<\/p>\n

It all started with our neighbors — and it wasn’t even a Christmas display, it was their Halloween decorations. On Halloween Susan and I like to sit on the front porch and hand out candy to trick-ot-treaters. We love seeing all the costumes and hearing the kids laugh and shout “TRICK OR TREAT!” when they run up to the porch. This year, all of our young visitors asked us the same question. “Did you see the Beetlejuice house?”<\/p>\n

We had a lot going on this year and didn’t decorate as much as usual. We put Mick Rib (my 6′ skeleton) and Slimer (from Ghostbusters) on the front porch, but that was about it. We didn’t have time to reassemble our 12′ skeleton and we didn’t put up any lights. We didn’t go all out. The people across the street, however, went all out. The house is on a corner and from our porch we couldn’t see everything they had put out, but we could see enough. There was a giant sand worm from Beetlejuice in their front yard. There were flashing lights and loud music. We had been bested, and I don’t like being bested.<\/p>\n

“Just say the word,” Susan said, “and our yard will beat theirs for Christmas.”<\/p>\n

I don’t think I said a word and I don’t think she was really waiting for me to. Within a week or two, box after box coverer in Chinese writing began arriving from Temu. Sure, Hobby Lobby, Home Depot, and all the big stores have Christmas decorations, but Temu sells them for pennies on the dollar. For just a couple of bucks you can purchase rows of plastic candy canes. For five bucks you can get strands of lights that will stretch all the way across your yard.<\/p>\n

Susan spent about $300. I believe the term she used was, “we’re going Griswold.”<\/p>\n