Too Much Christmas Spirit?

It seems to me that Gen X is the first generation whose members have never completely grown up. As I drive around local neighborhoods during this holiday season, I'm convinced this is why there are so many more ugly Christmas decorations around than when I was a child. Because when it comes to kids and decorations, the more garish the better. So it follows that adults who are still kids at heart will purchase the biggest, tackiest, over-the-top thing they can afford.

Yes, I'm talking about the huge blow-up Santas, Frosties, and Rudolphs. At night, they glow and sway in the breeze, buzzing with the sound of pressurized air being pumped into them. During the day, they are hideous multi-colored puddles on front lawns.

When I was growing up, decorations mainly consisted of pretend candles in house windows, a wreath on the front door, and maybe some lights--usually tasteful white ones--on a few bushes.

It was nice, classy stuff that made our little New England town look like Santa's Village for a few weeks.  (That's another difference: Decorations used to go up the second week of December, not the day after Thanksgiving.) I used to love sitting in the backseat of our station wagon with my brothers as my parents drove us around to look at all the pretty lights. Nighttime was darker back then and the air stiller, so the twinkling lights seemed extra magical.

But now, there's no lovely feeling of calm when we drive around looking at decorations. It's all, "WOW! Look at that house! OH MY GOSH, look at that one!" My kids particularly love the houses where you can't even see any grass because the entire lawn is covered with deer, presents, candy canes, sleighs, etc...as if the North Pole exploded and random pieces fell from the sky and landed in people's yards.

I'm not bah-humbugging it; the decorations amuse me and my kids' excitement is contagious. But I do miss how it used to be, when tasteful and classic ruled. Because now the feeling is less "O Holy Night" and more "All I Want for Christmas Is You."