They put up trees gaily decorated with lobster traps. Good Morning Gloucester is running a completely impartial poll that lets you pick the best one: "The Fantastic Majestic Gloucester Lobster Trap Tree" or "The Crappy Unimaginative Maine Lobster Trap Tree."

Whalehead King notes the Neponset Circle Christmas tree is already in place:

... Office pools have already started to pick the day a placard will be planted next to this tannenbaum. What will the sign say? That is subject for another pool but most bets rest on variations of "Season's Greetings from Mayor Thomas M. Menino." Those are words that warm the heart like cocoa heated a few degrees above tepid. Season's Greetings!

Thanskgiving comes first? How about Halloween? Jody posts a photo of a shocking display at her local Target.

About ten years ago, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department switched its Common holiday tree lighting from the multi-colored lights they had used for many years to all-white lights, except for the one Christmas tree.

This followed a trend in many communities, where multi-colored displays began to be seen as vulgar and all-white lights as "tasteful." Perhaps it was Martha Stewart or some other middlebrow tastemaker who put out the fatwa on multi-colored lighting, but many towns fell into line.

Ho ho ho to those who go that way today! Hope everone wasn't up too late last night wrapping or celebrating, especially if you have kids.

Happy Chanuka to those who celebrate for more nights than just one. Adam Sandler's classic has been getting a lot of airplay lately; I heard it twice in one morning, I think on the same station (hmmm, did Mix's playlists change dramatically when Lander went, or is that just my imagination?).

Joyous Winter Solstice for those who are thankful the sun has come back to us, a little more each day.

Don Martelli provides the photographic proof.

Ross Levanto makes his annual Christmas-Eve trek to Mike's Pastry and shares a hard-won tip:

... You need to feel the crowd and the lines, and look for a "soft spot" where the attendant-to-customer ratio is the highest. ...

Seth Gitell, whom I'm betting was eating Chinese food on Christmas long before "A Christmas Story" came out, rounds 'em up.

David Weinberger, meanwhile, explains why Christmas is actually a lovely time for the sort of people who would go out for Chinese:

... Christmas is a lovely time of the year for Jews in America, not because of all the decorations and the ho-ho-ho's, but because it takes the Christians off the streets and shuts the whole place down. While Christians focus on the sweetness of their faith and deal with passive-aggressive fruitcakes, our calendars are empty and our cellphones are mute. Beautiful. ...

Anyone know of a place in West Roxbury or Rozzie (or nearby) that still has Christmas trees for sale, and what their hours are if known? All out at Home Depot in WR and Lowes in the Dedham Mall. In fact, it looks like they have been all out for a while. A charity-based sale would be good but we're not too fussy at this late hour.

Thanks