The following are some photos I took of some of the more eye-catching houses on the Somerville Art Council's Illuminations Tour. I actually took the pictures another night, when I could drive around myself and take plenty of time to appreciate the care with which these homes had been decorated. It is worth noting that the trolley driver said this was an " . . . educational tour. How not to decorate your house."

The trolley guide said, "The high school students call this one the 'condom tree'. That's not in the script for the tour this year."

The House of 1000 Santas

Our guide told us that many of the more elaborate displays are put together by immigrants, who are excited about electricity that isn't rationed. This house is lived in by three generations of Portugese folks. It's one of my favorites.

One of the things I noted with some interest when I returned on my own was the five-pointed star centered above the porch. The interesting thing is how it is placed with one point down. Hmm.

On the other hand, they also have "God Bless America" spelled out in lights. Maybe I'm reading the pentagram all wrong?

A friend of the tour guide said, as we came to this one, "They put the 'oy' in 'joy'."

This is in the same general neighborhood as the House of 1000 Santas. Another very bright, all-encompassing setup.

Here's what your first view of the house looks like:

Here's a view of the other side. Take note of the sled and reindeer suspended over the driveway.

The whole house.

Some people like to mix free-form with pre-fab. And some clearly have a preference for one method of decorating over another.

Going in the opposite technological direction, we have a few pictures of a house that may be a more stunning display in daylight. A great many of the decorations are hand-made out of wood and painted, rather than lit up.

We've even got the Grinch on this house. (And, yes, some Precious Moments look-alikes.)

To balance out the sweetness of the Precious Moments kids, we have this snowman and its canine friend. (I think Miss Piggy is here in the hopes that Christmas has a similar candy-gathering tradition as Halloween.)

One more for good measure.

Even the garage got in on this one.