LAFAYETTE, IN — It’s December. Thanksgiving leftovers are gone and before you know it, Christmas will be here. Might be time to start thinking about putting up those Christmas decorations.
“It just brings warmth to your heart,” Jeremy Birge, owner of Mobile Wash Xpress, said as he explains his warmer-weather business of pressure washing pivots to customized outdoor Christmas lights. “Having lights put on your house and you’re pulling up at night. It changes your whole aspect of Christmastime.
“It is pretty cool. I enjoy it.”
For others, that heart-warming experience should wait.
“Not until we celebrate Thanksgiving,” Gloria Laube of Lafayette said of the ideal time for putting up Christmas decorations.
Teresa Smith of Lafayette abides by a strict rule of no Christmas decorations or music until the season officially arrives.
“Decorating for Christmas any time before that tramples over Thanksgiving,” Smith said. “Putting up decorations before Thanksgiving diminishes what Thanksgiving has come to mean to so many — taking time out of our busy days to just enjoy each other’s company and let people know that they are important to us.”
Smith admits these are just her opinions and others hold different beliefs.
For Birge, putting up decorations is a seasonal job that allows him to earn money in the off season. He’ll put up and take down Christmas decorations whenever the customer wants.
“It’s a luxury item for customers,” he said, admitting that his services aren’t for everyone.
He estimates that decorating an average house might cost $800 or more. The cost is based on the linear measurements of the house, he said.
But for that money, Birge said, the customers get custom-made strands of lights, an outdoor-decoration plan tailored for the client, who doesn’t have to climb a ladder or brave the cold. It also means that the client won’t have to take down and store the lights, he said.
Next year, Birge said, those same tailored lights for the specific customer’s house are ready to go. And if any lights go out, Birge promises he’s one call away from repairing or replacing those broken bulbs throughout the season.
“Some people do it because they have kids,” Birge said of why some of his customers pay for him to customize their outdoor decorations. “Some people do it because their grandpa used to do it, and he passed away. The family wants to keep that tradition alive.”
Birge began decorating his roughly 50 customers’ houses in October. They can turn on the lights as early as they like, but to get to everyone’s house, he has to start in November.
Birge cautioned that if someone just wants a person to hang their run-of-the-mill retail lights for them, he’ll refer them to a trusted friend who can help. But he won’t delve into that market. His client list is for the customized, tailored lighting and installing.
“I make it fit to the house so I don’t have extra lights hanging down a downspout because you have 4 feet that you can’t hide,” Birge said, explaining that the strands are specifically made for the customers’ houses and are not retail-store lights.
“The problem is once we get going, and we get new people who call,” he said. Ideally, new clients would reach out in September when there’s more time. But he can still fit them in, he said.
Birge can be reached on the website under the holiday lighting service or by calling 765-429-4274, which will take a number and pass along the customer’s information to Birge.
“I’m not trying to get rich off of it,” Birge said about his business that includes a certification by the Christmas Lighting Installation Pros Association.
“I’m just trying to enjoy the holiday spirit and make families happy,” he said. “The joy on their kids’ face, you can’t beat that.
“I’m just really privileged that they allow me to do it.”
The holiday season is dubbed the season of lights, so, as Smith said, “I have to begrudgingly say that there is no right or wrong time for Christmas decorations, as it’s something that comes down to personal preference.”
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Christmas is coming. Are your decorations up?
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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