Today I put our Christmas lights up outside. We used to have all white lights but they are about a dozen years old and I decided to replace them, and got a couple multi-coloured strands. It’s amazing how much better LED lights have become. It used to be that running outdoor lights actually added to your electric bill, but now two entire strands of 100 lights are less than a single 60 watt bulb from 25 years ago.

I like the tradition of putting lights up, and I enjoy seeing neighbourhoods lit up for the season. When it gets dark before 5pm, it’s nice to have the darkness filled with little sparkling lights. That said, our house is pretty basic compared to some houses.

Tomorrow we put up our tree. That’s new too, replacing a tree we bought in 1999. This one comes with built-in lights. We have decorations that we buy for each family member every year, and they are the main decorations for the tree with only a few regular globes added. My wife and I first bought ornaments of a skiing couple when we were dating, then bought ourselves and our first daughter each an ornament the following year, and we’ve now done so for all 4 of us ever since.

It’s that time, of lights and decorations, and brightening up the gloominess of winter.