Staff reports

The Natchez Democrat

VIDALIA &8212; Christmas decorations may be fun for children, but adults enjoy them, too.

Some Miss-Lou residents started before Thanksgiving, others gave the turkey a few hours to settle. But those devout about their decorations are already well into the swing of things.

Kathy Dickens of Vidalia has quite the show in her yard, with more to come.

&8220;We&8217;ve been doing this for about 10 years,&8221; Dickens said. &8220;It makes Christmas a lot of fun. The cars are slowing down or stopping to see our lights. We&8217;ve still got a nine-foot Santa Claus to put up.&8221;

Dickens&8217; called in reinforcements in the form of her niece, Charlotte Wynn from Brandon, to help decorate. The Nichols Street house has lights and inflatable figures.

&8220;We really started getting elaborate with it about five years ago,&8221; Wynn said. &8220;We&8217;ve also got two more big blowups.&8221;

Brett and Sabrina Orth of Lee Street in Vidalia have the same addiction to decorations. The couple has lived in the house for three years, decorating each year.

&8220;I&8217;ve lived here three years and we&8217;ve done it every year,&8221; Sabrina Orth said. &8220;It&8217;s always hard to get him to start working on it, but once he does he&8217;s wanting to go out to the store and buy more.&8221;

Brett Orth admitted that the collection of decorations gets bigger every year.

&8220;We might not be done this year,&8221; he said. &8220;We&8217;ve already devoted a bedroom to storing these decorations all year.&8221;

Part of the reason the couple enjoys decorating each Christmas is for their young son, John-Garrett Patrick, who they say loves seeing all the colors of Christmas.

&8220;He just had us taking him around to see all the lights,&8221; Brett Orth said.

Children are the inspiration for Vidalia resident Pam Clayton too, but on Friday it was a bit of a hassle.

Clayton, together with her daughter Erin Watts, and niece, Joanna Waller, were trying to assemble an inflatable snow globe for her 18-month-old grandson, Clayton Lee Watts.

&8220;In the past I made ginger bread houses, which are easy and I can do but I have a newfound respect for these things,&8221; Clayton said.

Clayton said she bought the outdoor decoration at K-Mart while doing some early bird shopping that morning.

The globe is just phase one of the family&8217;s decorating, Clayton said.

&8220;We still have to put the tree up and decorate inside, but we wanted to show this one to Clayton Lee first,&8221; Clayton said.

Putting up the tree will be easy though, said Clayton, because it is an artificial Christmas tree.

But that evening the three struggled between trying to get the tree and Santa Clause inside the globe to inflate and slapping the swarms of mosquitoes biting them.

&8220;But he (Clayton Lee) really enjoys these things so it&8217;s all worth it,&8221; Clayton said.

&8220;I guess this is just one of those Christmas quirks.&8221;

Ferriday resident Kate Neal was shopping at K-Mart Saturday for the finishing touches for her holiday season.

&8220;I&8217;m looking for red ornaments and angel hair to complete our decorations,&8221; she said. &8220;But I can&8217;t find the angel hair. We started decorating the day after Thanksgiving. I do it for my kids, a son who&8217;s 4 and a 10-week-old daughter.&8221;

Neal said she&8217;ll reuse decorations for years to come, but usually spends about $100 a year.

Larry and Patricia White had already surpassed the $100 point Saturday night.

&8220;This is our first year to decorate, we&8217;ve never done it before,&8221; Larry said.

&8220;We just bought a tree from Walgreen&8217;s, and now we&8217;re looking for the decorations. We&8217;re doing it for our teenage daughter.&8221;

Julie Cottrell, Tim Cottrell and Wesley Steckler contributed to this report.