jingleawards

This Christmas Display, comprised almost solely of vintage blow mold figures, is a real throwback to the 1960s. Blow mold lawn ornaments all started in 1957 with the ubiquitous “Pink Flamingo”, designed by Don Featherstone at Union Products. By the 60s, this style of holiday decoration was very popular for their ease of use (just plug in) and durability outdoors. Their painted plastic popularity was even lampooned by SNL (a fight over an elusive “Wise Man” figure). Although seen by some as too kitschy, these figures still have a retro charm that is lacking in the currently popular “inflatables”, whose deflated corpses can be viewed during the day on lawns everywhere.

This three story building is located on Esperanza, a one way street heading South, just off of 3rd St. On a block which is almost completely dark, this festive snow themed decorated balcony is a cheerful one-of-a-kind display. Shimmering snowflakes and snowmen are ready for a party up on the second floor, easily viewed from the street. BYOB, but they’ll provide the ICE!

This cozy cottage is located on 3rd/Olive in Downtown, at a stretch of 3rd that is one way. Although awfully difficult to see by just driving by or to find a parking spot to stop for viewing, this home is absolutely a must for you to visit. The windows are filled with collections of figures and decorations which are simply delightful. The night I took these photos, there was some street parking & few pedestrians, so I could take my time viewing this display.

The Long Beach Fire Department has a long & colorful history. Established as a volunteer “flying squad” in 1897, our “official” city firefighting capabilities began near the turn of the 20th century. If you are interested, the Long Beach Firefighter’s Museum (lbfdmuseum.org) is a treasure trove of amazing historic equipment, vehicles & photographs/documents, located on Peterson in the old Station 10 building. Station No.2 (3rd/Gaviota) has always been a favorite of mine, although our designated Station is No. 4 (The Dark Knights, with Batman as their mascot). As its mascot, No. 2 has “Zeep” the sheep grazing on the lawn outside their station, which regularly gets a “makeover”. Currently, he’s sporting his “Sheepish Santa” cap, jacket & boots.

This assisted living residence has a tradition of putting up quite a holiday display on the front lawn. This year is no different. The wonderful Nativity Scene on the East lawn has its counterbalance with the helicopter on the West lawn. I’ve often wondered if it represents the LBPD Fox 1 copter used for traffic control & pursuit situations. Drive by at about 4th and Cerritos for this fun display.

Jack Skellington is putting the finishing touches on his “Nightmare Before Christmas” Tree at Colorado/Redondo. Someone in this holiday house is a bit of a “computer geek”, since the display lights “dance” to music, which is controlled through a computer program. A wonderful traditional Santa Claus graphic in the front window & other personal touches make this display very unique.

Santa is still working very hard to get ready for his special Christmas Eve deliveries at this “workshop” located at Obispo/6th. You’ll enjoy many of the details of this display, which features Santa themed lights and decorations acquired across many years of collecting.

Santa and his Reindeer, including Rudolph, red nose and all, have already come in for a landing to deliver his best holiday wishes (and wonderful gifts if you’re not on his Naughty List) at this home located at Loma/8th.  All ready for his next delivery, Santa’s sleigh is poised to take off again, perhaps to YOUR house next! Dad, who now has a gold star next to his name on Santa’s Nice List (and is pictured below) has been erecting this display (along with help from his son) for many years.  Great job, guys!

These angels are singing carols of Thanks for someone’s successful fight with cancer. The cancer survivor is now celebrating the eighteenth year of being cancer free!  The Nativity Scene, which you can view from Stearns just West of Palo Verde, has been a favorite of mine for several years.  I used to drive by the display almost every day during December when I was still working.  Congratulations to this family for all their hard work and also their win against such a horrible disease.  Many thanks from me for this public display of their heart-felt grateful proclamation, at Stearns/Senasac. Display is beautiful during the day and usually well illuminated with flood lights at night.

Hanging out on the West side of a two story home, this Tequila Deer is ready to P-A-R-T-Y!  Very handsome during the day, our “horny” friend here is lit with red lights at night.  Toast him with your “air tequila shot” as you drive by at 3rd/Cherry, South side of the street.