Christmas Lights!

Here's something Californians do right: Christmas lights. I'm not only amazed at the number of houses I see decorated with lights, I'm also amazed at the amount of lights. It's as though Clark W. Griswold lives at every house!*

Take a look at these!

One particular street in San Carlos was crazy busy. Traffic was not great, and the sidewalks were extremely crowded. It was difficult to get a good view of each house because so many people were standing in front and taking pictures.

You can see the owners of the house in the photo below. They just hung out in their driveway, greeting people and having a good time. Lots of homeowners did that. They would hang out in their driveways or garages and chat with the folks passing by.

These guys apparently had an extra Jeep laying around to use as a prop in their light display. Can you spot Santa and Mrs. Clause?

This place had the tallest decorated tree I've ever seen in a residential neighborhood.

Some houses were colorful:

Some houses had a theme:

Some houses went a little nuts with the inflatable decorations (It seems to be a trend these days.):

And one house was more about Hanukkah than Christmas. (It's difficult to tell in this picture, but the bright white blob in the left window is a dreidel!)

This house, though. This house was the silver tuna. It was absolutely incredible.

Finally, there was this house: Star Wars House. I made a special trip just for this house, and I wasn't disappointed. The homeowner set the lights to Christmas music, the main title of "Frozen," and even some hip hop. The "Star Wars" portion of the display was the best part, though, and here it is, captured on video:

Thing I'm thankful for: people's creativity and willingness to display Christmas lights


*There's even a website dedicated to helping you find the best light displays in California! Check out California Christmas Lights.