quicko: float santas and other outdoor events

Sticking with the Santa theme, I would like to report that I have most definitely not encountered any float Santas in Australia. In fact, I hadn't encountered any here before, but saw one and realized immediately that it was one of those "only in America" type experiences. The float Santa rides a giant, exceptionally well-lit float down the side streets of America, blaring "Holly Jolly Christmas" and, presumably, waving merrily. Being as it's rather dark here from 5:30 onwards, it was difficult to tell whether or not he was waving, but, well, how could he not have been?

The other recent American outdoor extravaganza was the Picktown lights near Columbus, Ohio. An entire neighborhood street (22 houses) drapes their homes in a vast array of Christmas lights. While the lights alone would be moderately impressive, the real highlight is turning your radio station to 93.9 and watching the lights dance to the Christmas music. They're all synchronized impeccably and the choreography is impressive enough to drag thousands of visitors from their cozy, warm, cookie-filled homes and watch in their cozy, warm, cookie-filled cars.