...to think that having Christmas lights in your garden...

[Fraidylady]

...is like making a bonfire with £10 notes?

[PrincessScrumpy]

I love it - drive dd round on a Christmas light safari so she can see them all (don't do it ourselves other than a few lights in the window this year for 1st time). Surely people can choose how they spend their money!? I would say buying many things are unnecessary and expensive, people still do it though - most people who own 4x4s in cities for example.

[LineRunnerCranberrySauce]

Lights in trees are just somehow beautiful.

[theoldtrout01876]

I love them BUT every year it snows after they have gone up and I end up not being able to get the buggers down till like April :(. I HATE that so I stopped putting them up outside.

My neighbors aka the cunts are like the Griswalds :) from National Lampoons Christmas,its like daylight in my bedroom all night. My ex neighbor on the other side ( loved her,sorry to see her move) was the same way. There was no point in me decorating,you couldnt see my house for the fckin glow from those 2 houses :o

Dd2 was talking about lights earlier this week and said "But we dont do that". I felt really bad and went out to buy some net lights to at least decorate the bushes,if not the house,and what do you know,everywhere was sold out and it was only Dec 1st :( so I guess no outside lights this year either

Oh well such is life I guess :o

[iscream]

We love the lights, but not the flashing, fast moving ones. My favorites are all white or a mystical blue and green display.
We used to put a lot of the white icicles and white lights out, but may just aim some coloured flood lights at trees and shrubs this year.

[Moln]

i really NEED to know what a drink door is.
.

[ViviPrudolf]

We were debating putting lights in our tree at the end of the drive, I even had the box in my hand in the shop but decided against it as we'd have to faff about with extra long power leads and it would mean cables across the drive so decided against it.

We got home yesterday to find the neighbours had done it! The tree only hangs about 25% over their side, and as such the lights are primarily on that side but even so it looks fab and our pals came round and said "love your lights"

Result!

[Rhubarbgarden]

Londonmumsie they are by Ecosavers.

[KeepInMindItsAlmostChristmas]

We give National Lampoons a run for their money

[duckdodgers]

KeepInMindItsAlmostChristmas a poster after my own heart , us to

Our cabling problems were solved a few years ago when DH bought this amazing outdoor box for plugging things into - it has 24 separate sockets - so all you have to plug into the house is the 2 leads coming form it!

And I always switch my lights off at 10pm so no keeping anyone awake.

[KeepInMindItsAlmostChristmas]

I have 4 Christmas trees

[monkeyLFDTwench]

I love that film keepinmind. We always watch it a few weeks before Christmas - today will be the day! We like to tour the neighbourhood looking for the most outlandish displays, and when spotted even ds3 (3) knows to shout "Griswald!"

"Lot of those little lights aren't twinkling, Clark ...."

"I know Dad, and thank you for noticing ...."

[TheHumancatapult]

i can not wait till next year to put lights up on my house and not going to care what anyone thinks ds3 will love them

[Angelswings]

Counting down the days until we put them up next weekend.

[tardisjumper]

we have got solar powered ones. We have them on the tree but they can be used outside. [smug emoticon]

[BalloonSlayer]

I thought I remember reading there was a news article about houses that are absolutely covered in lights.

A couple were saying that they didn't mind the expense . . . they loved their lights. The interviewer then said the TV company had worked out that the lights were costing the couple £17 per half hour in electricity. Apparently their smiles wobbled visibly.

[PastGrace]

There's a house near us that does a huge display every year. They have a charity tin chained to the door so no-one can steal it (and signs that there is CCTV - not sure if that's true or not) but everyone drives over and parks up and they let people walk through their garden. It's fab - better than any of the lights in town.

I think done properly they can be a sort of public service

[duckdodgers]

keepinmind are they all inside? We only have 1 7 foot artificial tree inside but have another 2 real ones we planted in the garden that we decorate to!

We have been doing it for years now and ok its extra electricity but theres no way it cost £34 an hour to run, we have them on for an average of 5 hours a day from the 1st December - I have never had an electricity bill of £5000 thank god

This year we ahve a charity tin but we keep it in the window, I didn't trust it in the garden.

[LineRunnerCranberrySauce]

My smile would wobble at £17 a week. I'd be re-thinking the whole thing faster than an artificial flickering candle.

I reckon a drink door is a form of trademan's entrance reserved for the Tesco delivery driver who has all the boxes of booze.

Maybe you vomit out of it aswell.

[KeepInMindItsAlmostChristmas]

Duck I have 7 feet trees in the living room and den and a 6 foot one in the kitchen

Come December if it don't move I decorate it

[PastGrace]

Keep can I come to your house this Christmas? I'm going home but my mum's trying to fob me off with just one tree and I am NOT HAPPY. We normally have two, once or twice we've had three.

[LineRunnerCrouchingReindeer]

I've just dragged my tree down from under my bed, and unboxed it.

It looked wittily retro last year. This year it just looks horrible. Perhaps draping it in excessive lighting will help?

[startail]

I refuse to calculate DHs contribution to global warming caused by his Christmas light habit.
They are far too much fun!