This Family Was Told To Take Down Their Christmas Decorations Because It Was Too Early

Photo credit: Yunhao Liang / EyeEm - Getty Images
Photo credit: Yunhao Liang / EyeEm - Getty Images

From Delish

There are two types of people in this world. Some people start listening to Christmas music once all their zombie flamingos and spooky spider wreathes return to the attic, while others can be found still buying presents for loved ones come Christmas Eve. Regardless of which category you fall into, you do Christmas your way. No one can actually stop you from how or when you choose to start getting jolly... or can they?

On November 1st, San Antonio couple Nick and Claudia Simonis started placing holiday decorations on the front lawn of their home, which is part of the Lakeside at Canyon Springs gated community. Among their festive decor was a giant inflatable snowman, some reindeer, and a Santa hanging from a helicopter, reported WOAI. Claudia, eight months pregnant with the couple’s third child, hoped to get the hard stuff out of the way early, noting that she felt "very heavy" and “because probably in two more weeks, I'm not going to be able to build all this."

But November 4 brought a very un-merry plot twist for the family, in the form of a letter from the Diamond Association Management & Consulting (DAMC) homeowners' association. It read “Maintenance – Holiday Decorations Need To Be Removed," and under inspector's notes it specifically stated, "please remove the snowman until closer to the holiday season," according to WOIA.

A little rude, right? And why was the inflatable snowman called out like that—Frosty is no troublemaker! Nick wasn’t going to let a Grinchy grievance like this ruin his Christmas. “We’re not going to do it,” he told WOIA. “It’s the Christmas spirit. We’re not going to be forced by the HOA to take it down.”

But besides the request to strip down their lawn of all happiness and cheer, the couple couldn't get past the fact that the letter never specified when they could put their decorations back up. Like, did the homeowners' association actually have a timeline on when it's acceptable to start decking the halls? December 1? December 10?

Luckily, the couple weren’t the only ones who thought this was an outrageous demand. Neighbor Charles Minton, who currently has some penguins on his lawn, sided with the family. "We always abide by the rules and regulations," he told WOIA. "So, when we see it in black and white, there's no problem. But if it's not in black and white. Who's to say what's what?"

As of now, the couple's decorations are still up, while the homeowners' association has not responded to WOIA's request for comment. Could it be that some *Christmas magic* has saved the day and the decorations? Unsure, but this sounds like the next Hallmark holiday movie plot to me. Anyway, I’ll just be hanging this Buddy the Elf wreath on my door in the meantime—because who is going to stop me?

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