MARK MY WORD: IT'S A HOLLY, JOLLY CHRISTMAS ONCE THE LIGHTS ARE UP

It's a holly, jolly Christmas once you erect all those Christmas decorations.

But getting them up is anything but jolly.

The task seems to get tougher every year. There's a constant need for more outdoor Christmas lights.

Every year we buy more lights to add to the ton of lights we already have stockpiled from year to year in our attic.

This time of year we're constantly hauling out strands of lights, plus an assortment of light displays depicting everything from reindeer to Christmas trees.

The goal is to light up our yards like airport runways. This allows us to land small planes in our front yards or even Santa's sleigh.

This year we added candy cane lights along our driveway to light the way into our garage and give us that warm Christmas feeling. Mr. Grinch would feel out of place in our yard, although he would have thoroughly enjoyed our hardships in putting up the lights.

All that huffing and puffing would have appealed to the grumbling Grinch.

At our house, I couldn't begin to hang up the lights until I dealt with all those leaves covering our front yard. I borrowed a leaf blower from a neighbor.

At such times, I envy homeowners who have only a small tree or two in their yards. Raking up the leaves for them is, at most, a 10-minute task. In our yard, it takes hours.

Having manicured the lawn to some degree, Joni and I were ready to begin putting up the icicle lights, those dangling strands that seem to have found a solid perch on many area homes.

Actually, we started out hanging up some new white lights across the front of the house only to conclude that last year's lights looked better. So, armed with a staple gun, we put the icicle lights back up.

Of course, no sooner had we put up the lights than some of them went out. Christmas lights always seem to work fine when plugged into an outlet inside your house.

Once installed outside along the gutter, they decide to go out.

No doubt, the Christmas lights industry likes it that way. It prompts light-happy Americans to go out and buy more strands every year.

Pretty soon, we'll all need our own portable power plants to light up our homes.

More power may seem like a strange Christmas chorus, but it does make a lot of sense when you're plugging in all those lights.

Joni already has her eyes on a snowman decoration she wants to add to the outdoor menagerie of lights.

Personally, I can't imagine how America celebrated Christmas before electricity and duct tape.

Life takes on a special glow when you see your house lit up like a Christmas tree thanks to a few miles of holiday lights and extension cords you have run all over your yard.

We would never think of overloading our circuits any other time of year. But with Christmas, we'll leave the lights on.

Only at this time of year do garage doors and driveways look so inviting.

It's also a great excuse for people to stand outside in the middle of a cold night and grin -- without the aid of any adult beverages.

Come to think of it, even the Grinch might smile at such a sight.