Leigh

There are times when decorations of excess just leave your jaw-dropping. I don’t know what to say about this excess, except to let you see for yourself the Christmas overkill we found near Provincetown, or P-Town, on the Cape earlier this year. The photos look amazing at full size. They are a bit of a jumbled mess at this smaller scale, but perhaps the jumbled mess gives a better feel for exactly what we saw.

One Person’s Tacky is Another’s Treasure. There is no accounting for Good Taste or Bad Taste. Pink Flamingos, Lawn Balls, and Blow Up Plastic Snowmen are one person’s delight. For others, the plasticized culture of Americana is a cause for shame.

This is the place to report your opinions of good and bad taste. We make no claim to speak for all – only for ourselves. The rest is up to you!

Our opinion is that is not so much the use of plastic decorations as it is the use of so much plastic. Americana gone wild is evident in the excess of decorations: the disorganized abundance lacking continuity of themes. The fact that most of this junk is perishable and is made in China only adds fuel to the fire of our expendable excesses. We don’t buy things to last; we buy them because they are cheap.

Our latest log of Tacky comes to us from Austin, Texas, where the best shots got away. But here we have a blow-up Santa in the same yard right next to a plastic creche. On a city square, such a blending of commerce, Christ, and the secular is understandable. On a single lawn, it can be confusing. A plastic baby Jesus is as disposable as a plastic Santa. At least Jesus doesn’t deflate. Another lawn has a Mickey Mouse Candy Cane Christmas.

Contrast our Excess with the simplicity of a Williamsburg Christmas and you’ll see our taste in the natural and the green:

Visit Colonial Williamsburg for Christmas done well.