AWFUL Decorations Next Door, Yuck!!

[MichelleCarmen]

. Sorry to those who like them, but I think stuff like this should be against the law!

Tomorrow I'll take a photo of the heap of deflated dead plastic they become all day long.

--- Laurie

Those don't look that bad when compared to his lawn!

Do you have a HOA? You can always complain to them (however, if I personally was to start up anything it would be over the brown grass, not the holiday decor)

 

[JewelFreak]

It's winter. The lawns are dead. No HOA -- discontinued by general agreement before we moved here. They got so intrusive, demanding authority not only over a house's footprint as it was built, but also over where & how big the rooms inside were -- a lot of stuff like that.
Bringing it back was proposed last year, zero interest. Not having one is great by me, except for stuff like this. I get along ok with this guy so am not even contemplating making a fuss, but sorry, it's uuuuugggly. If he had kids I might be more flexible in my opinion.

So you think it looks okay, MC? Me -- yeah, ok in the parking lot of WalMart.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

It's winter. The lawns are dead. No HOA -- discontinued by general agreement before we moved here. They got so intrusive, demanding authority not only over a house's footprint as it was built, but also over where & how big the rooms inside were -- a lot of stuff like that.
Bringing it back was proposed last year, zero interest. Not having one is great by me, except for stuff like this. I get along ok with this guy so am not even contemplating making a fuss, but sorry, it's uuuuugggly. If he had kids I might be more flexible in my opinion.

So you think it looks okay, MC? Me -- yeah, ok in the parking lot of WalMart.

Okay, I just thought I'd rather not be stuck looking at that horrible lawn all winter long. Not sure where you're at but here where I am, even in 29 degree weather, all my neighbors manage to keep their lawns green!

If it really bugs you, you can sneak over and draw a mustache on the snowman!

 

[MissStepcut]

Maybe you worry about your neighbor & I'll say what I want about mine. I don't have to keep that to myself either. His neighbor on the other side called his stuff "atrocious." I'm with her!

Lemme get this straight... we should worry about sticking our noses into our neighbors' business, and you'll worry about sticking your nose into your neighbors, but we shouldn't stick our nose into you sticking your nose into your neighbors'... Mkay.

I live in a highrise surrounded by highrises and wouldn't mind a few more inflatable snowmen in my life.

 

[Missy]

I am in both situations- apt and house and I have to say living in a house with neighbors close by can be more difficult than living in an apt believe it or not! I am lucky in that my building is pretty quiet and I do not have to deal with noisy or intrusive neighbors and in fact have a few good friends living in the same building.

In the house well, let's just say when neighbors do not have good taste you are often stuck looking at it. Our next door neighbor decided to put a pool in his front yard. Yes, you heard right, his front yard! Anyway it was quite the eyesore (IMO) but luckily he put a beautiful wood fence up around his front yard a few months later. Let me tell you, if he didn't do that we would have put a fence up or some tall trees on that side totally blocking the view. However fortunately he did so we were spared the expense. I mean, a pool in the front yard?? LOL it was a first for us.

So I totally get what Laurie is feeling. It is not a good feeling when your neighbors have questionable taste and you are stuck seeing it all the time. Luckily for Laurie it is only seasonal and she is not forced to deal with the eyesore all year! But just in case remember- well placed trees can work wonders.

 

[Shoopy]

My in-laws are right now in the process of making their house the tallest of the block. Big inflatable blowups included.

But my daughter (who is 2.5) is the light of their lives and she LOVES tacky so they're doing it for her. I know they will be judged for it because their neighbors are young and for the most part people have very simple and elegant decorations but the more my daughter says "oh it's soooo beautiful" the more crap they put up.

 

[yennyfire]

I may have to make a special trip a few miles away to show you what truly tacky is...it's the photo JewelFreak posted on steroids (at least 30 inflatables and I'm not exaggerating!)....and, they do it for Thanksgiving and Easter too! Of course, my kids love it and we have to go out of our way to drive by it as often as possible, lol!

 

[mrs jam]

I don't care for the inflatable Santas and snowmen, either. It reminds me of something a used car lot would have as decorations, and they look awful during the day while they're turned off. I'm also not a fan of the painted wooden cutout figures, either. One of our neighbors down the road has cutouts of about twenty different Disney and Loony Tunes characters along his fence, all dressed up for Christmas. His grandkids really love them, though, and I guess that's all that really matters!

Another neighbor has a life-sized Santa Claus sitting in a chair in their front yard. Santa's head is animated, and they bring his head inside every morning or late at night because they worry someone might take it from their lawn. So during the day, they have a headless Santa Claus sitting out front. My husband calls it the Santa of Sleepy Hollow.

I love Christmas, but I enjoy decorating the inside of our house much more than the outside! The outside decorating feels like more of a chore, while decorating the inside is something I look forward to all year!

I am more drawn to the classic outdoor decorations, such as wreaths, garlands, and decorated cypress or other evergreens. To me, there is nothing more beautiful outside than a gorgeous, extravagantly decorated wreath hanging on the front door!

 

[mrs jam]

I live in a highrise surrounded by highrises and wouldn't mind a few more inflatable snowmen in my life.

I love this! Too funny!

 

[mrs jam]

I am so, so bad. After I wrote that I didn't care for the painted wooden cutouts, I remembered the Christmas decoration my husband made to put on his lawn a couple of years ago during the first Christmas we were dating. He is a huge fan of the comic character The Tick (think of a superhero dressed up as a big, BLUE tick - I have no idea who came up with that). He's an engineer, and he HAS to have some type of creative project to occupy himself at all times. He made a big blue cut out of the Tick, made a cartoon bubble sign that said, "Merry Christmas and Happy Blue Year" and put it out on his lawn. With the Tick holding a humungous blue disco ball. Groovy. It was actually our Christmas card that year. Y'all would have hated living next door!

 

[junebug17]

Yeah, I have to say, I'm not a big fan of the blow-up thingies. But kids really do love them, and they're not up for all that long. I agree that they do look pretty bad when they're deflated!

 

[monarch64]

JewelFreak, I can see why you find your neighbor's inflatables distasteful. He has a beautiful house and you're right, the inflatables look out of place. I know kids love them but they aren't my favorite things to look at either, especially when they're deflated during the day.

 

[TravelingGal]

JewelFreak, I can see why you find your neighbor's inflatables distasteful. He has a beautiful house and you're right, the inflatables look out of place. I know kids love them but they aren't my favorite things to look at either, especially when they're deflated during the day.

I don't mind them, but you're right...during the day it looks like they've been partying too hard the night before and all of them passed out on the lawn......

 

[Haven]

I am also Jewish with a Catholic husband. We have several interfaith families in the neighborhood. You should see the deorations around here combining the two holidays. You will find Stars of David hanging from decorated trees and tinsel hanging from menorahs sitting in picture windows.

Oy to the vey.

 

[Haven]

Maybe you worry about your neighbor & I'll say what I want about mine. I don't have to keep that to myself either. His neighbor on the other side called his stuff "atrocious." I'm with her!

Lemme get this straight... we should worry about sticking our noses into our neighbors' business, and you'll worry about sticking your nose into your neighbors, but we shouldn't stick our nose into you sticking your nose into your neighbors'... Mkay.

I live in a highrise surrounded by highrises and wouldn't mind a few more inflatable snowmen in my life.

THIS is a great quote.

 

[sphenequeen]

I love over-the-top Christmas decorations - maybe I am just weird!

 

[Haven]

I love Christmas lights and decorations, but I wouldn't want to live next door (or even a couple doors down) from an overly tacky display.

In fact, we have one really terribly tacky decorator all the way at the end of our street, and DH and I were just saying that if we are to ever purchase a house again, we're going to make sure to check out the neighborhood during the holiday season, just in case. This particular woman houses all of her decorations in her garage and in a huge shed in her backyard. (I know this because DH had a chat with her one day while he was walking the dogs. He's both fascinated and horrified by her commitment.) She goes really over-the-top for Halloween, as well. Her blow up things scare the hell out of my Pit Bull, so I don't even walk on her side of the street during the season.

We're Jewish, and my family's childhood Christmas Eve tradition of eating Chinese food and then driving around Sauganash to see the amazing displays people put on their homes. DH and I were just talking about starting that up again this year.

 

[ruby59]

I am also Jewish with a Catholic husband. We have several interfaith families in the neighborhood. You should see the deorations around here combining the two holidays. You will find Stars of David hanging from decorated trees and tinsel hanging from menorahs sitting in picture windows.

Oy to the vey.

Hey, you should see our combination Passover / Easter meals when the holidays coincide.

But what you said about Christmas really hit home with my childhood memories. We would go see a movie, eat Chinese food (only restaurants open on Christmas Day) and then we would take a drive to go see the Christmas lights.

 

[portia]

I love Christmas lights and decorations, but I wouldn't want to live next door (or even a couple doors down) from an overly tacky display.

In fact, we have one really terribly tacky decorator all the way at the end of our street, and DH and I were just saying that if we are to ever purchase a house again, we're going to make sure to check out the neighborhood during the holiday season, just in case. This particular woman houses all of her decorations in her garage and in a huge shed in her backyard. (I know this because DH had a chat with her one day while he was walking the dogs. He's both fascinated and horrified by her commitment.) She goes really over-the-top for Halloween, as well. Her blow up things scare the hell out of my Pit Bull, so I don't even walk on her side of the street during the season.

We're Jewish, and my family's childhood Christmas Eve tradition of eating Chinese food and then driving around Sauganash to see the amazing displays people put on their homes. DH and I were just talking about starting that up again this year.

Haven, this gives me a chuckle. I used to drive that way to work as a little side trip to get off the main roads.

We have the opposite living downtown. Our little 'neighborhood' is eerily vacant of lights and decor this year. It's very strange. Maybe everyone is busy and will put them up in the coming weeks. Thank goodness we don't have any neighbors that do inflatable decorations. They probably know better... they'd either be stolen or blown away within 24 hrs.

 

[Haven]

I am also Jewish with a Catholic husband. We have several interfaith families in the neighborhood. You should see the deorations around here combining the two holidays. You will find Stars of David hanging from decorated trees and tinsel hanging from menorahs sitting in picture windows.

Oy to the vey.

Hey, you should see our combination Passover / Easter meals when the holidays coincide.

But what you said about Christmas really hit home with my childhood memories. We would go see a movie, eat Chinese food (only restaurants open on Christmas Day) and then we would take a drive to go see the Christmas lights.

Oh man, I can't think of a more difficult holiday meal to combine with another than Pesach! I do not envy you that one.

I love our Chinese food Christmases! A friend of mine just posted this on Facebook last week:

 

[luv2sparkle]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think his display is overly tacky. The blow-up thingys are not my cup of tea, and sure, they don't look great
during the day, but kids seem to enjoy looking at them. So they don't go with the neighborhood. We have a really tight association, who
tries to control everything, but we have quite a few of these displays in our neighborhood.

Why get bugged over it. It's not that awful.


About the only one I have found distasteful was the city display I saw on MSN.com today. A skeleton dressed as Santa nailed to a cross.
That was distasteful. Everything else pales in comparison.

 

[iheartscience]

I don't care for the inflatable Santas and snowmen, either. It reminds me of something a used car lot would have as decorations, and they look awful during the day while they're turned off. I'm also not a fan of the painted wooden cutout figures, either. One of our neighbors down the road has cutouts of about twenty different Disney and Loony Tunes characters along his fence, all dressed up for Christmas. His grandkids really love them, though, and I guess that's all that really matters!

Another neighbor has a life-sized Santa Claus sitting in a chair in their front yard. Santa's head is animated, and they bring his head inside every morning or late at night because they worry someone might take it from their lawn. So during the day, they have a headless Santa Claus sitting out front. My husband calls it the Santa of Sleepy Hollow.

I love Christmas, but I enjoy decorating the inside of our house much more than the outside! The outside decorating feels like more of a chore, while decorating the inside is something I look forward to all year!

I am more drawn to the classic outdoor decorations, such as wreaths, garlands, and decorated cypress or other evergreens. To me, there is nothing more beautiful outside than a gorgeous, extravagantly decorated wreath hanging on the front door!

That sounds horrifyingly awesome!

JewelFreak-YIKES! He could at least go with a coherent decorating scheme! All Grinch-related inflatables, all generic Christmas-related inflatables, or all reindeer-related decor!

 

[Gypsy]

I love Christmas. "Tacky" decorations don't offend me in the least. In my MIL's town you see everything from the most tasteful decorations you can image to homes that I am SURE can be seen from space. All of it is festive and fun-- expressions of how individuals see the season.

You can only control what's on your own property. I think getting mad at someone's lawn displays is like getting mad at them for how they decorate their tree.

I'm an utter PAIN with what goes into my house and on my tree (my Dh has been known to call me the tree Nazi), but I don't give a hoot what anyone else does.

I like the decorations. Especially the blow up Grinch, it's a really nice one. For all we know the guy has three kids and each got to chose a blow up they liked best. Screw cohesion. It's all Christmasy to me.

 

[HollyS]

I love this one.

That is laugh out loud funny! My kind of smarty pants humor.

 

[NOYFB]

 

[mrs jam]

Neither one of our sets of parents appreciated this Christmas card.

 

[MissStepcut]

Is it inappropriate to say your hubby is dreamy?

 

[mrs jam]

Is it inappropriate to say your hubby is dreamy?

He's a keeper, that one!

 

[aviastar]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think his display is overly tacky. The blow-up thingys are not my cup of tea, and sure, they don't look great
during the day, but kids seem to enjoy looking at them. So they don't go with the neighborhood. We have a really tight association, who
tries to control everything, but we have quite a few of these displays in our neighborhood.

Why get bugged over it. It's not that awful.


About the only one I have found distasteful was the city display I saw on MSN.com today. A skeleton dressed as Santa nailed to a cross.
That was distasteful. Everything else pales in comparison.

This would be my neck of the woods.....

It's hateful. And while I wholeheartedly agree that if there can be a Nativity on the courthouse lawn, then other groups should be allowed to display as well, it just makes me so spittin' mad that they are just so mean spirited about it.

At least the, admittedly not super attractive, blow up decorations are put up in the happy spirit of the holidays, whichever holiday you choose to celebrate.

 

[asscherisme]

I love Christmas lights and decorations, but I wouldn't want to live next door (or even a couple doors down) from an overly tacky display.

In fact, we have one really terribly tacky decorator all the way at the end of our street, and DH and I were just saying that if we are to ever purchase a house again, we're going to make sure to check out the neighborhood during the holiday season, just in case. This particular woman houses all of her decorations in her garage and in a huge shed in her backyard. (I know this because DH had a chat with her one day while he was walking the dogs. He's both fascinated and horrified by her commitment.) She goes really over-the-top for Halloween, as well. Her blow up things scare the hell out of my Pit Bull, so I don't even walk on her side of the street during the season.

We're Jewish, and my family's childhood Christmas Eve tradition of eating Chinese food and then driving around Sauganash to see the amazing displays people put on their homes. DH and I were just talking about starting that up again this year.

LOL on the Christmas tradition. Add a movie to the day and you have just pinned down what my kids and I will be doing on Christmas day. Even since I was a kid, its not Christmas without Chinese food And when Hannukah overlaps with Christmas I make sure to never make latkes on Christmas because Christmas is for Chinese food I enjoy seeing the lights in the neighborhoods. It looks like SO much work! Some of the displays are so beautiful.