On the first Saturday of December every year we have a "Turn on the Lights Night". The residents of the village turn on their Christmas lights and invite family and friends to walk around the village streets and enjoy the colouful display. Some residents have stalls outside their unit providing passers by with a Christmas drink, chocolates, sweets and cookies. Afterwards we congregate in the community centre for Christmas drinks, friendship and Carols. We weren't the best with the Carols this year. In past years the village singing group sang for us but they weren't available this year due to sickness.
I set off just before nightfall. Outside David and Diane's unit they were giving out some Christmas Cheer for adults and sweets for children.
More and more visitors were arriving.
This garden was lit up with little moving lights. It was beautiful.
A pretty hedge.
The girls were enjoying each other's company while the boys sat at the bar. (A typical Australian custom which Bill and I don't like.)
The bar is operated by volunteers.
Then it was time for me to walk home. Bill hadn't come with me because he wasn't feeling the best. (Low blood pressure). This is our street and the video below is our lights. It gets harder and harder each year to put them up, especially as we don't have family living close by to help.
The garden that was lit up with little moving lights did indeed look beautiful. I wonder if the owner could leave the little lights in all year, just to make the garden glisten at night.
ReplyDeleteIThe lights look good anyway. I can imagine you don't like to celebrate splitted in men and women. Strange habit....
ReplyDeleteyour lights are beautiful and that is really hard to get them up, especailly with low blood pressure. sorry he missed the walk, but you can do that any night now. the streets are spectacular. I see some of the ladies made it to the bar. I don't like the idea of splitting up either, I like to talk to men as much as women. In Kentucky of my childhood, this was the habit, and in church the men sat on the left of the church and women on the right, even the choir was divided...
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun evening, the neighborhood Christmas lights and decorations look so pretty. Take care, have a great day and happy new week!
Your lights look pretty good but some other residents have really gone all out and made marvellous displays. Can we be bothered putting lights on our balcony this year? Probably not.
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice tradition. Nice too that you can walk around and enjoy a visit besides. We will wait a could weeks and drive around after dark and enjoy all the decorations on the big old colonial homes downtown.
ReplyDeleteDiane, I am totally convinced there isn't a retirement community to match yours anywhere!
ReplyDeleteThe lights are beautiful especially when I think about how hard it is to put them up these days.
All the lights are looking great. Some are very pretty.
ReplyDeleteWe have lights for the caravan for our Christmas away from home.
A great evening, everywhere looks very pretty. I agree with Pauline’s assessment on your retirement community.
ReplyDeleteThat's just beautiful ! What a beautiful way home ! The fact that the girls are sitting and chat and the men are standing at the bar is typical everywhere in Europe. The worst are the Southern countries there men and women separate on all events automatically ! I have an overdose of Christmas markets in Switzerland, in all cities we visited there were Christmas markets and always the same things to buy.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun evening!
ReplyDeleteThe lights are beautiful!
Hugs and blessings, Diane 💐
That is amazing, you and everyone else have done a great job. With only the two of us the Christmas spirit is low but I have put up a small tree. We cannot even get a goose this year because of bird flu, there does not even seem to be a duck around either, very boring. I have a couple of small cockerels in the freezer, or we may go the salmon route this year! We have plans to go to friends for New Year, who we hope, with all the strikes will get back here after Christmas with family in the UK. We will stay over so we can drink a bottle of real champagne! Wishing you both all the best, t'other Diane
ReplyDeleteForgot to add Africa is the same, the men usually end up at the barbecue and or bar and the women are together, we also hate it. T'other Diane
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the separation of the genders, but it does look like you all had fun.
ReplyDeleteI think everywhere looks so pretty, always nice to see Christmas Lights.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
Some of those light shows are spectacular. Interesting to see the green contrast where we have white if there's snow or brown if no snow.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to celebrate the Holiday season with a new tradition (for those of us who have "outgrown" the old ones for one reason or another). I hope Bill is feeling better. There might be organizations who will put up your lights and decorations for a donation to charity. I know people who have used such a service. (We are opting completely out of decorating this year because after Hurricane Ian we have other stuff with which to exhaust ourselves. There will be other Christmases. I hope.)
ReplyDeleteLook at you all in your short sleeves! Seems strange to me to associate Christmas lights with balmy, warm, evening strolls. To do the same here you need a thick coat and a woolly hat and lashings of hot chocolate to get you round!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a wonderful party and the lights are beautiful. Hope your Hubby is feeling better.
ReplyDeleteSue