I posted a new video to our YouTube channel of a walk through tour of our 2019 display.  I do one every year to showcase how our show has evolved and expanded, as well as give other hobbyists ideas.  Someday I plan on adding videos of our actual songs with music, however that is more tricky.  YouTube has filters that enforce music copyright restrictions pretty aggressively.     

There are a couple different ways we get new stuff every year, and one of those is from the local retail stores, or Big Box stores as some call them.  You can count on deep discount prices on remaining inventory as the holiday season comes to a close, and typically on the day after Christmas, 75% off.  I used to score shopping carts full of new string lights, gutter clips and more by being the first customer in the store that morning.  We would take pictures of our "HAUL" as we loaded our trunks with the goods, to share with other hobbyists on Facebook and brag about how much money we saved.  I didn't have much this year as you can see below.  I've come to realize that I already have a ton of stuff, the equipment I am really after doesn't come from the big box stores, and impulse buying only leads to unused goods that collect dust on the shelves in my basement.  So here is my haul from Lowe's: An LED bulb troubleshooter, and 2 remote controlled outdoor outlets.  Total cost: $9.95

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

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!!

It's not much, but here's what we had out to celebrate last month.