With the holiday season upon us, many people are digging out those Christmas lights to decorate their homes for December. From snowmen to Santa Claus and colorful, blinking lights, everyone knows that the more you decorate the home, the bigger the Christmas spirit will be. After the rough year we have all had, it's about time to get some cheer into our lives.
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Family Receives Anonymous Letter Over Their 'Eyesore' Christmas Light Display
Some people like to go all out with lavish displays on their homes.
Unsplash | Jamie Davies
Some people become like a staple of their neighborhoods where people drive from all over to come and see their displays. My mom's neighborhood has one family that even made it onto the news for their Christmas light display.
This year, many people are also getting into the holiday spirit with Christmas lights due to the pandemic.
It's been a tough and hard year for many, but decorating your home for Christmas is something people can do while practicing social distancing. It's also a way to brighten up the neighborhood for other people to enjoy from a safe distance.
While we all love the holiday spirit, not everyone likes to see elaborate displays in their neighborhood.
Unsplash | Luke Southern
Some people want things to be more "low key" in their neighborhood. These people dislike having hundreds of visitors coming around their blocks to see the lavish and big displays every year.
Sometimes, families get some complaints from others in the neighborhood over their holiday displays.
Unsplash | Bob Ricca
One family recently got a "threatening letter" from a neighbor, who was trying to prevent them from decorating their home in an elaborate way. It seems that this neighborhood has a few Scrooges.
A resident from Queensland, Australia posted the photo of the letter on social media, showing that this neighbor is not very nice when it comes to the family's light display.
Unsplash | Brigitte Tohm
The letter starts off by saying that the person noticed the family was putting up their Christmas lights and "hopes it's not as big and disgusting as their Halloween display."
The anonymous neighbor also said that many people in the neighborhood don't like the family's display.
Unsplash | Harishan Kobalasingam
The neighbor said that they don't care if people on Facebook like the family's lights. The letter went on to say the noise and the traffic the display causes is a "disgrace" and is "downright annoying."
The neighbor "advised" the family to not do a big display this year.
Unsplash | kaleb tapp
They said that the big displays are an "eyesore" and threatened consequences, or "hell to pay," if the people who are coming to see the display park anywhere near the neighbor's home and footpath.
They even threatened to call the cops on the family.
The anonymous letter-writer also said that if there is too much noise, they will file a noise complaint with the police for "disturbing the peace."
People on Facebook were up in arms that someone would be so rude to a family just trying to celebrate the holiday spirit.
Unsplash | Jonathan Borba
Many Facebook users commented that they should "go big" this year and make it even bigger than they had previously, just to spite this person.
The family ultimately decided that this year's display would "not as big as they intended," but they will still put up their Christmas lights.
"We have decided to do a display, but not as big as we intended. Hopefully, it will still bring a smile to people's faces that do come and have a look,” the homeowner wrote in an updated comment.
"Again thank you all, it’s been overwhelming. Our lights will be on from the 1st of December,” the homeowner said in response to the many people who reached out online.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time that a family has been criticized for their Christmas decorations.
Unsplash | Mohammed Kabir
In 2019, a woman from San Antonio, Texas, received a letter from her homeowner association after installing some Christmas decorations on her lawn in early November.
The homeowner association told resident Claudia Simonis that her decorations needed to be removed because it was too early in the season.
Unsplash | Toni Cuenca
In this situation, Simonis' neighbors stood by her, with many of them installing their Christmas decorations early as well.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, families have also been shamed for not installing enough Christmas decorations.
A family in Haddonfield, New Jersey, was surprised when a note left at their door on Christmas Eve described their Christmas light display as "lazy."
In this case, the anonymous letter was especially painful as the family had just gone through a difficult year.
Unsplash | Debby Hudson
The resident told a local news source that she had been too "depressed" to decorate after a challenging year that included the loss of a pet and caring for an ill relative.
In each of these cases, it seems that these homeowners were trying to celebrate the season and were caught off-guard by these letters.
Unsplash | Marina Khrapova
Perhaps these stories are important reminders to spread kindness this holiday season.
h/t Kidspot
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