Home Guru: Outside Holiday Decoration for the Kid in All of Us
The memory I remember most vividly is Christmas when I was seven years old, living in a row home in Philadelphia. That was the year my parents suggested that I might have a holiday party and invite the neighborhood kids to see our gigantic tree, decorated with hundreds of ornaments and with lead tinsel so precisely placed on each branch that it created the effect of a frozen waterfall.
I loved decorating the lower branches with this material until it was discontinued in 1972, when the FDA claimed that the lead posed a threat to children.
My particular delight was that at our tree’s base was an oval track where a Lionel train, originally my dad’s from the 1930s, chugged along with a clatter that I can still hear in my head. My older brother, Bobby, who got the set from dad, allowed me to lie to my friends and say the train set was mine. I could also operate it as long he was present to supervise.
My preeminence for holiday decoration and wonder was short-lived, however, when my arch nemesis who lived next door, Joey Delayo, announced that his dad was decorating his front porch with strings of colored lights and we were all invited to come see it that evening.
Sure enough, later that evening, Joey’s dad flipped the switch on what seemed to be endless strings of lights on the porch, illuminating the brick facades of the entire block. Joey beamed as his mom handed out candy canes to all the kids who came to see the only outdoor display on the block. God, I hated that kid.
When I asked my dad if we could also decorate outside for Christmas, he said it was a waste of time and money. I remember him saying, “Why decorate for the neighbors?”
Today, many homeowners want to decorate for the neighbors. Whenever I see a home with its lawn decked out for the holidays, I get the urge to pull up, knock on the door and meet the owner. I’m sure that he or she loves kids and probably is still wondrous as a child himself.
In my Yorktown Heights neighborhood, the most talked about home at Halloween is owned by Domenic Pizzarello, who lives with his wife and three children, ages 8, 6 and 4. His lawn is a dark wonderland of scary figures, more than life-sized, in various guises and contraptions. There’s an execution in an electric chair to scenarios with video amplification, music and smoke.
This year, I stopped and knocked on his door, but Domenic wasn’t home. However, a young mother, Terri Zumatto, was walking past the house with her two children, Victoria, 8, and Michael, 4. When I asked what they thought of their neighbor’s display, Victoria told me with great animation about all of its special effects.
I later reached out to Domenic and asked whether he knocked himself out each year for the kids or for himself.
“It’s both,” he said, explaining that it’s “in his blood.” “My parents always decorated their lawn and instilled the fun of it in me. Now my dad comes to help me build new devices to add to my collection.”
Another home is that of Daniel Donnelly in Shenorock. Donnelly also has three young children. His lawn features a parade of blow-up figures that almost obscures his entrance, including spooky monsters held in counterpoint to a friendly Mickey Mouse.
The scary fun of Halloween seems poised to overtake the serenity of Christmas in terms of money outlay. The National Retail Association reports that this year consumers will spend close to $8 billion on costumes and outside decorations for Halloween, more than double of what was spent in 2005.
What happened to the day when my biggest effort in entertaining my child for Halloween was to carve out a pumpkin and place a candle inside?
And Bobby, if you ever read this, what happened to Dad’s Lionel Train set? If you still have it, hand it over. You’ve had it long enough.
Bill Primavera is a licensed Realtor® associated with Coldwell Banker and a lifestyles columnist who writes regularly as The Home Guru. For those seeking advice on home maintenance or who want to buy or sell a home, visit his website, www.PrimaveraHomes.com, or call him directly at 914-522-2076.
