Crazy X-mas Lights

[first lines]

Crowd:
We want Christmas!

Narrator:
Christmas: that holly, jolly time of year when people go out of their way to celebrate in spirit, song and... kilowatts.

Narrator:
Yes, nothing says "Peace on Earth" like an alien Santa and a sleigh full of robot reindeer.

Narrator:
For the past seventeen years, Cynthia McMullen at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has been deciding who is tacky enough to be on the coveted list of Tacky Tour homes.

Herself - Reporter:
You have people who actually call and get upset because they're not on the list or they were on the recommended list but didn't make the full list, but, you see, you have to have standards even when it comes to tacky lights.

Herself - Reporter:
It used to be you'd get away with about 10,000 lights. This year, the minimum is 30,000 lights. A lot of people have 50 - 60 - 70,000 lights. If you put Richmond up against Las Vegas, you know, bulb for bulb, wattage to wattage, connection to connection, we come pretty close.

Himself - Display Designer:
Even if you don't enjoy Christmas lights, it's the artistry and it's the innovation that people put into it. So, are they tacky? No, I don't believe they're tacky. I think they're artistic.