Bright Lights: Harlingen tradition continues despite economy

Dec 01, 2008 (Valley Morning Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- SHLD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- This year's sour economy has pinched budgets but it won't change Christmas decorating plans for some families, residents said this weekend.

An inflatable 10-foot Christmas carousel spins in Cindy Hinojosa's front yard along West Bluebonnet Drive, while other decorations lay on the ground waiting to be hung.

"The kids really enjoy seeing all this stuff so we do it for them every year," Hinojosa said.

She said her family is continuing a four-year tradition of holiday decorating despite a strained economy.

"We are not cutting back this year," she said. "Actually, we're adding a whole lot more. The economy really doesn't have anything to do with us decorating. We bought (the inflatable carousel) for $300 and we got a big Noel sign for $150. We got that one last year because we just had a son and his name is Noel."

The Hinojosas planned to wrap up their decorating by Sunday.

"We're going to be putting up lights tomorrow," Cindy said Saturday. "We'll be getting our tree too."

Jerry Parrish stood on a ladder wrapping an oak tree in lights outside his home on Arrroyo Vista Court Saturday afternoon.

"We do this after Thanksgiving every year," he said. "I've been out here for most of the morning. We also have some reindeer, candy canes, wreaths and other things to put up."

The 10-year Harlingen resident said the economy would have little affect on his Christmas display.

"I can see how that would be something everyone has to consider but we're putting up things we have from years past," he said. "The lights run from about 6:30 (p.m.) until about midnight when we turn them off. I'm sure it runs (the electric bill) up a little bit but it's not too noticeable. It's all for the kids."

The Hernandez family of Raymondville scoured the Christmas aisles at K-Mart to add to their home's display. The family will hold off decorating until mid-December when their home remodeling is completed.

"We usually do it right after Thanksgiving and keep it out until after New Year's," Jessica Hernandez said. "We usually have about six of those inflatable things for the yard and some reindeer."

Jodie and Ashley Stryker formed a mother-daughter partnership to tackle the decorating at their home along Arroyo Vista Court.

"I enjoy doing this because I'm home from school and it's good family time," Ashley Stryker, a Texas Tech student, said. "I want to have all the Christmas decorations out before I get home for Christmas. I want the house lit"

Jodie said jokingly that if her daughter wanted the decorations out in time, it would behoove her to help assemble them.

"We're doing the decorating in phases," she said Saturday. "We got everything out of the attic and figured we would work about an hour.

Texas Tech plays football in about an hour so we figured we would take a break when the game got started. We want to try to knock it out today."

The Washington D.C.-based Alliance to Save Energy suggests that households can cut electrical costs by switching to Christmas lights that use Light Emitting Diode technology.

LED Christmas lights, the alliance claims, have the potential to save users more than $100 a month on electrical costs.

A household running 10 strands of large incandescent lights for 8 hours a day for one month will spend about $127 if electrical casts are 8 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to the alliance.

A home using traditional mini lights will spend about $7 while a home using LED lights will spend 72 cents.

To see more of the Valley Morning Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.valleystar.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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