Holiday decorations

Help me understand.

I'm a basic girl who doesn't know much.

For my Jewish friends, how do you decorate for the holidays?

The reason I ask is because I have a Jewish neighbor across the street. You know. The guy who has had a lot of problems with his house? Well, he's decorated on the outside of his house.

The first decorations to go up? Two moving lighted reindeer in the yard plus a lighted snowman at his front door.

The second bunch of decorations to go up? The lights along the roofline of his home. The light bulbs alternate red and green all along the front of the house.

On Saturday? I heard him building something. I heard a saw. I smelled the scent of freshly cut lumber. I looked at his yard before dinner. He had a bunch of black iron candle holders in a row. You know. Those ones that you use in the summer with citronella to keep the mosquitos at bay? Anyway, he had those all lined up together. All lined up like a menorah. That night I looked out and he'd strung blue lights in the front of it in the shape of the Star of David.

I'm from one religious background. So this fascinates me. Now in the homes out there that have different faiths in your home. How do you explain Christmas and Chanukah? Do you have both sets of decorations out at once? Teach me! Enlighten me!