A labor of love shines brightly / LJWorld.com

Lawrence and Douglas county

While some families still go all out on decorations, others trim that from budget

Gina Wilcox, left, and her family and friends were setting out holiday decorations Saturday. The Wilcox home at 27th and Harper streets has a dazzling display of seasonal cheer.

By Chad Lawhorn

November 30, 2009

Not that one. Not that one. Not that one.

Yeah, Gina Wilcox can tell you the most difficult part about putting up an extravaganza of Christmas lights. It is trying to find that darn, elusive scrooge of a bulb that has burned out and is ruining a whole string of lights.

Very frustrating.

Does she have a tip for making it a little easier? Of course she does.

She has 30 different pieces of Christmas decorations in the yard — a snowman with a felt hat, a tiger on a train, a penguin just being cool (ha, get it?). She has 8-inch golden plastic bells hanging above the garage doors, and red, green and yellow lights tacked to the edge of the roof. This year a carousel of Christmas characters is the new addition. It replaced a snow globe that fell victim to a firework. So much for peace on Earth.

All this is at her Lawrence home at the corner of 27th and Harper streets. You can’t miss it. Really, you can’t miss it.

So, her tip for checking Christmas lights?

“I let my husband do it,” she said.

He once spent two hours checking the lights on a single reindeer.

No, the reindeer is not Gina’s favorite. That would be the family of bears that populate the yard.

“I guess they’re my favorite, but I only have four of them,” Gina said.

Yeah, they are her favorite, she says upon further reflection. And she’s got a reason: Her husband’s nickname is Bear.

Sweet, but two hours on a single reindeer? Wonder how her husband got that nickname.

“He does complain about it every year because he has to take it all down from the attic too,” she said.

But get this, Gina doesn’t do all this to make her husband happy. Instead, it is for the younger at heart.

“I love it when little kids stop and look at it,” said Gina, whose house is on a main route to nearby Prairie Park School. “There’s a 1-year-old next door who looks out her window every night, her mom tells me. That makes me feel good.”

But a few more people than normal may be taking a pass on the feel-good tradition this year.

“Decorations aren’t selling like they have in the past,” said Herb Hitz, a manager at Lawrence’s Bargain Depot, 1547 E. 23rd St. “It has slowed down quite a bit, actually.”

Hitz said he figures that people are looking for places to cut tight budgets this year, and decorations are one way to do it. Not only do they save some money on the purchase, they also may save some money on the light bill.

Gina admits the thought has crossed her mind, but not for long.

“It worries me about the electric bill, but it doesn’t shoot up too much,” she said. “Maybe 20 bucks a month.”

For Gina, the bigger investment may be time.

“If we put them up all at once, it probably would take about a day and a half,” Gina estimates. “But we spread it out.”

It is the gift that keeps on giving for her husband.

Gina’s husband, Robert Wilcox, by the way, was unavailable for comment Friday. He was taking a nap.

“I had him out shopping at 3 o’clock this morning,” Gina said.

When he woke up, there were more lights to put up.

Discussion

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30 November 2009
at 7 a.m.

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zstoltenberg (Anonymous) says…

The power bill? Seriously? If you decorate big for Christmas, this shouldn't even be a thought. If you're really worried about it, switch to LEDs. I have almost 5,000 in the front yard computer controlled and set to music and my electric bill went down $20 last year. I am glad to see that some of us are not going to give up little joys like Christmas lights because of the current state. Now more than ever people need a little light. Thank you to those out there keeping the Christmas spirit alive and well in dark times.
30 November 2009
at 10:13 a.m.

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rantor (Anonymous) says…

How tacky.
30 November 2009
at 10:19 a.m.

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errita (Anonymous) says…

Tacky is beautiful at Christmas. Love to see the lights keep doing what your doing! :)
30 November 2009
at 10:48 a.m.

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toe (Anonymous) says…

Thank you to all that decorate.
30 November 2009
at 12:35 p.m.

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yankeevet (Anonymous) says…

I can remember when were so poor; we could not afford the tinsel to put on the tree; so we waited for grandpa to come by the tree and sneeze on it which made the tree shiney……lol
30 November 2009
at 6:51 p.m.

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jcstepmom28 (Anonymous) says…

Thanks to the buttwads that stole my yard decorations. Kiddo and I just put them out yesterday and they were gone this morning. Another guy down the street had some of his taken too. Thanks for making my kids upset…