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    Freakonomics talks about Christmas Lights

    Freakonomics ‘The Economics of Everyday Things’ did an episode on Christmas lights.  About 15 minutes in you get to hear a little from Chuck Smith at PlanetChristmas. Listen to the podcast…

    So Many Santas!

    One guy, a camera, computer and too much time. John Wernega plays his music arrangement of “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.” This video shows some of the fun, crazy things that…

    Where are Christmas Lights Made?

    Ever wonder where all the Christmas lights come from in the 21st century? My first thought was Walmart… Thanks to our friends at Christmas Designers, we can gain insight into…

    Time to fix that Christmas Light string

    The best time to fix troublesome Christmas light strings is during the off-season. Here’s a pretty good video for attacking those cheap incandescent light strings:

    We’ve made it too complicated!

    Remember chaser strings from long ago?  Wrap one of those around your Christmas tree and suddenly it had personality.  The string had a controller at the end about the size…

    PlanetChristmas way back in 2023!

    Here’s a short video (just over a minute) that shows the highlights of PlanetChristmas 2023. The last major light display at the PlanetChristmas world headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee was back…

    A Better/Cheaper RGB Pixel Matrix Solution?

    I’ve been thinking about adding some sort of pixel matrix to my Christmas display so I could do more messages, graphics and video.  A P10 RGB panel display or pixel…

    Thinking about RGB pixels?

    Back in the old days you would plug in a string of Christmas lights and they would just turn on.  Easy. Technology started getting involved about a decade ago. Think…

    Make your own wireframe for the yard

    Ready to create your own wireframes to continue the theme you have evolving in your Christmas display?  You can always go to a local welding shop but it gets expensive…

    How to fix a blow mold?

    Does your Christmas blow mold need some tender-loving care?  John Yanik created an excellent video to guide you through the process.  Check it out! Standby while we load this from…

    How do they make Christmas lights?

    So, how does the factory make a string of Christmas Lights?  It really helps to have a specialized machine and a lot of automation.  This YouTube video is a bit…

    Holiday Lights at Cheekwood Trains 2022

    What happens when you mix a giant model trains layout with Christmas lights dancing to the music?  You end up with Holiday Lights down at the TRAINS! display at Cheekwood…

    Really worth reading...

    Some of our favorite articles:

      The Grinch hates flying

      The Grinch made it to re-PLUS in Louisville on August 1. It wasn’t the first time I’ve gone to one of these but it was the first time I was…

      Holiday birdhouse

      Need we say more? Just in case: at Gardendecoraccents.com you will find an enchanting selection of garden fountains, garden statues, solar powered garden accents, hammocks, garden gnomes, picnic backpacks, birdhouses,…

      The Forums are back!

      It was 1997 when the Internet was relatively new and the PlanetChristmas.com domain had just been granted. Back then you filled out a paper form, mailed it in and waited…

      “Yur lites R stupid”

      If you are reading this magazine then I think it’s safe to assume that you’re “one of those people” that goes a little bit overboard when it comes to holiday…

      Put a mega-tree on the roof

      It all started a couple of years ago when we needed to find a suitable house to help care for an aging relative. All my previous hard work building and…

      Rumor mill

      I have a normal eared brother that lives way down south. He’s a Christmas amateur, meaning he only thinks about it in December. His decorations consist of a predecorated tree…

      LEDs facts and fiction

      When Chuck Smith asked me to put together a column for PlanetChristmas magazine that was a little more on the technical side of things I was nervous at first. Would…

      Be a good Santa

      I had the pleasure of attending the “Celebrate Santa” convention back in March of this year. There were about 400 portly gentlemen attending to trade secrets on how to be…

      PlanetChristmas video from 2002

      Back in the good-old-days the PlanetChristmas display at the Smith household was quite popular.  The local Fox 17 news outlet from Nashville, Tennessee came out to film the display.  That…

      Extreme Christmas lighting?

      The immediate thought that comes to my mind concerning the trends in extreme Christmas decorating is that everyone who can scrape together a few more discretionary dollars in 2010 will…

      Then there are the rumors...

        Rumor mill rumblings

        The workshop has been buzzing about all that recent presidential excitement in the USA. We’ve never had an election here…

        So many LED based Christmas lights

        I’m not worried. Well, maybe a little. It’s been the oddest thing. Until this year we’ve been quite self-sufficient at…

        More from the rumor mill

        Microsoft has determined the attention span of a human is eight seconds. Mythbusters figured out a goldfish can stay focused…

        Rumor mill ruminations

        What an interesting summer with the war of the Christmas shows, each on the same weekend of July in Conroe,…

        People like to be respected

        The other day I went out to my car and found the glove box open and the owner’s manual lying…

        The rumor mill grinds on

        When Santa isn’t looking we sneak off to the elf lounge and surf the Internet so we can keep up…

        The Rumor Mill has found more… rumors.

        Santa gave all the elves the afternoon off in early November so I wandered down to the well heated North…

        The rumor mill again

        Government overthrows, earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear meltdowns. What in the world is going on with everyone down south? Sounds like the…

        The Rumor Mill (again)

        Labor Day. It’s typically when the politicians kick into high gear. How can you tell when one isn’t telling the…

        “Yur lites R stupid”

        If you are reading this magazine then I think it’s safe to assume that you’re “one of those people” that…

        The Rumor Mill keeps grinding it out

        Santa gave us Labor Day off with one little caveat. We had to promise to return the next day ready…

        The rumor mill ends another year

        What’s the big decorating trend this year? I really hope it’s not those dress manikins shaped like Christmas trees. Creepy.…

        Where are the forums?

        The PlanetChristmas Forums are on an extended sabbatical. 

        If you want to engage with the decorating community, head on over to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/planetchristmas

        If you really want to see the PlanetChristmas Forums come back on-line, send an email to Chuck (chuck at planetchristmas-com.preview-domain.com)

        No matter what, remember our three rules.  We are:

        1. Positive
        2. Family Friendly
        3. Christmas-centric
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