My housemates and I were putting the finishing touches on our rather extravagant Christmas decorations on Sunday night when we were called “overachievers” by a passersby. If only my professors felt the same way about me.
Overzealous Christmas decorating has nothing to do with overachieving; our efforts were sparked by pure Christmas spirit. And, perhaps a bit by the decorating competition sponsored by RAZOR/UNITE, which promises a $300 gift certificate to Stop and Shop.
In no sense of the word are we overachievers. In fact, all of us missed classes for the sake of the rabid Christmas frenzy. But hey, sacrifices needed to be made.
This year, I have learned that when it comes to decorating for Christmas, there is no such thing as tackiness; this word simply does not exist in my vocabulary. Draping your house in thousands of multi-colored lights is not tacky. Clark Griswold was certainly not tacky.
The next time you look out your window and see me putting up even more lights, you’ll probably think I’m a bit crazy. Rightfully so. But if you haven’t spent countless hours on a wobbly ladder perfectly positioning a wreath, you really don’t know what you’re missing.
Nothing can get you in the spirit of Christmas as easily as stapling up a couple dozen strands of lights.
And there is nothing like a friendly decorating competition either, even if the contest turns fiercer and fiercer on a nightly basis.
I take more pride in my holiday lights than in my schoolwork and you should, too. Nobody is ever going to see what you got on that biology test, but they will see how festive your house looks.
The one downside of the competition is that on-campus residents were told by Residence Life that the lights and decorations must be taken down by Dec. 11. If the administration really expects them to come down by then, they will have to pull the lights down themselves.
Our display and the huge wreath hanging from the back of our house would undoubtedly survive a hurricane.
The single week this school gives us to celebrate this joyous holiday until we get romped by finals is way too short. I suggest everyone keeps his or her lights up until at least Dec. 23.
So when you can’t sleep at night because your crazy neighbor’s lights are too bright, stop by for some cookies and holiday ale and realize that the house is not on fire. Those are Christmas lights, and ’tis the season to be merry.
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