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Merry Christmas, America!: A Perfect Holiday and Christmas Gift
Every town has that house that outdoes itself at Christmas. Legendary for miles around, it is the place to see dazzling holiday decorating of the eye-popping, traffic-stopping sort. This flickering showcase bedecked with tens of thousands of lights is hard to resist—and ignore—as often every square inch is caked in Christmas, from snowmen to elves, carousels to candy canes. But who lives in that house—and houses like it around the country? And what compels this Christmas-decorating fervor? Author Bruce Littlefield finds the answers on his quest to locate the most spectacular Christmas displays across America. His adventures take him to the front lawns and doors of people in cities and towns from coast to coast who have a flair and fanaticism for doing Christmas right—whose goal is giving the world an illuminated, inflated, decorated gift. Littlefield shares his firsthand encounters with people for whom Christmas is a year-round labor of love—the people who spend mind-boggling amounts of time and money transforming their houses and yards, and even those of the neighbors, into unique Christmas fantasylands that are spectacles of individual expression and must-see destinations for the rest of us. These portraits of Christmas range from tacky to refined, outlandish to poignant—and the reasons they are created vary, too—but all are dazzling in their own ways, and the passionate people who dream them up have entertaining stories and anecdotes to tell that will make this Christmas the brightest, merriest, happiest Christmas ever. Just follow the lights.
- GenresChristmas
144 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2007
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Littlefield
13 books21 followersBruce Littlefield is a best-selling author, lifestyle expert, and an arbiter of American fun. He shares his passionate curiosity (and occasional mischievousness) through his books and TV appearances. Bruce has appeared on NBC, CBS, ABC News, FOX News, MSNBC, The Rachael Ray Show, NPR, Sirius, and numerous other programs, and has been featured in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the New York Post, People Magazine, OK! Magazine, Saveur, This Old House, the New York Daily News, Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times.
Bruce grew up in a small South Carolina town where he gained an appreciation for interesting stories, fascinating characters, and happy living. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Outstanding Senior from the University of South Carolina. He moved to New York City as a model—you may remember him from Clearasil ads or the cover of When a Child Kills, but was saved from all that glamour when he was named a Freedom Forum Scholar and received a full scholarship to New York University, where he earned a master’s in journalism.
His multi-book brand with Harper Collins is an adventure in American fun: For Garage Sale America, he took a thousand dollars and a truck and set out to see what treasures he could find. For Merry Christmas, America, he hung off light-encrusted houses and hung out with the real Santa Claus. And for Airstream Living, he took to the open road looking for the rolling silver icons. He is also the co-author (with Barbara Corcoran) of the New York Times best-selling Use What You’ve Got and the first book to read to dogs, The Bedtime Book for Dogs.
Bruce grew up in a small South Carolina town where he gained an appreciation for interesting stories, fascinating characters, and happy living. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Outstanding Senior from the University of South Carolina. He moved to New York City as a model—you may remember him from Clearasil ads or the cover of When a Child Kills, but was saved from all that glamour when he was named a Freedom Forum Scholar and received a full scholarship to New York University, where he earned a master’s in journalism.
His multi-book brand with Harper Collins is an adventure in American fun: For Garage Sale America, he took a thousand dollars and a truck and set out to see what treasures he could find. For Merry Christmas, America, he hung off light-encrusted houses and hung out with the real Santa Claus. And for Airstream Living, he took to the open road looking for the rolling silver icons. He is also the co-author (with Barbara Corcoran) of the New York Times best-selling Use What You’ve Got and the first book to read to dogs, The Bedtime Book for Dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 16, 2019
The first strand of Christmas lights was invented in 1882.
Somehow, we went from a few colored bulbs attached to a wire...to this -
And this -
And this -
And, Dear God!, this -
Insane? Tacky? Wasteful?
Yep! It's all that. BUT just try tearing your eyes away from the spectacle.
When and how did it become an annual tradition to out-Griswold the neighbors?
This book does a fairly nice job of answering those questions. There are tons of photos and interviews with the many who begin their Christmas decorating in October, or earlier. Some do it to raise money for charity, others in memory of a loved one, or to make up for lousy Christmases past. All those interviewed have learned the lesson that parents quickly discover - if you do something ONCE, you gotta do it EVERY year. None of them appear to be actual nutjobs. All love what they do and would never dream of "toning it down a bit."
Despite the questionable lack of taste, there is a great deal of creativity on display here. From a Santa-costumed dinosaur to a hubcap Christmas tree flanked by bicycle wheel snowmen, some of this could qualify as legitimate folk art. There is an exciting enthusiasm to all the displays, and a desire to spread joy to the world.
The book concludes with a handy travel guide if you need a little Christmas and feel like experiencing the extravaganzas in the flesh.
Electrifying!
Somehow, we went from a few colored bulbs attached to a wire...to this -
And this -
And this -
And, Dear God!, this -
Insane? Tacky? Wasteful?
Yep! It's all that. BUT just try tearing your eyes away from the spectacle.
When and how did it become an annual tradition to out-Griswold the neighbors?
This book does a fairly nice job of answering those questions. There are tons of photos and interviews with the many who begin their Christmas decorating in October, or earlier. Some do it to raise money for charity, others in memory of a loved one, or to make up for lousy Christmases past. All those interviewed have learned the lesson that parents quickly discover - if you do something ONCE, you gotta do it EVERY year. None of them appear to be actual nutjobs. All love what they do and would never dream of "toning it down a bit."
Despite the questionable lack of taste, there is a great deal of creativity on display here. From a Santa-costumed dinosaur to a hubcap Christmas tree flanked by bicycle wheel snowmen, some of this could qualify as legitimate folk art. There is an exciting enthusiasm to all the displays, and a desire to spread joy to the world.
The book concludes with a handy travel guide if you need a little Christmas and feel like experiencing the extravaganzas in the flesh.
Electrifying!
January 11, 2014
This book makes me smile. all those over the top displays across the country, burning up electricity, lighting up neighborhoods for miles around. Littlefield captures the commitment -- in time,money and emotional output -- that characterizes individuals and whole communities who create these masterpieces. He concludes with his own over the top version of celebrating Christmas. It is a fun book for the season.
January 31, 2012
Pictures and stories of people's humongous outdoor Christmas displays. My heroes ;)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews