Conciati Per Le Feste -

By the evening of the Great Reveal, the entire town had gathered. Elio stood with a remote control in his hand, looking, as the locals said, conciato per le feste —he was wearing a suit made of green velvet with actual bells sewn into the seams. He looked like a Christmas tree that had gained sentience and a mortgage. "Watch this, Sergio," Elio hissed, pressing the red button.

Elio looked at his dark house, then at his ridiculous bells. He started to laugh—a weary, jagged sound. "It was too much, wasn't it?" Conciati per le feste

: The movie Deck the Halls (released in Italy as Conciati per le feste ) stars Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito as neighbors whose competitive decorating spirales out of control. By the evening of the Great Reveal, the

The village of Montechiaro was usually silent by seven, but tonight the air smelled of burnt sugar and cheap wine. At the center of it all was Elio, a man who took the Christmas lighting competition far too seriously. He wasn't just competing with his neighbor, a retired dentist named Sergio; he was competing with the stars themselves. "Watch this, Sergio," Elio hissed, pressing the red button