Wesley A. Schreiber, a young hairdresser with no close family ties, often felt humbug during the holidays.
Then, he moved to a house in 700 block of W. 34th St. in Hampden.
Right away back in July, his new landlord laid down the rules: no trashing the place, no holes in the walls, no carpet stains, and most important, come the winter holidays, he had to help deck that stretch of city scenery in high Christmas style.
Starting Nov. 25, as a neighborhood newsletter reminded him, rowhouses on both sides of the street must take on their traditional lighted "Miracle on 34th Street" appearance, which draws thousands each year from Baltimore and beyond to see a form of collective folk art. (Only one of the block's 20 houses, recently vacated, is dark this year.)
The concept was new to Schreiber, 29, who usually gritted his teeth through the holidays amid the season's signs of kinship and togetherness.
An only child, his mother died five years ago.
"It's hard when you don't have that sense of community and children," he said.
He grew up in a public housing project in Northeast Baltimore, where holiday spirits didn't burn as brightly.
But to please the tight-knit neighbors in the North Baltimore enclave, Schreiber said he and his fiancee, Ashleigh B. Tate, 24, trekked over to G. C. Murphy's on West 36th Street and bought $70 worth of "as much gaudy Hampden stuff as possible" - white lights, silver garlands, an angel for a window, six red stockings to adorn the exterior, one for everyone in the three-story house: the couple; their housemate Sean Knight; calico cats Autumn and Pumpkin; and their dog Pisces.
Schreiber and Tate added their variation to the theme, putting a spindly "Charlie Brown Christmas tree" outside for passers-by to hang ornaments on.
Surveying their red ribbons and the train set and candy canes on the porch next door, Schreiber said, "Christmas has always been a little difficult, but this year, I made a commitment. And it's so homey, it's like the Waltons. I said, `Honey, for our first year, I think we've done a fantastic job.'"
Sharon Burke, 55, a Verizon employee and lifelong resident of the block, said she has not met either neighbor but approves of the couple's participation: "They've done very well, decorated in good taste. They fell right in with it."
In fact, the couple, who describe themselves as "alternative" and don't quite fit into the community's blue-collar mold, have not met most neighbors on the block, which is framed by the Northern District police station at Keswick Road and a family-owned hardware store on Chestnut Street.
Inside their front door, which spurred some rumblings when they painted it black, lies a cozy home with hand-painted wall murals, the living room fragrant with the candles that Tate likes to burn.
Like Schreiber, Tate is a hair stylist, and works in a Charles Village salon. He works at the Rotunda. They dream of opening a beauty salon on West 36th Street in Hampden, close to the street where they hope to buy a house. They plan to marry next year.
Schreiber said the nightly lighting ritual, in its 11th year, has stirred real cheer in him. The sense of community sharing and celebration is hard to miss outside the front door, he said.
"Even the Grinch would have Christmas spirit on this street," Schreiber said.
