An Open Letter to Anyone Who Displays Christmas Lights in New England

Thank you.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank every single person who decorates the outside of their house with Christmas lights, blow-up Santas, trees, and more.

People do not realize the time, money, and frustration that goes into setting up outdoor Christmas decor, and I think we must give thanks to those who do it.

Some of the best Christmas memories I have, from the younger me to the older me, are from driving around town a week before Christmas and looking at all of the Christmas displays.

For the most part, these houses go under-appreciated.

Think about how much joy a well-decorated house gives you. We LITERALLY drive around aimlessly trying to locate the best, most colorful lights, but the homeowners have no clue how much we appreciate them.

The cost of installing Christmas lights is a lot. The cost to keep the electricity on and the lights shining is even more. But the planning, actual hanging, and organization takes an enormous amount of time for homeowners to do.

I know because I explored the possibility of a beautiful light display on my house this year. Truthfully, my wife and I are not quite ready. Just between the money to do it and all of the logistics, we are putting it off another year.

But that does not mean we don't appreciate those who do.

As I said, we ALWAYS take a drive to admire the beautiful lights around Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and all of New England.

Whether you do old-fashioned colorful lights, bright white and simple lights, or you have 80 blow-up Santas and reindeer, we appreciate you.

If you do any kind of decorating in your yard for Christmas this year, thank you. You...YOU...are making our communities festive. YOU are putting everyone who drives by in a good, spirited mood.

So if your neighbors are annoyed with the bright lights, send them my way. The holidays are only for a few weeks, and you are making everyone in the community happier just by spreading some holiday joy.

Thank your neighbors this holiday season for the decorating they do. We wouldn't have the magic of Christmas without them.