Outdoor lighting

It's all a matter of taste.

Each holiday season brings its own trends in decorations.

Some people pepper their lawns with life-size ornaments that take the forms of Santa Claus, his elves and reindeer.

Others prefer a more classic look that focuses on outlining stately homes with white lights.

Then there are Nativity scenes, huge snow globes enclosing moving figures and hundreds of multi-colored lights in trees and bushes.

Some even come with instructions on tuning into a radio station to hear the music that synchs with their display.

"If you go back a few years, most people used color lights," Glendale Heights resident Joe Calzaretta said.

"But the white lights have become popular in recent years. People want their house to stand out. The best way to do that is with white lights. The colored lights get lost a little bit."

Calzaretta is the owner of Clear View window cleaning. During the holidays, the company decorates homes. It buys decorations, installs and maintains them and then takes down the display and places it in storage for the homeowner at the end of the season.

"What I've seen in recent years is less lawn ornaments and more wreaths, live garland and bows," he said. "People are crazy about bows."

Roughly 90 percent of his customers request white lights vs. multi-colors. But, there seems to be a high demand for green lights, as well. Many people like them studded in their trees.

Large egg-shaped lights have replaced many of the once-popular icicles. Fading in popularity, the icicles have a tendency to burn out in long sections, Calzaretta said.

Nativity scenes, very popular 20 years ago, are not as common anymore.

Calzaretta said his customers like what he calls classic decorations. That means roughly 5,000 miniature white lights decorating the landscape, roughly 200 feet of the large egg-shaped bulbs for the roofline, between 150 and 250 feet of live garland, two artificial wreaths, a couple of bows and maybe a few lawn ornaments.

For Calzaretta's company to do that, it will cost a homeowner roughly $2,400. That's $2,000 for the work and roughly $400 to buy the decorations.

'Tis the season to spend money.