It should come as no surprise, given my attitude toward Halloween décor, that I’m not going to win the most festive house award when the holiday light displays are judged. Mine is the house people drive past on their way to the one that shines in the night like a search light.
Part of the problem is that I’m married to the unhandiest man I know and, at least in my mind, men are supposed to do the light hanging. Indoor décor is work for womenfolk; decorating the shrubs and trees is in the manly domain. The other part of the problem is that my husband is Jewish; holiday lights just weren’t part of his youth.
I realize twinkle lights are not exclusively for Christmas; we have some hanging in our gazebo. My husband loves the gazebo lights, particularly on a warm summer evening with a glass of wine in his hand. But twinkle lights in the trees during December? Not gonna happen unless I do it. And I’m not going to do it because, and I know this sounds pathetic, I won’t do a good enough job.
It’s not enough for me to have a few strands of lights strewn over the landscape, hung from the eaves or wrapped around the parkway tree trunk. I want dazzle and drama. I want the kind of breathtaking display that you only see in Martha Stewart Living and that took three electricians, a professional stylist and a herd of helpers to create.
While my dream display is a ridiculous fantasy, I discovered an elegant holiday light show that’s easy enough for me to do myself and perfectly suited to my multi-cultural family. For the past few years, we’ve had a driveway menorah. On the first night of Hanukkah, I light a luminaria at the top of our driveway, near the front door. It looks pretty lonely, but I add another luminaria every night until there are eight candles lining our driveway from top to street on the eighth and final night of Hanukkah.
Thanksgiving weekend, the twinkle light hangers had gorgeous weather and I’m expecting knockout displays as a result. Some years, I’m lucky and every night of Hanukkah is equally mild. Frequently, though, I’m out in the cold and the wind struggling to keep the candles lit.
It’s worth the trouble when I see our luminaria all lined up and glowing. I hope my neighbors enjoy it as much as I like seeing their twinkly displays, just as I hope my kids keep the candles burning when they grow up.
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