is being in keeping with the neighbours more important than keeping DH happy

[PuffPastryFluff]

We live in a 'naice' street with lovely neighbours. Everyone puts everyone else's bins out, waters each others' frogs, lends out power tools etc. etc. This Christmas a very few neighbours have outside decorations. They're very tasteful, warm white, gently flickering. Think John Lewis rather than Poundland.

DH wants to get a ginormous blow up snowman to put outside. I've said no on the basis that it doesn't fit in with the street and that our status as 'naice' neighbours will be called into question. DH is sad. Although I generally want to keep DH happy because I luvs him and who else is going to bring me cups of tea in bed at the weekend I've put my foot down about the blow up Santa. For context I'm not keen on blow up anything. Inside or out.

AIBU to think the 'needs' of the street are more important than DH's needs even if my cup of tea is at risk?

A farmhouse on a very quiet road has a huge blow up Santa outside. It's about 20 ft high, and it's terrifying driving past when it's getting dark.

It's fine to be tacky for one month of the year at Christmas. You can be tasteful and understated the other 11 months.

I live on a 'naice' street too. One year a new neighbour broke all the unspoken Christmas rules and placed multi coloured lights in her trees and pointed a laser beam thing which shone flashing snowflakes on the front of the house. The pearl clutchers gasped in horror and there were murmurings on the Facebook group.

She was not invited to the party at number 7 (everyone is invited to the party at number 7).

This year she has learned The Rools and has purchased white lights only.

She got invited to number 7.

We live on a nice street with tasteful lights. Around the corner, 3 houses down has inflatables and I smile at the sight of them each time I go past.

Having my own inflatables is not my cup of tea but I wouldn’t think any less of my next door neighbours if they decided to stick one up. We used to actively walk the streets on dark evenings with the DC to go hunting for the best lights and inflatables so I always love seeing them.

#TeamDH

aw don’t make him sad. ⛄️ ⛄️ ☃️

We live in a v posh road, and are the only renters. No outside lights, if you wash your car you have to scrub the suds off the road. Very well kept. New neighbours have moved in with kids, how dare they this road is for retired people, joking of course and have erected a massive chimney structure with a 10ft inflatable Homer Simpson Santa in it. I thinks it is epic, this is the one time I wish we were on the neighborhood WhatsApp, I bet they are going nuts.

go for the blow up Xmas Decorations!! if it makes you, him, family etc happy just do it. no point keeping up with the jones' you only live once!
we have a similar thing going on down our street and eventually 2 Doors down put up an inflatable dinosaur holding a present .... this year someone else has got something similar!

Have you a BIL by the name of Onslow?

Maybe the street's waiting for someone with a sense of humour.....at least it's not a whole wall of outside disco lights 😁

Are the people who hate good Christmas decorations the same who buy the beige kids toys?

I'd put up the ugliest sex doll I could find just to piss the neighbours off!
Did I say I don't care what neighbours think?
As a household we are quiet and mind our own, but I wouldn't be dictated to by pearl clutchers for any reason what I can and can't do with my garden.
Some were looking and tutting when we did 'no mow may' which went into late june. Garden is otherwise tidy under normal circumstances.
Some of them are very anal about cutting their lawns each week though [older retired for yonks peeps].

Yes but I like my neighbours. Aside from newt sitting we hang out with each other. For pleasure.

I have a solution for you!!

We've been in London this week and the JL shop has an enormous inflatable plant (the one from their weird advert) outside. It's gopping.

Soooo.... Let DH have the awful snowman and tell the naice neighbours that actually inflatable tat is vair posh this year, as demonstrated by the flagship JL on Oxford Street.

Job done.

Image and run.

But it's a newt

Haha, didn’t see that. 😀

Urgh. I'd probably hate the inflatable snowman more than the neighbours would.

Let him have his joy! If the neighbours have a beef they're comically conscious of status.

I saw an inflatable dinosaur wearing a Santa hat the other day...

Have you told him that you aren’t keen?

Well yes but when you've been married for 20+ years you learn that the key to happiness is compromise. So it's not something I want but i think that I'm more concerned about what everyone might think than what I think.

Let him have his snowman!!

Tkmaxx has a nice line in assorted Christmassy dinosaurs to hang on your tree.
I bought a Triceratops carrying a Christmas tree for DS’s stocking.

A house near me has a giant inflatable illuminated snowman and father Christmas. The worst thing about them is that when they are switched off in the day they lie on the lawn like flattened bodies and look horrible, even worse than they do in the dark.

I'd say let him have the snow man if it means that much to him