# My Xmas decor got cited!



## tonguesandwich

I got a citation warning for my Xmas decor not being Xmas. They wanted me to pull it down even though there was a crowd in front of my house taking photos and giving thumbs up. So instead of taking my HOA's warning I added full sound an an animatronic. Screw em!


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## scareme

I love it! I think it looks totally Christmasy. HOA's suck. Send them a copy of Nightmare Before Christmas. I can see why people would want to have their picture taken with it. Thumbs up indeed.


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## Dark Angel 27

hmmm... but i see nothing wrong with it! what a way to stick it to 'em!


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## Allen H

GREAT display. If you get ahold of a phone nuber for your association post it for me. I think a polite barrage of phone calls is in order.


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## GothicCandle

wow! I love it! evil HOA!!!! How is that NOT christmas???? nightmare before CHRISTMAS! lol. jeez. Where did you get that sound track???? I am so gonna start planing this type of thing for my house!!!!!


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## trishaanne

Very cool. Good for you for not caving in to them.


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## niblique71

Great display!!! I LOVE it.


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## Zombies Anonymous

do a winter solstice / Yule lore theme next year. you can just imagine all the project themes you can come up with that one. Can't prove what religion you celebrate and the holidays are suppose to be diverse.


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## debbie5

Arent' religious observances none of their business as well as your legal, above-and-beyond-what-your-HOA-contract-says right?!!?? WTF!

If you did that but WITHOUT all the lights, I can see why people might be a bit off-put. But it's absolutely beautiful! Really. I think the lights make it. We all know it's The Taste Police and has nothing to do with anything other than that. SOme Grinch prob didn't like your hearse, "OH, I don't want to be reminded of DEATH at Christmas!" Dude, you need to move away to a place where people don't have such tight sphincters.


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## Hauntiholik

TS - if you're moving to Colorado Springs - be ready for more of the same crap only it doesn't just come from the HOA. It comes from the community.

Make sure you know what you're getting into in that area from a haunt standpoint. "Focus on the Family" is based there for a reason.


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## RoxyBlue

I think it's a lovely display that successfully incorporates both Christmas and Nightmare themes. What's not to like?


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## tonguesandwich

We ruled Colorado Springs out. Looking outside edge of Denver. Will be heading up after the St. Louis show to find a place. Keeping this house in Vegas as a second home. Just have to deal with these guys. 
The soundtrack is Haunted Mansion Holiday. It's on a lot of Disney sound CDs. It's 16 minutes.


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## Spooky1

I love it! You've done a wonderful job on your decorations. I hope you can convince your HOA that there are many ways to decorate for the holidays.


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## HalloweenRick

That display is fantastic!


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## MapThePlanet

You had reindeer and Santa hats! Screw them! I am so glad we don't have an HOA to deal with!


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## sickNtwisted

HOA's are the bane of human existence. 
I applaud you for stickin' it to the man and putting together one of the best CHRISTMAS displays I've seen.


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## dave the dead

according to Mr. Andy Williams, it's the (second) most wonderful time of the year.

"There'll be parties for hosting
Marshmallows for toasting
And caroling out in the snow
There'll be scary ghost stories
And tales of the glories of
Christmases long, long ago "

Sounds like you hit the nail on the head according to at least one Christmas icon. Great looking display!


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## debbie5

Seriously. It's not like you had Hitler popping up outta the package....Do these HOA's know what we COULD do?


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## Brad Green

Wow, that is a seriously NICE display! HOA should have given you 'Best Lights' and gone on their happy way. Loved the animatronic box (any 'how-to's" out there?) and they voice over work was fantastic. I can't see how anyone would not see the "Nightmare" theme in all it's glory. If you had done a Whoville Grinch display, would they have complained as well? Oh, and the whole 'take-it-done', riiiight, mine wasn't 1/3 the size of yours and it took me all day to store away and I'm completely worn out. Lastly, where do you keep everything?? Between Christmas and Halloween, you must need to rent a VERY large storage unit!


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## Wildcat

That's an awesome display. 

If the HOA continues to pester you have them show you the detailed list as to what cannot be displayed. Guess what. They won't have one for fear of offending some religion or another. 

But do be careful. You don't want this to become a pain at Halloween as well.

Again well done on such a great display.


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## HalloweenZombie

Awesome display! Way to stick it to the man!


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## Terrormaster

Awesome display! Your HOA needs to get the stick out of their ass.


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## Otaku

Superb display, TS! Haunted Mansion Holiday is a favorite of mine. 

Yeah, HOAs can be a pain. Ours got sticky when we used purple icicle lights on the house. They said purple "wasn't a Christmas color". I politely asked them to mind their own damn business, as there was nothing in the "rules" about the color of the lights we could put on the house.


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## GothicCandle

Otaku said:


> Superb display, TS! Haunted Mansion Holiday is a favorite of mine.
> 
> Yeah, HOAs can be a pain. Ours got sticky when we used purple icicle lights on the house. They said purple "wasn't a Christmas color". I politely asked them to mind their own damn business, as there was nothing in the "rules" about the color of the lights we could put on the house.


How is red? green i can understand i guess since christmas trees are green.

I wonder if HOAs would have a fuss if this kind of display was set up at halloween???


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## debbie5

The point of HOA's is to keep slobs from moving in & leaving crap cars in driveways, peeling paint on windows or barking dogs chained up outside. How it de-eveolved to becoming the taste nazis is beyond me. They would have had my purple icicle up their ass.


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## pyro

kick ass-i love love it


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## GothicCandle

debbie5 said:


> The point of HOA's is to keep slobs from moving in & leaving crap cars in driveways, peeling paint on windows or barking dogs chained up outside. How it de-eveolved to becoming the taste nazis is beyond me. They would have had my purple icicle up their ass.


Agreed.
I have an aunt and uncle who's HOA says they can not have certain colored curtains showing in the windows. This includes light pink(which granted, pink is a horrid color) but my aunt has the the first level on the house decorated in white, black, and pink french country style, and since the outside of the house is tan, so light pink curtains would not be such an eyesore, they still can't have them though. My town has no taste police, as you call them, hence why there is a house up the street with a front/back yard that would rival any city dump, and a house down the street which is falling down(no one lives there, it's owned by an out-of-stater) and the house across the street is painted a lovely dog poop brown. It's these that make the rest of the houses, like mine, the nice, prim, well gardened houses and yards, and the people who live in them cringe. Shouldn't cities worry about those eyesores? If my aunt wants light pink curtains, or tonguesandwich wants to add some nightmare to his christmas there are sooo much worse things.


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## debbie5

Online there is the story of some guy who put up a very expensive fence. Then hs neighbor decided to bitch about it to the HOA. Hoa made him take it down. So now, in retaliation, the homeowner puts up lawn flamingos & every tacky lawn ornament he can find. I like the concept of a HOA, but why do they always get CRAZY? No pink curtains? I'd put them up! Can you imagine taking your curtains before a judge? "NO, really judge, they are peach..." OMG. personally, I love the hideous purple house that is a few blocks away. And there used to be a crazy lady who had every type of lawn ornament known to man on her lawn..it was horribly happy. She died and it all went away. I dunno. I'd fight the HOA over a display.


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## Spooklights

Looks like the hearse that went up the staircase before Scrooge in Dicken's "A Christmas Carol". Is your HOA not literate? (No fooling. Read the book. It's there.)


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## Kaoru

HOA needs to stop the madness! Stupid idiots! Your display is great!


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## GothicCandle

Spooklights said:


> Looks like the hearse that went up the staircase before Scrooge in Dicken's "A Christmas Carol". Is your HOA not literate? (No fooling. Read the book. It's there.)


Most idiots refuse to read, it might make their mind bigger! and with all that radiation from the cell phones and other technology making that tumor grow, the last thing a person needs is a bigger mind!!! nope! Small mindedness is the way to go!


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## tonguesandwich

I was voted by the neighborhood one of the best decorated houses.... I won $250 ...my HOA said they would apply it to my fines...I'm actually laughing!
Best one was when I put manure on my yard and reseeded it. I got a violation warning for my grass being brown.


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## Kaoru

Wow That's ironic! lol! Oh well. And jeez the 250 applied to this ridiculous fine? How much did they fine you? Sorry, just curious if you don't me asking. You dont have to answer.


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## GothicCandle

tonguesandwich said:


> I was voted by the neighborhood one of the best decorated houses.... I won $250 ...my HOA said they would apply it to my fines...I'm actually laughing!
> Best one was when I put manure on my yard and reseeded it. I got a violation warning for my grass being brown.


Well that's an easy mistake on their part, the kinds of books they read say things like "This is a ball" and "You can roll the ball!" and the big climax of "The ball rolls fast!" Reseeding a lawn is too advanced.



Kaoru said:


> Wow That's ironic! lol! Oh well. And jeez the 250 applied to this ridiculous fine? How much did they fine you? Sorry, just curious if you don't me asking. You dont have to answer.


yeah that is pretty stupid. If I were tonguesandwich I'd complain and fight. If the neighbors have no issues, why should anyone?


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## debbie5

WTH? I'd put myself on the NEWS for that one..Oh the irony: all your NEIGHBORS think you are cool, but the HOA FINES you? Can the members of the HOA be voted out? Who ARE these tight assed people?? I'd plaster the neighborhood with flyers trying to get the jerks out.


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## Spooky1

Is that previous fines, or are they really trying to fine you for your winning Christmas display? I think I'd fight it if it's not specific in the bylaws.


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## psyko99

That's an amazing display TS. I'd tell the HOA to take their $250 and the fine and shove it. Then make an even bigger display next year.


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## turtle2778

That was cool, I was planning on doing a NBC theme at my house next year as well. I just dont want to **** off the neighbors cuz they LOVE my halloween stuff!!


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## Daphne

I love this! I can't wait to see what you do for Valentine's Day! 

My Halloween stuff isn't all put away yet, I can't imagine where you store all this but I love it!


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## debbie5

Hmm....can they withhold your monetary award? Seems like they are two separate things. Small claims court! LOL...man, I love to stir the pot.


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## Spooklights

Daphne said:


> I love this! I can't wait to see what you do for Valentine's Day!


OOoooo, Valentines Day! All those little heart decorations with Cupid's arrow through them! I bet there's something fine-worthy in there! (And I'm very glad we don't have a HOA in my neighborhood. You put out your decorations, and nobody complains.)


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## Daphne

Our HOA gives you 30 days to deal with any items in violation and my display goes up October 1st and comes down Halloween night. My cemetery fence is a direct violation since it isn't behind the house but no one has ever complained. it is funny, dead zombies aren't a violation but my fence is. The President of the HOA always tells everyone to check out my display at the last meeting before Halloween and comes by several times to see it. Our board is supportive and actually encourages this madness (of course I've never tried it on other holidays).

Every year, the HOA President and a couple board members drive by, laugh and tell me my fence is in violation. I always smile back and tell them to tell the board to bite me ha, ha.

Now how do I convince my husband to go along with this at Christmas...


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## GothicCandle

Daphne said:


> Our HOA gives you 30 days to deal with any items in violation and my display goes up October 1st and comes down Halloween night. My cemetery fence is a direct violation since it isn't behind the house but no one has ever complained. it is funny, dead zombies aren't a violation but my fence is. The President of the HOA always tells everyone to check out my display at the last meeting before Halloween and comes by several times to see it. Our board is supportive and actually encourages this madness (of course I've never tried it on other holidays).
> 
> Every year, the HOA President and a couple board members drive by, laugh and tell me my fence is in violation. I always smile back and tell them to tell the board to bite me ha, ha.
> 
> Now how do I convince my husband to go along with this at Christmas...


You could always threaten to use him IN the display if he's not willing to help out.

HOA like yours ain't bad, by the sound of it. lol.


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## halloween71

LOVE IT!!!!
Congrats on winning!
How can they enforce a fine with something that has to do with religion?What if you have other decor that reflects your religion would they fine you?


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## tonguesandwich

The fines are $50.00 a week.... and they are still fining me even though I have 30 days to clean up my Christmas decor and won the stinking contest. Don't worry I won't pay and if I do I will drag em in the mud.. 
Valentines Day...that would be funny! But no time since I am showing in St. Louis in March and lots to do.
Enforce the fine...they are saying its Halloween decor and its out past 30 days. That wasn't my Halloween display. Halloween I had a Black hearse, christmas was white. Completely different.
Storage.... always an issue no matter how big your addiction gets. I have a 7K sq ft warehouse with 20 ft ceilings and scaffold that makes 3 levels for about 12K sq ft in storage and I need more room....Haunters curse!


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## Rahnefan

The HOA can suck it; this is badass and so are you.


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## GothicCandle

tonguesandwich said:


> The fines are $50.00 a week.... and they are still fining me even though I have 30 days to clean up my Christmas decor and won the stinking contest. Don't worry I won't pay and if I do I will drag em in the mud..
> Valentines Day...that would be funny! But no time since I am showing in St. Louis in March and lots to do.
> Enforce the fine...they are saying its Halloween decor and its out past 30 days. That wasn't my Halloween display. Halloween I had a Black hearse, christmas was white. Completely different.
> Storage.... always an issue no matter how big your addiction gets. I have a 7K sq ft warehouse with 20 ft ceilings and scaffold that makes 3 levels for about 12K sq ft in storage and I need more room....Haunters curse!


so they apparently think that you set up your Halloween display in October, took it down for November, then set it back up in December??? Well here was your mistake, people forget about thanksgiving! Next year add a thanksgiving display(turkey chain saw massacre should do nicely I think) to remind them there is a space between Halloween and Christmas.


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## Haunted Spider

Glad to see you won. You should try to get on the board and get the board members voted out. If the neighborhood loves it and one stick in the mud doesn't, well, you can't please them all.


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## DynomiteDaniel

What a great display. People pretty much suck!!!!! I am hoping to do something like this.


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## mickkell

I hate HOAs,when we bought a house in AZ we told the Agent absolutely no HOAs!!!


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## Haunted Bayou

You could have really confused them with a Nightmare before Hanukkah display.


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## typoagain

I have looked at the video several times. I have also watched the thread to see the responses. Now I have to toss in my own two cents. Of course, it is only worth what you have paid for it!

I do Christmas. I have done Halloween on a smaller scale, but am spending quite a bit of time on it this year. However, I was not a fan of the movie and really do not like the concept of mixing the two holidays. (Besides, by not mixing them I get to buy twice as much stuff!)

But I think I see some solutions to the problem.

1. The big green guy MUST have a Santa hat next year! A BIG santa hat

2. The skull on the reindeer body just did not work for me. Try changing back to a reindeer and putting a bat or two on the antlers.

3. The sound is a absolute MUST! However, keep the volume low and add a chapter 15, low power FM transmitter for people driving by.

5. More red lights.

6. You MUST have an elf driving the hearse at Christmas! It's a unwritten law!

7. What, no snow?

All in all, I loved it!


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