Saturday afternoon was bright with the flaxen winter sun. But despite the seasonal temperatures, hints of the holidays were beginning to spring up. 

The Thanksgiving leftovers have been stored or digested, the Black Friday items purchased and now the end-of-the-year holidays are in full swing, as residents throughout metro Denver set up their Christmas lights.

Ladders and strings of lights could be spotted through the city Saturday as people began hanging bulbs and inflating blowup Santas.

The warm, 50-degree day certainly helped, too.  

Richard and Danielle Ledezma, for example, were spinning a string of lights around an arch that would be set up in the front yard so people could pose beneath it. 

The all-out Christmas display was new to the Ledezmas, who had always put up holiday lights, but decided to take things to the next level this year because their children are grown and left the nest.

“It’s to keep me happy,” Danielle joked.