About de-decorating

I blogged previously on CSI--Christmas Scene Investigation--and the pitfalls of too-early Christmas decoration.

And I've also contemplated the exuberance with which some people now decorate for Halloween. Whereas once upon a time, Halloween decorations consisted of a couple pumpkins on your porch and a cornstalk or two leaned up against your light post, we now see people with full-blown day-of-the-dead displays in/on their house and yards.

My own Halloween decorations have expanded to a few orange lights (hey, they make the yard brighter for those trick or treaters), a few decorative banners and plagues (I only buy them once they're marked down) and, of course, pumpkins.

One strict rule: Once Halloween is over, it's over. It doesn't linger into the next week. Or even the next day.

All the decorations come down the day after, and not one orange light is lit after 11 p.m. Halloween night.

I feel this way about other people's decorations too--I just don't want to see your fake spider webs, tombstones, ghosts, or ghouls-in-coffins one second more than I have to.

Even though I was sick yesterday, I dragged myself outside to take down the now-passe bunch of orange stuff.

We're not as strict about the after-Christmas de-decoration as we are about the pre-Christmas violations. Twelve days of Christmas and all that, plus, as it can get quite frigid at that time of year, it's easy to forgive. Who wants to be taking down icicle lights when it's zero outside? (Just don't light them up!)

But 12:01 a.m. November 1? Halloween is so over.

And thank goodness, no one has yet to come up with over-the-top Thanksgiving decorations.

Although if I should ever find a blow-up turkey character for my yard ... on sale...?

Hey, how 'bout you? Your yard is not still stylin' for Halloween, is it?