Article Appearing in Neighbours Magazine Nov. ’19 Edition
Still Dreaming of a Bright Christmas
I visit my family in California every other Christmas. As one would expect, Newport Beach looks very different from Toronto in December. Snow is unheard of. Cold is when an evening breeze gets below 17 degrees Celsius. Ice is found in drinks, not on sidewalks. The only real visual sign of the holiday season is the Christmas decorations. Boy oh boy do they love their Christmas decorations!
Being south of the snow line offers a few advantages when it comes to the logistics of installing lights, which allows people to really take things to the next level. The Christmas lighting displays and neighbourhood competitions at Newport Beach are a massive draw for locals, visiting family, tourists, and anyone with a real case of the holiday spirit. I make sure to take an evening stroll along the boardwalk, marveling at the spectacle and the ambition of some of these homes. And I always bring some ideas and inspiration home with me to Toronto.
We are not south of the snow line. Christmas lights up here need to be hardier, and weatherproof against the worst that nature can throw at them. Installation of those lights can be tricky, and accessing the upper levels of a structure is more difficult. Does that make holiday lighting more challenging? Anyone who has ever put up Christmas lights in this city probably thinks so. But there is one thing going for us that Newport Beach doesn’t have – the snow itself. Bing Crosby wasn’t dreaming of a mildly overcast Christmas!
A white Christmas isn’t our only advantage. Toronto has some truly beautiful homes, whether they’re master-crafted rebuilds or the classic estates of yesteryear. Every season we work with film and television production companies who want us to make sure that their Christmas-themed projects are picture-perfect. Last year Bloor Street and Temperance Park stood in for Chicago. The year before, a home in Lawrence Park represented us in a nation-wide commercial. When people in the industry think Christmas Lights, they think old Toronto and Christmas Décor.
So what about your home?
A Christmas lighting display doesn’t need to be ostentatious. Some of the most effective installations are simple and elegant. It can be fun for the kids, full of colour and moving animations. It can look like it belongs on the cover of a magazine, or it could be a social media sensation. You can have that house that people stop to gaze at when they walk past. Whatever the vision for your home, we can help. And if you’re not sure which direction to go with a design, we can help with that too.
This is our 21st year providing holiday lights to the fine people of this city. Once again Christmas Décor looks forward to serving the community, both to our clients and through our charitable works with organizations like Wellspring Westerkirk House at Sunnybrook Hospital. Your ongoing support is appreciated, and we look forward to another wonderful holiday season.
