Perfecting Christmas

For 11 months of the year, Christmas lights and decorations collect dust in attics, garages and storage rooms. All those trinkets and lights get dusted off and spruced up near the end of November as do-it-yourself Christmas decorators begin the process of making their yards and homes merry and bright.

Tommy Clark spent the Saturday after Thanksgiving in the front yard of his home on Kirkwood Drive with his wife, Tonya, and his 11-year-old daughter Teagan. But he wasn’t alone. Neighbors all around him were out and about hanging and stringing lights. Block parties may seem like a thing of the past, but a neighborhood in northeast Odessa is keeping it alive with a Christmas twist.

“My neighbors won’t let me stop,” Clark laughed about his holiday decorating habits. “Everyone in (this neighborhood) does a little bit. We try to make it a neighborhood thing... Everyone’s doing it. That’s what makes it so neat.”

Clark’s neighbors seem to agree that Clark does it big and literally outshines the rest of the neighbors.

“We should just put an arrow that points to their house,” Clark’s neighbor Laura Smiley joked.

Clark estimated that 5,000 lights would adorn his family’s yard. All those lights, however, can take a toll.

“We’re close to needing a generator,” Clark laughed.

Clark’s yard is full of inflatable decorations, signs, spotlights and ornaments strung from the tree. However, Clark said the first step to decorating is getting the lights on the roof. But just like Santa, Clark has a little helper, his daughter Teagan.

“I love this season,” Teagan said. “I’m not afraid (of getting on the roof), but my mom hates it.”

The Clark family emphasized that it is important to remember the reason for the season.

“You’ll never see anything in my yard that says ‘Happy Holidays,’ ” Clark said. “Christ: That’s what Christmas is all about.”

Miles away in West Odessa, another family agrees.

“I don’t think you should leave Christ out of Christmas,” Barbara Hurst said.

Hurst was working in her yard on Ambassador Avenue with her mother and niece on Saturday after Thanksgiving. Hurst said her yard would be full of things special to her family.

“I have a big yard. I’m going to put up one of those cowboys kneeling at a cross and a big Texas,” Hurst said.

Her husband has a thing for motorcycles, so Hurst has two inflatable Santas atop motorcycles.

“My husband loves them, but guess who gets to put them up?” Hurst said.

In addition to the outside decorations, Hurst said she puts up two trees inside her home, a Christmas village and musical animals. What makes her trees inside special is they are decorated with ornaments her children and grandchildren have made her throughout the years.

Both families agree that Christmas is special because time seems to slow down and more attention can be given to family.

“We do this as a family because this is the one time a year we’re all focused on the same thing,” Clark said.