The Great Christmas Debate

Forget the debate over ham or turkey at the Christmas table. The biggest debate raging in my house is clear vs. colored lights. I'm a stickler for clear lights. They're classy and traditional. My husband, though, wants colored lights. And every year when we drag the tree out of the deep recesses of the garage or attic, the debate rages again.

I thought I had solved it when we inherited his grandmother's pre-lit tree several years ago. End of debate. The lights were clear, and all we had to do was plug the tree lights into the wall. Viola! Leigh wins.

This year when we plugged the tree into the wall, only the lights at the top half of the tree still worked. As I was stringing another set of clear lights on the tree, my son looks up from his book and says, "Mommy, aren't you going to put the colored lights on?" A set of colored lights glared at me from the box of ornaments.

I look at John, who's feigning innocence as he eats dinner at the kitchen bar. He promises me he hasn't prompted Jack to ask for the colored lights. I'm thinking "Sure, you have." I could have interrogated the child but decided against it.

I keep stringing the lights. So far, I've won the battle again on the large tree and the front door decorations. I've caved, though, on Jack's tree. His little tree has colored lights. I guess we have reached a compromise.

Do you prefer colored or clear lights? Why?