The holiday decorations in Logan Square are mostly in the modest working-class range – older ornaments, probably dating back to the time when the current owners bought the house, lovingly tended and kept over year upon year.  In all of this part of town, there are only one or two colossal see-it-from-orbit yard displays – the kind that would melt snow, if we had snow – and hardly anything that says hipster/artist .

This is the exception: a long, narrow window – a simple black casement – with a hanging of three green plastic saucer sleds, each individually spray-painted with the word HO and adorned with a string of lights.

Speaking honestly, that’s the sort of display I myself would create – something funny, novel, a bit ironic.  But the ones I like to look at tend to be like this sweet little snowman, eight inches high, hanging out on a modest fence a block away. This is the one that tells me welcome; goodwill and best wishes; the peace of the season to you.