It's That Time of Year Again

Our annual look at Christmas 
Decoration Addiction. 

By John M. Grohol, Psy.D.

"Five years ago, I covered something called Christmas lighting addiction in our then-fledgling newsletter. It was a bit tongue-in-cheek, because I’m not a big believer in most addictive behaviors. Christmas lights? I mean, c’mon…

But as I guess with anything in life, you can go overboard with decorating your house in Christmas lights...."

Holiday Decorating Abuse

America’s tragic seasonal illness.

These victims spend the holiday season awash in replacement bulbs and outdoor extension cords, the sturdy cords in orange or blue, as they monitor their surroundings with pathological hypervigilance.

A forlorn, out-of-control lightscape where a festival of moderate holiday dazzle used to reign. Oh, the humanity.

Oh, sure, the perpetrators can be cited for various misdemeanors, but rarely are the over-displays removed by the appropriate authorities. And rarely can the disordered decoraters stay sober for, say, more than a year at a time….

In the end, sometimes extreme and difficult measures are required to enable the perpetrator to stop and consider the consequences....

Happy Holidays, and here's to responsible outdoor lighting!