The bizarrely huge 'deer and the requisite oversized Santa/sleigh rig (visible way in the background) are a touchstone of Xmastime in the neighborhood. Something you sort of count on, like maybe the swallows returning to Capistrano every year.
This year TSG was shocked to see a major "upgrade" -- the old school reindeer have been replaced with what appear to be some kind of pre-fab cut-out looking things. Progress? Maybe, but in our opinion the old ones had a funky charm that can't be matched by the new cookie-cutter version. The new ones are probably a bit more kid-friendly, though...those big brown monsters could be kind of scary looking to an unsuspecting youngster.
