Thank you so much for all of the appreciative feedback that we receive year round: be it in passing over the summer, the thumbs up from passing cars as I'm on the roof during setup, the thank you's as we are out there making repairs, the emails and letters, and sometimes even the heartfelt gifts like these!! It all truly means a lot. The cool electronics are a lot of fun, but the biggest reason is to hopefully put smiles on the kids faces, and be a small part of some family traditions. I would come out to the street to wish happy holidays to our guests, but I'm just too shy for that
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We ran the show through New Year's day. Weather was great the following day, so we took it all down. It took 2 of us about 3 hours to get it all down, but probably several days to get garage floor space back!! Some props will be retired, some need fixing, some will be sold, and some new will be added for next year. It keeps it exciting! We did what we had to do this year despite weather issues, a big family vacation, and other roadblocks.
I also met with my friend Paul and purchased a lot of good items still left over from his King Christmas display which was discontinued last year. I am happy to re-use great stuff from other local decorators, and look forward to possibly sell and pass on stuff I don't need as well. If anyone locally is thinking about getting into this hobby, I would be more than happy to show you what its all about. Check out my YouTube channel as well for some of my videos. I know of at least one local large-scale decorator who is throwing in the towel at the conclusion of this season, but I know of at least one new one this year as well. Hopefully there will always be new beginnings to replace to sad endings. I still moderate a Facebook group titled "Upstate NY holiday lighting group" which allows other enthusiasts in NY to connect. We added a bunch of people from all over including Binghamton, Syracuse, Niagara Falls, and more. There is still interest in having a meet, so we'll have to see if that is still feasible and try to make it happen. It's another great way to keep in touch with everyone. I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season. We were out of communication for a bit, on a big family vacation. That is one of the reasons we only did half a display this year, and no new songs. I would recommend everyone check https://rochester.kidsoutandabout.com/content/holiday-christmas-lights-80-house-driving-tour-rochester-area for the most up-to-date list of local displays. We've lost a couple great ones in recent years, but hopefully a few new ones are rising to the challenge. If anyone is interested in learning what it takes to put on a show, I'd be happy to show them a thing or two. Lights will be on nightly through at least New Year's Day. Extended hours till 11pm.
The display is on: School nights 5-9pm, and weekends 5-10pm. Tune your radio to 107.9 FM. We didn't put everything up this year, and we are still working on some new songs.
Hello everyone! We are not quite ready for the lights yet. The weather hasn’t been on our side lately. Going to run a condensed display this year. Will keep everyone posted.
"...average consumer, the cost of putting up a home light display will increase by a few hundred dollars. For a bigger venue, it could rise by thousands." Check out this article on the Huffington Post in regards to new tariffs on China. We've noticed the increase ourselves with the lights on the shelves at the stores this year.
We are excited to add these RGB flood lights to our display! They can be used to illuminate the front of our house different colors, all the same color, or even flash to simulate lightning. They are new to us, and we picked them up from a fellow decorator who has decided to retire from the hobby. Sad to see them go, but we were able to pick up some new things from them to use for our show!!
Placed a pre-sale order with DIYLEDExpress to restock supplies. Also found a good deal from a local big box store on cords. Really want to lock down plans for 2019 so can start in on it as soon as possible!
Boy does the holiday season go by fast! Setup took longer, and was harder to do because of the weather. We never got a chance to add any new songs this year, and barely able to program in the new LED mega tree and pixel tree. Had to make repairs a few times to pixel nodes that were faulting up on the roof line, which especially sucks when its cold, windy and rainy. The wind blew down reindeer at times, and strong gusts even tipped over the creche display! Luckily all the trees were anchored down good enough and stood their ground.
We appreciate the kind words many of you have shared with us for doing the display. Putting smiles on people's faces is why we do it!! Planning for next year, we are probably looking to do less, or at least easier setup/takedown props. Got a good deal on new white LED strings on after-season clearance to replace the failing ones that do the perimeter fence. Got a few more heavy duty bins for storage, as well as Husky heavy duty shelving units that were on sale at Home Depot! Thinking of attending the Christmas Expo this July in Daytona Beach this year to learn a thing or two and connect with some other great lighting enthusiasts. Excited to start planning for next year!! |
AuthorHobbies come in all shapes and forms. Me, I play with Christmas lights. Archives
December 2023
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