Merry & Bright

Your neighbors' holiday decorations are lovely, but the blinking lights shine directly into your living room at night. Do you ask your neighbors to tone them down or spend your own money to block them out?

Start Dilemma

Preview

Your neighbors across the street have gone all out with their holiday decorations. Their home sparkles with bright, colorful lights that blink, flash, and strobe throughout the night. While you appreciate the festive spirit, the light show reflects directly into your main living space and it's become nearly impossible to relax in your own home after dark.

You’ve thought about buying blinds, but they’re expensive, and frankly, you feel like you shouldn’t have to change your home because of someone else’s enthusiasm for the season. Still, you're worried that you will come across as a Scrooge if you confront your neighbors.

What do you do?

Show your neighbors a video of how things look from your vantage point.

Buy black-out blinds and try to return them after the holidays.

Useful Language

Students can access a Useful Language drawer at any time during the activity. The key vocabulary and sentence stems will help your learners express their thoughts and opinions.

Keywords

go all out: to celebrate in an extreme way
strobe: to flash or flicker with bright light repeatedly
festive: related to decorating or celebrating a holiday with enthusiasm
confront: to speak or write directly to someone about an issue
holiday spirit: the feeling of joy and celebration during the holidays
Scrooge: a famous holiday character who did not like Christmas and was not kind during the holiday season
vantage point: a physical view or figurative perspective