Sensible people will want to start reading at part 1 and read through in the correct order; that is because they are sensible (not boring, now that isn’t very nice) & that is the sensible way of doing things. Crazy people will like the order I put them in because I too am crazy & I designed this. That leaves mean people who want to hurt my feelings & people that just want to be difficult.
Oh no, I’ve just challenged you haven’t I? If I read this I would deliberately read these posts out of order because you told me not too, and then the right way because (Autism OCD) ‘You have to read things in the right order.
Wait! Then you’d read it twice. Okay we are right now!
On with the Christmas Light based blather!
What direction do we travel? I have no idea; I can’t drive! I get in cars, people make the car move places, it is a complete mystery to me. Admittedly sometimes they ask we which direction to go in. But when its light hunting; not finding the place I live which keeps hiding from me, I’m fine. I can say ‘I’ts up to you’ or if pressed randomly pick, sure we get lost sometimes but Gavin never expects me to know where I am so I’m not expected to help with this.
If there is nothing to do the next day; no school for example, we just drive in a different direction each time. Gavin tries to cover 4 quadrants before the big Christmas Day hunt so we can plan the best ultimate route. If we go anywhere late afternoon or evening we light hunt the area coming back. We get lostish but I only got a bit overwhelmed/scared one time.
We don’t need to desperately find the best displays; because we like lights, all the lights. A single window decoration or wreath can be pretty, cute or elegant.
A huge display filled with many lights is definitely spectacular.
We like all white, white & gold or white & blue…
Or a kaleidoscope of colours.
Lights are great but there are also wonderful structures that people build; sleighs, thrones for Santa, this year we saw a wooden reindeer stable and previous years there was a life-sized ice rink & skaters (remember no real ice, temperatures like ovens), nativities and many other things. Lots of people have inflatables which we also love.
An extra fun community activity when the “Doctor” (local nickname for a particular easterly wind, you didn’t read in order did you or you would know) is particularly strong you can chase inflatables down the street. It is polite to hop out of your car & chase stranger’s decorations even if they aren’t there. If they are there the etiquette seems to be catch the decoration, help to carry it back & reset it, then laugh and when thanked you say “No worries, Mate!” It is great fun! If they are not there we take it back & try to secure it so they can fix it more securely when they return, this is not as much fun as it feels kind of creepy. But after enjoying stranger’s displays you just can’t just stand by and see them damaged.
Just one more fun activity; back to the singing. One of our favourite songs is “I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas”. That is a dreadful song I hear you saying. But the 5 of us love singing this song at the top of our lungs, and not just during light hunting, randomly during the day. Why?
Irresistable!
The secret to getting home before all the lights are turned off is simple. Gavin & I silently mouth our discussion of time limits and we drive towards home without letting the kids notice. This may not seem democratic but as I tell the kids it may be a democratic country (no offence to the Queen, I love our Queen!) but our home is a benign (usually) dictatorship.
This is the end, the end of my advice, it is not the end of Christmas, no I have a lot more rubbish to write about Christmas, just no more about lights.
You have not escaped yet!!!
autistsix 
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