Each year, a neighbor of mine seems to make it her mission to outdo every other house on the block with her Christmas yard decorations. And, every year, she manages to win. However, she doesn’t win because of how nice it looks, she wins because she chooses to use every decoration known to mankind.

Last year, her yard was lit up so brightly because of her Christmas yard decorations, I didn’t need to leave any nightlights on in my house for the entire month of December. When making the decision to engage in some outdoor decorating, perhaps some consideration should be made for your neighbors.

If you don’t care what your neighbors think or are not particularly fond of them, you may not want to think about their thoughts and opinions. However, you certainly don’t want people driving past your house just to gawk and giggle at your choices of Christmas yard decorations. You may like to have your yard and décor look quite different from that of your neighbors. There are lots of things that you can do to be unique and creative, but not tacky.

Stringing Christmas lights of any color across trees, bushes and porches is always something that people passing by enjoy seeing. It is easy on the eyes and gives a sense of tranquility. If you want to pick out a freestanding Christmas yard decoration, don’t pick out the biggest and most noticeable thing you can find. Lighted reindeer or sleighs in your yard can look attractive as long as they don’t become your front yard. They key to outside decorating isn’t to shove Christmas in people’s faces, but to make them appreciate the joys of the season and the respectful decorating.

If you have a small front yard, getting a large inflated Christmas yard decoration probably isn’t the best of ideas. Having a huge front yard and only decorating a tiny section of your porch isn’t a good idea either. When utilizing outdoor Christmas yard decorations, have a sense of the size of your yard first. Just because you walk through your local department store and pick out every Christmas yard decoration that you like, doesn’t mean that it will look decent in your yard.

Of course, if you’re having a neighborhood contest, it would probably capture a bit of attention if you light up your yard more than anyone else in your area.