November 17, 2019 – Most years I’m annoyed by the earliness of Christmas displays; after Thanksgiving, that was when Christmas appeared when I was a kid. And like all things, when I was a kid is when it should be. This year, though, I am happy to see it in all its earliness. And I wasn’t sure why.
Last week, I wanted to put up lights. I don’t know if I’ll actually put them up, but I wanted to see them. On Friday, I noticed they had the lights on the trees in the commercial area of Beverly Hills where I work for my part-time job. It makes going to Von’s (the grocery store) for my items I forget to buy in my neighborhood so festive. I’m a bit afraid I’ll be completely sick of Christmas by the time it comes; I was last year, but I really do love the lights. And I love the commercials.
When I was kid, I would plan Christmas starting around September. Even then, I think they played commercials aimed at kids. I made a list. I worked hard on that list. I hid it in the track of the window. Nobody opens windows in Calgary after about August 30, so I thought that was good spot. It wasn’t. My mom found it every year, or so she told me many years later, but even now, I still think it was a good hiding spot.
These days, I don’t see too many commercials aimed at kids, but that probably has more to do with the types of shows I watch, and where I watch them. Mind you, I finished all eleven seasons of Heartland on Netflix on Friday, so last night, I actually watched a Christmas movie, part of a Christmas movie, actually. You know those romantic stories where the plot is exactly the same that they show on Hallmark or Life-whatever that network is? Maybe not. They all, and I mean all, are this: slightly lonely woman goes back home; her childhood/high school sweetheart is there, either in town, or always been there, and she is forced into a conflict situation with him; they get together, and finally kiss at the end. Usually, there are lots of decorations. Usually, the woman isn’t into them at all. The movies are mindless, and completely Christmassy. And they have fabulous decorations. The one last night was in reverse. In this one, it was the male lead who had lost his job as an investment banker, ended up working at a Christmas tree lot, and fell for a woman and her foster child who had some tie to the Christmas tree lot. The male lead put up four Christmas trees in his place and decorated the entire Airstream, in which the elderly Christmas tree lot owner lived, after the male lead came around to the spirit of Christmas, that is, and came to realize he should pursue more altruistic ventures in life, making his job woes a good thing. Of course, the Christmas tree lot was about to be lost to a real estate developer. That’s common too; think the conflict element. And of course, the lot was saved to become a park in return for a tax deduction. See, you can even learn things – real estate can become a tax deduction. I think most people are supposed to watch for the love story; I watch for the spirit. The lights. The four Christmas trees in one window. Seriously, that was so cool. That’s lights on overload! Four Christmas trees are way prettier than one. And the commercials aren’t half-bad. I found myself anticipating this one particular commercial they kept showing.
This movie had a lot of furniture and home goods commercials. I wondered if people at Christmas want things for their home; I want car parts, usually, but that’s me. Oh and they have Peleton, a lot of Peleton commercials. That’s the one I was watching for.
I like Peleton commercials, not because I want a stationary bike, I would hate it, but because I love, and I mean love, the houses in the Peleton commercials. There’s this one Peleton commercial where that stupid bike is in front of a blonde wood frame window, and by frame, I mean the entire thing is a frame, with panes of glass all around. That house is a work of art. I used to love to see that commercial because I loved that window. The commercial they played last night showed a house with stairs. The commercial had a plot, perhaps as much as the movie I was watching about the man from the Christmas tree lot, where this woman had received the stationary bike for Christmas one year earlier, and showed her dedication to her relationship with the Peleton over the year. The thing was, she was in the cutest house, with the coolest little short staircases, the Peleton placed right in the midst of those architectural stairs. I love short staircases and split levels. So… as much as I wanted the windows with the blonde wood from the old Peleton commercial, and I did, I really want the staircase of the new commercial. Not the stationary bike; I would never want that.
I tried to find a clip of the commercial. There are Peleton commercials on YouTube. I really wanted to screen-shot those stairs; you see, I keep pictures of architectural things I like, but I couldn’t find the clip. I watched parts of the commercials that were there, and I read some of the comments. I didn’t know what to expect with the comments, but most people were there wanting to know who the model was, what the songs were. I didn’t see any comments about the houses. Then I searched for houses in Peleton commercials. As things go these days, I got results, pictures of the house with the blonde windows, no pictures of those amazing stairs though. Sadly. But I got a hit that showed I was not alone. Many people want the same thing I want out of viewing a Peleton commercial – the views, the really great architectural features. And they’ve made funny captioned pictures (I think those are called memes). Seriously, there are people who went to the trouble of taking photos of amazing rooms, then photoshopping in a Peleton in the best place in the room, and giving it a caption. They are great. I’ll put the link below if you’re interested.
Mind you, I have no idea who actually buys a Peleton, or whether you must have a five-star view in front of a Zen garden or the most amazing multi-level stair case to put the Peleton in, but I’m happy this commercial inspired my Christmas list. Because isn’t that the point of Christmas commercials in the first place? For me to have inspiration to make a list? So here goes, my Christmas list:
Item 1: Photo of stairs from Peleton commercial