All night or just a few hours

I can hardly believe it's two weeks before Christmas. I'm already in the Christmas spirit, despite not having purchased any gift yet! There is a debate in our newsroom about Christmas lights and how long they should be left on. Some of my co-workers believe Christmas lights should only be on for a few hours each night. Others have no problem with them burning all night long. I don't put up a Christmas tree (I let my mother do that.) or lighted decorations, but my mother usually lets her lights stay on for a few hours, then she turns them off. The exception to this rule is Christmas Eve. She lets the lights stay on all night, until Christmas morning. I don't feel strongly one way or the other, but it's interesting what gets people going.

For the past two weekends I've been the grand marshal in parades. One in Trinity, the other in Triana. It's loads of fun- throwing out candy, making people smile. It makes me wish we could keep a little bit of Christmas all year long.