Holiday lawn displays -- every year they get worse around here. Inflatable snowmen, snowwomen, snowbabies. Inflatable merry-go-rounds that actually... go 'round. Lights and Santas and mangers and sheep and just about everything else you can imagine. There was this woman in the newspaper a few days ago talking about her lawn display; she was saying her electric bill runs her, like, $400 every December. But it's all worth it, because she does it for the children. For the children. These must be some hard-to-impress children. When I was a kid, I could spend hours playing with coasters. Yes, those things you put drinks on. But I did like Christmas lights. We'd make a game of counting the lights to and from our evening destinations. Not the individual light bulbs, obviously, but the number of houses that had been decorated. Some streets had none, some had several, and then there was the most famous street of all... Peacock Lane. Peacock Lane is probably not unique; I'm sure there are many streets like it throughout the country. There are even some Peacock Lane imitators here in Portland. But Peacock Lane is the real thing, the creme de la creme of Christmasey streets. Year after year, every house on the block takes part. For many, taking a drive or stroll down the street is a holiday tradition. The lights go on in mid-December; in 2007 the start date is/was December 15th. And then comes the traffic. The lawn displays range from tasteful and modest to gorgeous and grand, with none of that "let's buy every inflatable known to man" mentality. Perhaps the homeowners know that they don't need to go out of their way to attract attention; they're going to get attention no matter what. Like floats in a parade. You can be as creative as you like, but you don't have to signal Mars with your wattage. Because your house is on this street, people will come, look, and admire... just as they have been doing for years. In 2006, I visited Peacock Lane after Christmas, when the crowds had dwindled and I could take photographs without having to worry about getting somebody's arm in the picture. Below I've posted some photos I took. Click on any of one of them to view a larger version of the photo. And if you find yourself in Portland this December, why not visit Peacock Lane in person? It's located in Southeast Portland, between 39th & 41st Avenue and between Stark Street and Belmont Street. 12/14/2007 (c)2007 AlligatorJuice.com