And So It Begins

Kicking off the holiday season with the traditional unraveling of the Christmas tree lights!

Christmas Creep

For the past several years I've really been noticing Christmas creep -- retailers creeping up the time of year when they roll out their Christmas sales push.  Step #1, of course, is putting up Christmas decorations, especially the eye catching lights. I  think this is the earliest I've seen commercial decorations going up.

I took these pictures in Sarasota three days before Halloween. A large crew from a company called Christmas Designers was stringing lights in the palm trees along University Parkway, a busy thoroughfare which leads to and from a major shopping mall.

Even with a dozen workers and several bucket trucks on site, I was told it would take more than one day to get everything done. One guy mentioned that dealing with Christmas decorations is a full time job and that's all he does year round.  Imagine that!  They were a very happy, enthusiastic group of workers, getting the job done while having fun.   And, I'll note that the music they had playing was not Christmas-themed -- whew!  (Perhaps we can hold off on that until after Thanksgiving?  Although, yesterday,  I received a notice from Pandora that their Christmas channel is up and running and ready for my listening pleasure.)  

Ho Ho Ho

The day after Halloween, Christmas commercials started running on TV. So, I'm not overly surprised to see lights going up in the trees the week before Veterans Day…and three weeks before Thanksgiving.   This might be the earliest holiday season yet.  But, these decorative lights are so pretty, I wouldn't mind if they were up year round.

 

I must admit I was a bit excited to actually see the lights being strung. Usually, it seems like they magically appear overnight. So, when I encountered this scene on my way home last night, and I happened to have my camera with me, I had to stop. These guys sure were making it look easy climbing through the trees and wrapping the lights.  By the way, they had music playing.  Thankfully, though, it wasn't Christmas music yet.  (That definitely should not start until after Thanksgiving.)

Red Christmas

How long do you leave your Christmas tree and decorations up? I'm not one of those folks who has their tree down by 7 p.m. Christmas night, that's for sure.  Usually, the cut off is New Year's Day.  That's when I box everything up with the football games on TV in the background.  But, as long as the tree is up I'm still celebrating Christmas.  This is another capture from Grace Baptist Church.  Pretty festive, huh?  Last night was the final showing of the amazing flashing and pulsating light show -- until next year.

Up on the Rooftop

Who knows what the story is with this?!  For years, I've driven by this place which looks like a cross between a residence and an unusual business. It's located near a busy intersection in Sarasota and always has an enormous mound of firewood outside year round, which I've never understood since we're in toasty Florida.  When I noticed the upside down mannequin sporting a Santa hat, I finally had to stop.  But, it all remains a mystery.  I didn't see a soul.

Big. Really Big!

These are the biggest candy canes I've ever seen!   Hanging from a banyan tree in Ft. Myers, these actually are metal duct fixtures with red tape wrapped around them.  Not only clever, but quite festive!  Christmas is right around the corner.  Are you ready?

Christmas Cheer

You know it's Christmas in Florida when you start seeing ornaments hanging from trees in front yards. Rather festive, don't you think?  I spotted this cheery scene in Ft. Myers.

Grace Nativity

This is another scene from the awesome Christmas light display at Grace Baptist Church.  As I mentioned in previous posts, the scenes are choreographed to music.  And, at one point two angels suddenly rise up over the nativity scene and look as though they're floating.  It's a very neat aspect to this already amazing display.

Blue Christmas

 

These are just some of the half a million lights on display at Grace Baptist Church.  Pretty cool, isn't it?! Depending on the music playing, the lights will change to red, green, white, and blue.  A parishioner told me the church works on the display year round, but really starts setting it up in early November. Any guesses how much the electrical bill increases in December? Anyone...anyone?  Try...an increase of $1,100.  The church accepts donations but apparently someone stepped forward months ago and paid for this year's event for the community. 

Joyful & Triumphant

Well, it's a busy time of year, isn't it?! I was in downtown last week pondering where I was going to find new Christmas lights to shoot, then I looked down and I saw a flyer advertising this display. And what a Christmas display it is at Grace Baptist Church!  300 trees and half a million lights blinking, flashing and twirling in synchronization to sounds of the season.  The display is both joyful and triumphant!  (For Sarasotans, it's located a few miles east of I-75 on Bee Ridge Road.)  This is just a taste of what's to come with future posts.  Hope everyone is doing well!

Rudy

This house is actually decked out with all kinds of festive colorful lights, but I wanted to focus on this  adorable little fella.  Rudolph's little red nose even flashes. Very cute!  I guess the other reindeer were off playing reindeer games because Rudolph was all alone on the front yard.

White Christmas

White as in...all white lights. It was difficult to capture how nice this house looked decked out with all white lights. Normally, I prefer color with my Christmas lights, but I thought this place was appealing in a classic sort of way. (Believe it or not, they even had a rotating tree in their living room.)

Angelic

Now that Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror, this is my first Christmas decoration post of the season.  I spotted this angel and Christmas tree last night in a neighborhood near where I live.  It's going to be difficult to find interesting decorations this year which I haven't shot and posted before, but I'm up to the challenge.  Hope everyone has a good Sunday!

Holiday Madness

I would've walked right by this florist shop last night without noticing it, except it was lit up like....a Christmas tree.  Apparently, my holiday sanity plea earlier this week wasn't heeded.  Even this display (which was by far the best Christmas display in the area last year) is already up.  I don't plan on monitoring this madness any further.  Expect to see Sarasota Christmas decorations here at SDP starting December 2nd, right after the next theme day.

'Tis the Season...?

The SDP Editor-in-Chief made an executive decision to halt the North Carolina fall photos for...Christmas!  I was rather surprised to hear Christmas music playing in Best Buy yesterday.  Then, I saw this: a lit Christmas tree atop a strip mall in Sarasota -- on November 4th.  My neighbor also put up Christmas lights over the weekend and had them lit last night.  This might be the earliest Christmas ever.  I love Christmas.  But, come on...let's enjoy Thanksgiving first.

Encore!

We're enjoying holiday leftovers here at SDP! I showed you two portions of this display before Christmas: sailboats and blue and green scullers. For our encore presentation, the SDP staff presents red scullers and a sailboat heading to shore. The entire display includes three sculling boats (all of which are animated -- very cool!) and two sailboats.  Hands down, this is the best non-residential display I spotted this season.  By the way, I agree with Jack at Hartford Daily Photo: the Christmas season continues for several more days!

Joy to the World

I spotted this nice nativity scene in front of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Ft. Myers.  I hope everyone is enjoying a peaceful day with family and friends.   Merry Christmas!

'Zat You Santa Claus?

The low lighting on yesterday's Santa photo may have been what prompted several people to comment that he looked a bit creepy. This one, on the other hand, looks like a member of the paparazzi caught the Big Guy having a jolly 'ol time on someone's balcony, waving to revelers below. I sure hope Santa is well rested for tonight!

Special Guest

Imagine driving down the street and seeing a life-size Santa standing on a front porch.   I did a double take when I spotted this jolly guy.  He's quite realistic at a glance.  Ho ho ho!  Is everyone ready for Christmas?

Colorful White

Who doesn't like a splash of color on a white picket fence this time of year?