courtesy of http://www.christmaswow.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Christmas-Yard-Decorations-6.jpg
The Academy of Christmas Lights
Scoring Rubric
Low Tier
Any visible decoration: 0.5 star
Several visible decorations:( either in yard or on house consistenting of whatever was plainly visible in the responsible party's storage space): 1 star
More extensive decoration on house or in yard but not both: 1.5 stars
Decorations on both house and yard but without any apparent color or style coordination: 2 stars
Same as above with minimal evidence of style or color coordination: 2.5 stars
High Tier
Decorations on house and in yard with coordination in color and style. A high tier project would indicate obvious effort and planning.
Compare to 2.5 star display with added points for (1/2 star each) for:
full lawn or house facade illumination
Nativity scenes (non-inflatable)
animatronic figures (non-inflatable)
cleverness, irony, kitsch, or sarcasm (i.e., palm tree lights, flamingos with Santa Hats, or location specific features)
coordinated soundtrack of any type
Greetings spelled out ligibly in lights
Highly placed, lighted stars
Penalties (1/2 stars each*) for the following:
Fake Santa crashed into a tree
Anything inflatable
Innappropriately mixed lights
Poor visibility
Christmas versions of pop-culture icons (Darth Vader,Jim Carrey Grinch, Spongebob)
*Yes this means that 10 or more inflatables negates everything else at that location, 5 or more inflatables are a definitive low-tier feature.
