Ho ho ho

Early and elaborate, Christmas decorations seem to be one of the ways we're responding to the bite the pandemic is taking out of our traditional celebrations this year. An entire village of inflatables (including Santa in an outhouse) take up most of this front yard. Photo by John Denniston. 

These are not traditional Christmas motifs, but one Dunbar neighbourhood has sprouted a series of  celebratory-looking, if unusual, street-side decorations (more below). Somebody felt they needed to
 brighten things up, even if they used spring flowers to do it. Photo by John Denniston.

 

Halloween pumpkins were still fresh and plump on the doorsteps this year when Christmas trees began glowing in neighbourhood windows. As someone who reluctantly hauls out the Christmas decorations as close to Dec. 25 as possible – if, and only if, company is coming to notice them – this seemed like an alarming development.  Two full months of indoor trees drying to tinder-explosion levels? Of inflatable yard-display figures drooping and capsizing through months of winter winds, rain and snow? Of eye-straining light displays keeping neighborhoods ablaze until well after the new year?

It seems to be a pandemic thing. Trapped in their houses, isolated from friends and family, people are turning to the warmth and sparkle of Christmas decorations to lighten things up. CBC had a story this week about Christmas trees flying off the lots – sales are up and taking place earlier than usual. People who usually go away for the holidays are hunkering down and pampering themselves, sometimes with not one tree, but two.

We’ve always been the Grinch house on our block. Neighbours scale high ladders to string up sparkling strands that brighten our view and we respond with …darkness. But this year, as all those early decorators have decided, is different. Now that we’re respectably into December, maybe it’s time for us to join the crowd and shine a little Christmas light ourselves.

Inflatable figures are taking over from more traditional decorations in many Vancouver gardens. Photo by John Denniston.

But not everywhere -- this highly decorated garden featured lights and Christmas-tree balls. Photo by John Denniston. 

A mix of old and new. Giant-size traditional bulbs, a "neon" Santa and a couple of wicker figurines for the kids. Photo by John Denniston. 

Back to the Dunbar-area street-side display. I have no idea what this is about, but it is colourful and cheerful, which may be the point. Photo by John Denniston. 

This may be making a nod to Christmas, given the use of traditional red and green colours. Photo by John Denniston.

But this? Oh my. Photo by John Denniston.

Similarly, no lack of colour here. But it looks like somebody had fun. Photo by John Denniston. 

This is the boulevard bathtub lady I have used in previous blogs. Last time, she was surrounded by pumpkins for Halloween. Now she's in Christmas fettle. Love her or hate her, she gives people something to talk about in the middle of a pandemic. Photo by John Denniston.