Over the years, older styles of lights, lawn ornaments and lighted figurines have given way to newer, more energy-efficient ones.

One big change in the last year or two to local displays is the advent of strings of LED lights.

While these highly energy-efficient light strings are still more expensive than traditional lights, the money they save a homeowner in electricity certainly can be worth it -- especially for big-time decorators.

Abe and Melanie Johnson were among those swapping some traditional strings of lights for new LED ones.

"It was kind of expensive at first," he says, but he thinks it will pay off.

Bob Sagel invested in LED lights last year after Christmas, saving money by taking advantage of the post-holiday sales.

And, as LED strings come down in price in the next couple years, they are likely to completely take over for the older, incandescent bulbs. In fact, they'll most likely have to do so, as the federal Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will require nearly all incandescent light bulbs, including Christmas lights, to be phased out in the United States by 2014, according to a 2007 report by the Congressional Research Service.

The Country Comfort Motel and RV Park also is updating its lights to energy-efficient LED's, according to Jared Collins.

Larry Carr and his family have taken his lights seriously enough over the years that they have put up with changing their nighttime habits and activities to accommodate the electrical current needed to keep the display lit.

"It used to be that if you turned on a reading light, all the lights would go out," Carr said, chuckling at the memory.

But after some home-remodeling and the addition of an extra circuit, Carr and his wife can read or do some ironing at night in December.

And trading out some of the old lights each year for new LED strings also helps matters.

"By purchasing LEDs, my electricity bill is way down -- and the stress is way down, too," he says. "It's one of those balancing acts, but LED's have made it work better."