Clark Griswolds vs. the minimalists: B.C. Hydro describes this year's Christmas decorating trends

It's like an image straight out of a late 80s film franchise: large homes adorned in holiday lights, inflatable decorations cued to music as families compete for the best-decorated house of the season.

But this year, the competition might not be between the biggest or brightest houses but over trends and the high cost of powering light displays.

B.C. Hydro released a report on Tuesday detailing holiday decorating trends this year, showing that 60 per cent of British Columbians are opting for a minimalist approach to decorating, half of whom won't decorate at all. However, according to the report, it is expected that mega displays will increase by 50 per cent.

The so-called Clark Griswold-style mega lighting displays, a nod in Hydro's latest report to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, consist of over 10 strings of lights and multiple electronic or inflatable displays.

An estimated 15 per cent of B.C. residents fall into this category, most of whom live in the Lower Mainland.

However, the report also found that more B.C. residents are saying they are concerned about holiday costs this year. Half said they had less money to spend on holiday decorations.

Canada's inflation rate was 6.9 per cent in October. Not to mention the higher cost of groceries and the recent interest rate increases.  

While those who live in the Lower Mainland are more than three times more likely to have a mega display than in any other region of the province, Lower Mainland residents are also the most likely to say that cost plays a role in their decision to decorate less this year.

The cost of decorating big

B.C. Hydro's Kyle Donaldson says if people want to save money on the cost of decorating this year, the easiest thing to do is to switch from incandescent to LED lights.

"They're more energy efficient, and over the course of the holiday season, if you've got multiple strands of LED lights as opposed to incandescent lights, your bill could be 40 cents more versus $40 more." 

He wanted to look into how much it would cost National Lampoon's Clark Griswold to run his holiday display if he lived here today instead of in 1989.

For all the incandescent bulbs used in the movie running for six weeks during the holiday season, Donaldson says Griswold's energy bill would be upwards of $5,000.

But far less extravagant budgets are also taking a hit, he says.

"A lot of British Columbians are saying that perhaps they're scaling back their holiday decorating this year because of the rising cost of inflation. Goods and services are costing more, and interest rates are also on the rise."

Whether you're a Clark Griswold or a minimalist, the competition might just be the pocketbook and not different decorating styles, after all.