Ever since I was a little girl I've loved Christmas lights. There were several houses across town that really went all out, including moving figures like in department store displays (long before you could buy moving Santas and blow up snowmen at Target). I took that love of Christmas lights and decorations to college, covering my dorm room in lights. When we moved to Richmond we heard about the Tacky Lights Tour and it became an annual tradition for Matthew to plot out a map based on the listings in the newspaper and to take me on a several hour drive around metro Richmond, crescent cookies and milk in tow.
This year with our newly-toddling Benjamin, we didn't go to as many houses, but we went to the best several times each. And we spent quite some time at each house, getting out of the car and letting Benji walk around (it was an unseasonably warm December with temps as high as the 70s, so it was quite comfortable to walk outside). Similar to the Disney Electrical Parade, Benji was entranced and his eyes sparkled each time we went light looking. As we drove up to or away from each house we could see Benji looking out the window at the lights. But it really was much better to get to them up close. Getting down at Benji's level is a completely different way of seeing the lights, and I bet that up on Daddy's shoulders is a unique vantage point, too. I can't wait for next year, both because I love the lights so much and because I want to see what two-year-old Benji thinks of them.
Things sure look different from down at Benji's eye level.
I love Benji's eyelashes in this photo. So long!
Of course if we let Benji walk around he wants to go up and touch everything. This Christmas tree of traffic signals seemed sturdy enough to let him get close to it.
He looks a bit like a tour guide in this one. "And on the right we have a lovely display of Christmas cheer..."
We also had a daytime stop on our Tacky Lights Tour -- Mommy's office. I went all out this year and completely covered my cube row in Christmas! It was very reminiscent of my old dorm room decorating tradition.
i sincerely do not know what you are doing here. are you lost? were you
looking for your delicate calico cat, and did you follow her up two flights of stairs
to this room? she is not here. she was here, yes. we gave her a warm bowl of milk, we talked with her about campaign finance reform for a time, and then she bid us good day. i believe she was
going to the post office two blocks down, but i don't quite recall.
for surely you did
not find your way from prinsiana, the least traveled site on
the internet. if you did, though, perhaps you are looking for humor. perhaps you are looking for profundity. perhaps you are looking for answers.
i'm sorry, but you shall go naught-for-three.
