We Could Have Bought an Inflatable Snoopy ...

But that wouldn't have expressed our Christmas spirit

I suppose we could have bought an inflatable Snoopy to decorate our lawn for Christmas. It would have been quick and easy and oh so deeply shameful. 

I mean, take a look:

A cruel mockery of Snoopy

What would this $43.71 blow-up kitsch bomb say about our taste, our Christmas spirit, or our love for Snoopy?

Instead we built an eight-foot tall, hand-cut, hand-painted rendition of Snoopy the Flying Ace, riding atop his doghouse, all lit up for Christmas. Somehow, this seems to perfectly express our version of “Christmas Spirit.”

What is this “Christmas Spirit”?

I guess we all experience “Christmas Spirit” through the unique filter of our experiences and family histories (see

Bryn Robinson

on that question here). For me, Christmas has never been really religious, even if some of the symbolism and imagery of the Jesus story lingers at the edges. I was raised by a lapsed Quaker mother and an atheist father, so church services and mangers were never part of the scene, even if we did sing “Silent Night” and “We Three Kings” alongside “Jingle Bell Rock.” But we had nice traditions: we all went out together to cut a Christmas tree and we gathered around to decorate it; we made cookies for Santa; and then we woke up on Christmas morning to a pile of presents my parents had pulled from their closet while we slept. When Sara and I got together to form our family, we readily merged my traditions and hers into our own family mix ... and to that mix, we added a healthy dose of Snoopy. 

There was the Peanuts Christmas TV special (never mind all the Christian stuff; we liked the dancing), a bunch of Snoopy-themed Christmas decorations, but most of all there was Vince Guaraldi’s joyful music. “Linus and Lucy” is easily all of our favorite Christmas songs. 

We’ve mused over the years about adding some outdoor Peanuts decorations, but busy lives always prevailed (and we sure weren’t doing an inflatable). But this year, the time was right. Maybe I was inspired by the cornhole boards my son Conrad and his fiancée Abbie made, with a beautifully executed and original UW Huskies theme. Maybe it was watching my buddy Scott create this ridiculously scary “haunt” with his events company.  

The question was, which version of Snoopy? In my mind, the coolest Snoopies are dancing Snoopy, vulture-in-tree Snoopy, and Flying Ace Snoopy. But what about Christmas? The answer was to put Flying Ace Snoopy on top of his doghouse—sorry, Sopwith Camel—and string it with Christmas lights.

From there on it was all execution:

1. Find a design I liked (see above)

2. Get a 4x8 sheet of plywood (Nick drove me to Home Depot in his pickup and I got a cheap sheet of half-inch rough grade)

3. Map the dimensions of my design onto the plywood

4. Cut the shapes: doghouse and Snoopy

5. Get the appropriate paint (we got the red from Amy Moeller and tapped Sara’s inexhaustible supply for white and black. We only had to buy the green.)

6. Paint doghouse and Snoopy (Sara did the painting; after all, she’s the artist)

7. “Weatherize” doghouse and Snoopy. We found this terrific product that basically allows you to paint an impermeable rubber coating on wood.

8. Attach Snoopy to doghouse (bolts with wing nuts—I’d do this differently next time)

9. Hang lights (and then add flood lights to showcase our work)

10. Bask in the delight

11. Repeat daily

Start to finish with Snoopy

I won’t kid you: it was a lot of work. But we enjoyed every minute of it, and now, as the afternoon light fades in the sky and the automatic sensor trips the lights, we look out and see this eight-foot tall expression of joy and happiness glowing in our front yard, sharing our Christmas spirit with the neighbors. I think the Peanuts gang would enjoy the tribute. We’re already thinking about adding some dancing characters for next year.

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Do you have a favorite Christmas decoration? What is it? And is there a good story behind it? I’d love to hear from you.

And if you’re a Snoopy fan, don’t hesitate to share our Snoopy with a friend.

In our yard, Snoopy is the star of the show