We don't do a lot of outdoor decorating...just wreaths and bows here and there. But I do love to drive around and enjoy the outdoor decorations at other houses. I cannot believe the number of inflatable decorations that one can buy these days. When the stores open for after-Christmas sales, the inflatables are grabbed up quickly. We even saw one in which Santa was on a ladder and a little puppy had pulled down his pants as he climbed up. (Boxers for Santa, by the way.) But there are still people who put out lots of light displays and those are the ones I love best.
Our daughter loves the outdoor decorations as much as I do, so we drove around aimlessly looking at houses. One in particular drew our attention.
The gecko takes time off his regular job.
The yard was filled with figures and lights.
Elmo greeted us but we didn't tickle him.
And a pink pig dresses up with reindeer antlers.
We saw the display in daylight. Of course, we drove back that evening to see everything in lights.
We were not disappointed.
I love decorations that people have in their yards year round. I have seen cement figures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and all sorts of animals. The most popular around here seem to be the two frogs sitting beneath the umbrella, the little boy and girl kissing platonically, and a fair number of little boys peeing. While I might not want all of these things in my yard, I just love the fact that other people do. Art is truly in the eye of the beholder and people might look at the things we have in our yard and vow they would never put that in their own yards. I like that.
I wish we were all as tolerant of other people's beliefs as we are of their taste in art.
17 comments:
Those are great! We'd love to add the puppy/Santa for our collection! It sounds GREAT!
AROOOOOF!
Boondocks & The Love Shack Pack
LOVE the gecko!
I am partial to yard statues of the Buddha and St. Francis. At Christmas time I put an elf hat - with ears - on the Buddha on my mantle. OM, so jolly!
I'm with you on lawn ornaments -- I enjoy then in other folks' yards, the gaudier the better. In fact, I once put some pink plastic flamingos in the yard of vacationing friends.
The effort some people go to is amazing. I applaud them. I just lack the energy to do it, or the place to put it in the off season. We're full up around here.
Oh, youngest grandson would LOVE Elmo!
i love lighted displays, too, but never manage them.
One year I decided I'd decorate year round. I put pumpkin cutouts in each window pane in October, colored leaves in November, Christmas trees in December, snowflakes in January, hearts in February, shamrocks in March. By then my husband was begging me to stop. Too bad. I was going with rabbits for April--going to start with two and add a few more each day.
Hhmmm--ah, yes, the Christmas gecko. And the Christmas pink pig.
No to mention Christmas Elmo.
I prefer lights as outdoor decorations.
What I am missing is a Christmas tree. For the last 3 years we have been away over Christmas, so we haven't put up a tree for a long time. I miss it.
I agree with you that we need to tolerate other people's beliefs. Holiday decorations certainly speaks to our cultural ways. Nice that your daughter and you could enjoy both the day and night views. Best to you in the 2012 year. -- barbara
The pink pig was popular this year. I saw a couple around my area,too. One was outdoor decoration for a Pork BBQ diner. I wonder if they will keep that one up all year.
Merrilymarylee - I think the bunny idea would have been great to do. Oh, well.
I'm like you, I enjoy other peoples efforts. That gecko was adorable.
How lovely and such fun.
There is a house near my daughters home that really does to town with decorations.
It is a display beyond words and the elderly couple do it just for the children. Bless their sweet hearts.
I agree with you, I love to view other peoples choices with regard to art. In UK sadly they are often stolen. A beautiful bronze was taken from a garden near to my home.....sign of the times, sadly.
I enjoyed reading that your brother went to NCSU!! GO PACK!! We are NCSU folks through and through. I even retired from NCSU I enjoyed all 25 years I was there.
We love whimsical yard decorations year around too. The Gecko is one of my favorite little guys. I have a pic of him on my fridge.
Hugs Madi and Mom
I love the gecko, too! In a previous life, I actually had geckos walk on a treadmill for me... so that I could understand how they walk even when they're very cold (when most lizards would be incapacitated by the cold). I am not joking.
Beautiful beautiful decorations!
You are so funny...and so darn politically correct!
Those inflatable decorations really get on my nerves.....ughhhh. Well, then again, I put out nothing but wreathes and bows too. But still, those things are tacky.
I really do like the gecko though. Is that bad?
Glad you had a houseful this Christmas, that is a good thing! Happy new year!
xo
Suz
We haven't seen many inflatable figures in our area, but the lights have been incredible. Our outdoor decorations were relatively simple, but we enjoyed the the displays our neighbors put up.
Thanks for your comments everyone.
Boon - The puppy/Santa was huge.
Tara - I love the hat on Buddha.
Vicki - One of our local potters makes great flamingos. A bit too pricey to fill up a yard. I love gaudy too...in other yards.
Ms A - I wonder where they do store all the yard ornaments.
Merrily - I love the bunny idea. Be sure to keep moving them around.
Donna - Now that we use (thank goodness) an artificial tree we put it up the weekend after Thanksgiving and enjoy just the lights until we put the ornaments on later.
Barbara - And the same to you and your family.
Peruby - I'll have to drive back to see if the pig is permanent.
Patti - That was the first pig I had seen but apparently it is becoming more popular.
Cheryl - Thieves are not much of a problem here but in Milwaukee thieves and vandals often destroyed lawn ornaments. One year a thief stole every Baby Jesus he could find. Imagine...stealing the Christ Child.
Madi - My brother is the only NC State grad. (Sort of the black sheep in the family.) My husband spent eight years at UNC Chapel Hill so our blood runs Carolina Blue.
KB - You continue to amaze me. Geckos on a treadmill. I am totally impressed.
Suz - The inflatables do get really tacky sometimes.
George - Same here. I would like to decorate one of our trees outdoors. Maybe next year.
We love to check out yard art too. Some years we put out a few inflatables - but we quickly learned that Xenia is usually too windy for that!
i love to see other peoples' yard art, too. the kid in everyone does, if they're honest, don't you think? fun!
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