'Entitled' neighbour threatened with police after keeping 100,000 Christmas lights on all night
A woman has hit out at her neighbours for turning their home into a light spectacle with over 100,000 lights, causing their street to become a tourist hotspot.
She vented on about the religious family across the street who go all out for the festive season, attracting visitors from far and wide. The display, which is synced to music, has been a source of frustration for more than ten years, with the constant traffic and noise disrupting sleep for her child.
She wrote: "I want to state that I love my neighbourhood but hate my next door neighbours. They are the holier than thou type who think that they know best.
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"They also have one of the largest displays in our city and they have over 100,000 lights synched to music which means that our street is a mess from the day after Thanksgiving to the day after Christmas."
She continued, detailing the nuisance caused by the spectacle: "People constantly block our driveway, throw trash in our yard and are just disrespectful in general. The constant vehicles and noise also make it hard for our child to sleep at night."
After enduring the chaos for a decade, she approached her neighbours with a plea to dim the lights after 9pm, only to be rebuffed. She added: "Their response was in essence we can do what we want because of religious freedom and it is not our fault people are rude. They did offer to get noise/light blocking curtains for our child's room, which we already had but they only help so much.
"But they refused to pick up the trash as it was not their responsibility or change the time when the lights are on. "They ignore the fact that people are only there because of their lights and giving just a little bit would go a long way with neighbour relations."
She claims the lights have completely spoiled her festive cheer, leaving her to dread the Christmas period and longing for uninterrupted sleep. "Their absolute disdain for their neighbours and the stress and strain it causes every time you leave the house at night not knowing if you will struggle to get into your own drive when you return. One year someone parked in front of our driveway and left the car to go watch the lights.
"I honestly almost rammed their car as I had a screaming baby with me and I just needed to get home. When you get out of the line that goes down the block to go to your own drive people get upset, so there is always lots of honking to get people to unblock my driveway just so I can get home.
"But sure none of this is the neighbours fault at all. At this point is I am resigned to dislike my neighbours for their sheer lack of caring, because we will not be moving anytime soon." In her quest for a peaceful resolution, a woman has turned to social media seeking advice on how to handle her neighbours' disruptive behaviour, insisting she wants to 'kill them with kindness' rather than stir up conflict in the neighbourhood.
One person advised: "Call the city, council person, police dept, traffic division, code enforcement. Put up temporary fencing. Get a cheap garbage can and put it on parking strip. Cameras to record and back up claims." Another chimed in with a personal anecdote: "This happened in my city (house with extravagant Xmas decorations causing traffic/disturbance). The neighbours banded together and had hearings with the city to create a new bylaw.
"The people were allowed to continue their display at a smaller scale and with time limits. Perhaps talk with your neighbours/city and see if you can do this too!"