Lights.... we have lights.....

We have been looking at Christmas lights this week...... huge Christmas displays that charge an admission fee because they're so ornate and over-the-top.   We tried Giddings first, a small camp there that advertised over 800,000 holiday lights.  They did have a lot of lights, but their artistic and creative endeavor was lacking, I'm sorry to say.  There were lights on all the fences and tree trunks, but you can see that anywhere, without having to pay admission.  They had a light-show around the lake at the camp, but the music was uninspiring and somewhat sad.  I want a happy Christmas, not a maudlin Christmas.  They did have a "It's a Wonderful Life" lounge set up, complete with hot chocolate and a continuously running video of that movie, which was a nice touch.  And.... they had just-made kettle corn that was warm and delicious.... so that was the saving grace for Giddings. At least for me.  My husband doesn't like kettle corn, so he wasn't impressed.

Our next adventure, with friends J & J, was to Santa's Wonderland up in College Station.  There is an admission fee per car, and you can have up to 10 people in each car for the same fee.  And lights..... they had LIGHTS.  This display was a drive-thru, with nearly two million lights of every color imaginable...... airplanes and cattle and reindeer, Christmas trees in every color, The Alamo, Santa's toyshop, western boots, a huge 'HOWDY' sign, a 'God Bless Texas' wreath, stars and angels, a manger scene....... Santa and his sleigh gliding across the face of a full moon....... and the music....... happy and lively and Christmas-y....... truly a wonderfully happy display that made you smile wherever you looked.  They also had a Santa-Land that you could walk through, but it was cold last night, and we were all very happy to stay right in the car, thank you very much.

Speaking of Santa..... my husband made a huge painted sign that says "Santa's List," and he put it up at the beginning of our road....... all of the neighbors are listed on the sign, either in the 'Naughty' column or the 'Nice' column.  As our neighbors drive up and down our road here, there's no doubt they'll see it....... we put ourselves in the 'Naughty' column, along with one of the neighbors who will no doubt be happy that she's in that particular column. (I can hear her now: "Well, it's no dang fun being 'nice' all the time!")

Christmas fever has hit this part of the hills...... chocolate candy is being made and put into fancy little Christmas bags, Christmas books are being given out to everyone, from next-door neighbors to the UPS man. We've already had two cold snaps to let us know that even southwest Texas gets a northern blast in the month of December.  But when the sun comes out during the day and it warms up some, the lady-bugs are still flying around in droves, making us believe that Spring is just a heart-beat away.

But first...... Christmas is just around our little corner here.