in about 8 that we haven't had lights on the house.

I was just commenting that in our subdivision it seems that more people put up lights...and earlier too! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas lights. I could drive around all night looking at them! :) I agree with Monica, I do not see any beauty in those big inflatable balloons.

"Understandably, it seems to me that there aren't as many homes decorated with lights this year, and those that do have lights only have a few (like me). "

NOT the case at all in my area of PA!

There seems to me more lights and, sadly, more of those ridiculous inflatables this year.
And they are already lit every night.

Last year I took advantage of Home Depot's after-Christmas sale and got several boxes of GE multi-colored icicle lights for something like 90% off. They are presently decorating my porch railing. I'll have to walk out to the road one of these nights so I can decide if I like them better than the clear ones.

I bought some lights last year and put up. Enjoyed it. Bought some more during the clearance sales. But with the hospital runs and stuff it's taken priorities away. Now I'm wondering if it's worth it to bother putting up the tree & stuff. Might still do it. At least put up a string or two. They're out and ready. Really wouldn't take much to do it! Procrastination... not a good thing!

And I had things all planned out but schedule got rearranged. Oh well. Have a few new things too. If I do, I do, if I don't, I don't.

DH can no longer climb ladders to put up lights, which he's done for the last 30 years. DD has promised to come over this week and put some lights on our front roofline. Weather has been unusually warm, so I noticed a lot of folks deciorating the last 2 weekends. I love driving around and looking at the lights. Some people go way overboard, with lighted figures,rows of wooden soldiers, blow-up Nativity scenes, etc. I'm more secular-I like Santa for the kiddies.

There are a couple of balconies really decorated here, at the apartment complex.

At HD we are selling lights like crazy. I don't understand it. I thought, we were having tough times.

Moni

Kids really like the inflatables and they do have the advantage of taking up very little storage space. I had a few that I bought on clearance at the house before the divorce but I only have a porch and a small slope to decorate at the rental - the inflatables wouldn't work.

I'm sure people thought blow mold decorations were tacky too but I still love those. I bought my dad a blow mold Santa at a yard sale this summer for $2 - it was in great condition. I knew the one he had was quite faded. I was at an antique market a couple of weekends ago and they were selling the same size Santas for $55 and up! They wanted $95 for Santa in his sleigh with his reindeer.

Guys....Christmas is for kids and those who know Jesus. Those "balloon" Santas are for little kids, not for you.

Nothing funner than waking up at 5:30 in the morning and DGD says, "Let's wake up Santa." Ya blow the guy up, squeals of joy. Sometimes ya gotta go out in your jammies and snow boots to sweep the snow off so he can get up. He waves to people if the wind is strong enough (he's staked). He's great for night time too....Santa goes night night, you go night night.

Next time you drive by a "tacky" display, think of the people inside the house. It might mean something to them. YOU don't really count.

You tell 'em Roco! LOL.

My neighbors put up those hollow plastic deer and santa that look like they were made in 1950. Cracks me up. I love Christmas.

I love tacky Christmas decorations on people's lawns and houses. The more the better! It's fun! I'm tempted to go buy one of those leg lamps from A Christmas Story, I've seen them at a few stores. Now talk about tacky, I LOVE it!

The LED lights sound good. A few years ago I put a halt to outdoor lights after we received our electric bill for December's use. (Not that we ever had any elaborate displays!) I'd still like to light three white pines in our backyard, but...no.

Our area is pretty well 'lit up' already. You need to do it before real winter temps hit here -- and they have!

We hang a fresh wreath with added ornaments on the entry door and have a few ornaments indoors. Special are the two lighted table-top trees that my mother bought for my MIL and for herself -- still going strong 35 years later.