clark griswald would be proud

District 13-20101216-00037.jpg, originally uploaded by Wintermute Lives.

I've always been a fan of the more-is-more ethos when it comes to holiday decorating. there's no such thing as too many ornaments, and the idea of a minimalist tree with color-coordinated tinsel, lights, and garlands is for...neiman marcus.

homes should have a grab-bag of decorations that reflects the accumulation of years of ornaments, including handmade tin foil bells from first grade and darth vader's helmet. Growing up, the biggest house on our street covered its yard, trees, and every available surface with more than one million light bulbs, literally (I'm not exaggerating; it was in the local paper and apparently someone had counted). I always thought it was cool that almost everyone knew where I lived when I mentioned my street name, because they would say, "you live by the house with all of the christmas lights!"

given that dr. wintermute has Taste with a capital T, this year's lights actually look pretty acceptable to her. on the inside however, our tree would make clark griswalk proud.