Florida air force base orders residents to take down Christmas decor

Families say the housing contractor's strict timing rules dampen holiday spirit on the base

Military families living on an air force base in Florida have been ordered to dismantle their Christmas decorations under a strictly enforced regulation that tells them when and where they are allowed to celebrate.

Residents of Tyndall air force base received a tersely-worded memo from their landlords, private housing contractor Balfour Beatty Communities, informing them that a de facto patrol of the installation had uncovered infractions of their lease agreements in the form of early holiday inflatables, lights and other festive adornments.