When Can I Turn On Christmas Lights?
November 15th, through January 6th. You can install them much sooner and start decorating on November 1st, but the switch waits two more weeks.
Installed is planning. Lit is a confession. Everything before that moment is deniable, and once you've flipped the switch your house is making a public statement to the whole street about what month it thinks it is. So the Court gives you two weeks of decorating first, and the neighbors two weeks to prepare.
There's one exception. You may plug them in once, for four minutes, to find the dead strand. The Court is aware that you'll find the dead strand and still be out there at 9.
Once they're legal, a timer is the best thing you can buy. Run them from dusk until around 10 or 11 p.m. It saves on the electric bill, and it spares the bedroom across the street from having a reindeer shining through the blinds at 3 a.m. Check your homeowners association rules if you've got one, since some of them have opinions and a surprising amount of free time.
You'll be ahead of plenty of your street, since a lot of people wait for the weekend after Thanksgiving. That's fine. Someone has to go first. On Christmas Eve, leave them on as late as you like.
After January 6th, it's over. In January, a house covered in lights isn't festive anymore, it's a bill. Unplug them even if they're staying up until the 15th. Nobody needs to know how long that takes you.
The Ruling: Allowed from November 15 through January 6.
This ruling comes from a joke website. There is no court. The dates are our opinion, and the practical tips are ordinary common sense, so use your own judgment.