Christmas cheer is officially here.
When it comes to holiday decorations, most students are content to put up a few lights on their house and a wreath on their door. But some people relish the chance to turn their yard into a sea of blow-up Santas, Christmas trees, and flashing lights.
“My dad is a big holiday person… but I help out too. We put lights up everywhere,” said senior Austin Cheney.
Cheney’s family likes to cover their house with lights and put blow-ups in his front yard. They have been keeping this tradition for years.
“Ever since we moved into the house we’re in, [my dad] has been putting lights up,” said Cheney.
He says that this tradition takes about 15 to 20 hours to set up every year. He puts the decorations up in the beginning of December, and he generally leaves them up for about a month after Christmas.
Junior Caroline Alcorta, also has a family that enjoys going a little over the top with decorations.
Like Cheney, she says her parents do most of the work.
“I mean, I love it, but they’re the ones that do it,” said Alcorta. “I’d like to, but it’s too much of a hassle.”
Stand-out holiday decorations can take hours or even days of work, and Alcorta’s family is no exception. There is, however, another reason Alcorta’s parents do most of the work.
“[My parents] don’t want me to be electrocuted ‘cause there’s so many wires,” said Alcorta.
It takes her family a long time to put up their decorations, which include lights on her house and bushes, as well as inflatables. They even put wooden cut-outs on their lawn every year.
Freshman Alison Spaziani is another student whose house gets some serious holiday spirit and cheer in the winter time each year.
Her family decorates with classic Christmas lights, but they also like to put up some more eye-catching decorations, such as a deer that moves its head.
“It makes our house pop out from all the other ones,” she said.
She likes to help out with the decorations, but they are time-consuming.
“It takes a long time… 2 days, 8 hours, I don’t know,” she said. “I like to put up the snowman, ‘cause you just plug it in.”
When the holiday season comes to an end, all these decorations will have to come down and be stored until next year. Taking them down is no quicker or easier than putting them up, but for some students, it’s not nearly as fun.
“It takes longer to take them down than put them up,” said Spaziani. “I try to stay inside so I don’t have to clean up.”