The Outrageous Cost of Traditional Holiday Lighting
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Christmas Vacation,” you’ve probably recognized traces of Clark Griswold in the people you know. My father was similarly obsessed with putting on the most gaudy, elaborate display of lights on the block. Tact and subtlety were not terms that held much weight in his mind, and the other heads of household in the neighborhood only stoked his competitive spirit.
There are two events that my siblings and I could always count on when Christmas time rolled around. First, our dad would take every opportunity to gloat about the lighting effects at our annual holiday party. Then, when the December electrical bill arrived sometime in January, he would stomp around the house in sheer disbelief that all that wastefulness could come at a cost. I think of those times now in my adult life when I string up a solar Christmas light or two around the residence.