Christmas lights in May

June 3, 2008

The complaints continue. We began seeing editorials about Christmas light displays that were still standing in February and they have continued sporadically since then. I found another article about this "problem" last week. The question I would like to have answers is whether these lights are actually lights that were installed for the Christmas holiday or whether they are just Christmas "style" lights being used year round.

If it is the former I would suggest that the source of the problem is plain laziness and the complaining party likely should have more pressing neighborly complaints in May such as the failure to mow the lawn. If the complaint regards the latter I wonder why one would have a problem with Christmas "style" lights being used outside the Christmas holiday. This spring we decorated our Magnolia tree with pure white and red LED Christmas lights and are using them for general decorative lighting all summer. The tree and the yard looks great and no one has complained about us having our "Christmas lights" up too long.

The moral of this story is that the real complaint probably is much deeper than an delayed removal of the holiday lights. In most cases I think it goes much deeper than that.

Putting aside the lazy couch potatoes, lets look at some good uses for Christmas style lights in the summer:

• Deck Lighting
• Porch Lighting
• Wedding Lights
• Garden Lighting

LED Christmas style lights are great for general decorating year-round. They are brilliant, low maintenance and energy efficient and provide wonderful decorative and accent lighting.