All Is Calm, All Is Bright

Before hopping into the car to take this tour of Christmas decorations, please take a moment to read and remember these simple rules of the road--suggested by some of the people who have worked so hard to make their neighborhoods sparkle for everybody’s holiday enjoyment.

* Keep your car radios, boom-boxes and other musical accompaniments turned down while touring the neighborhoods. Your taste in Christmas carols or whatever may be brilliant, but people are out to see, not hear.

* Car-pool with friends or neighbors if possible. Many well-decorated neighborhoods are overrun with cars every night, and some have started barring vehicles and requiring sightseers to walk through (which actually is a much better way to view many of these festive street scenes anyway).

* Have fun. Feel free to take pictures but try not to blind others with your flash. And where possible, even when not required, get out and walk through the neighborhoods so you can really savor what has been done, often at great expense, for no other reason than to brighten up people’s lives.