Christmas is approaching, but not all households are embracing the traditional festive glow. Some individuals are choosing to minimise their Christmas decorations, particularly the use of pepper lights, in an effort to curb potential spikes in their year-end electricity bills.

Rickardo McDonald, a resident of Spanish Town, St Catherine, noted a decline in Christmas lights and decorations in his community. He and his neighbours have collectively decided to forgo the usual tradition this year.

“We would usually put up our Christmas lights in the week of December 23 and take them down at the end of the first week of January, and our light bill would increase just for those two weeks. So this year we decided not to put up any decorations at all, like a number of my neighbours,” said McDonald.

The reduced demand for pepper lights has been observed at Azan’s Supercentre in Kingston. Natalie Azan-DeBellis, the human resources manager and marketing manager at Azan’s, shared that while some people are still purchasing Christmas lights, the numbers are lower compared to previous years. This trend, however, has not significantly impacted overall holiday sales at the store.

“What is happening is where people would purchase lights for the house and outside, and the tree. It is not as much as other years and people are saying that it is because of their light bills,” Azan-DeBellis said.

Azan-DeBellis herself has scaled back her holiday decorations this year due to the high cost of electricity.

“Even me, this is the first year that I don’t bother putting up anything on the outside. My light bill is so high to begin with. My inside is fully decorated, always, but my outside isn’t. My children love it; it has become a tradition and my Christmas tree has been up since the start of November. But I didn’t decorate outside for the same reason,” she added.

Despite the decrease in overall sales for house and outdoor lights, Azan-DeBellis mentioned that customers are still buying lights, primarily for Christmas trees

“I have had customers, who, instead of taking five packs of lights for outside, they are taking two packs of light and the reasoning is the electricity bill. With that said, lights are selling, but mainly for the Christmas trees,” Azan-DeBellis said.

Azan-DeBellis anticipates an increase in customer traffic as the month progresses, especially with the store offering discounts on select items, including a 40 per cent discount on Christmas lights, from December 1-24.

“Remember it is still early, we are just entering December. Jamaican people could have no money, they will find the money even if it is on Christmas Eve because Christmas is a time to celebrate,” she said.

Meanwhile, some people have retained the tradition of erecting Christmas lights outside of their homes to add some cheer to the season. A sales representative at MegaMart on Upper Waterloo Road in Kingston reported that she has not seen a decrease in Christmas lights purchases.

“Just this week a customer came in and purchased 70 boxes of Christmas lights and other people have been coming in to purchase theirs as well. We have not seen a decrease in sales here, especially with the corporate companies sending in their orders, but regular people are still buying Christmas lights; a lot of people buying them,” the sales representative told Observer Online.

While some families are modifying their traditions to avoid high electricity charges, others are opting for solar Christmas lights. Families like Kimyka Samuda’s in Mandeville, Manchester, have found that using solar lights has not significantly impacted their electricity bills.

“My dad bought solar lights last year, and when we put them up we never took them down. Solar lights were used on the Christmas tree and outside and our electricity bill was only slightly affected because we had a lot of family staying at the house. It was not because of the lights,” Samuda asserted.

Although solar-powered pepper lights may not be widely available locally, individuals can make online purchases to enjoy festive lighting without the concern of increased electricity costs.