2009

Over The Top Display
PlanetChristmas started it all with the original worldwide decorating contest back when we were all newbies. Every year more people get excited about decorating for Christmas and Franklin Flair in Nashville, Tennessee didn’t let us down. It’s one thing to put out a bunch of lights, but Franklin computerized them as well as built a castle in his front yard. The judges were most impressed. Here are some details in his own words: My display started back in September with the building of a castle. This is not an ordinary or small castle but a structure 14’ high by 30’…
Read More »
The Rumor Mill
LEDs Light Emitting Diodes. Let me get this straight. These things are suppose to save the world. They last forever, use next to no electricity and are revolutionizing the Christmas decorating world. I only need to say this once. Bah Humbug! LEDs. Lousy, Expensive and for Dummies. We definitely don’t need any new fangled technology up here at the North Pole workshop. After using good old electric light bulbs for the last hundred years there’s no reason to change, especially since they’re proven to work, unlike some of the slacker elves around this place. I can buy 60 watt light…
Read More »
How about some plastic?
Known by various names including Light-ups, Lawn Art, kitsch, illuminated figures, or simply blow molds (two words, not one), they are a type of Christmas decoration that become an obsession for many. Who are the “blow molders” and what are they after? They’re another segment of the Christmas decorating community with a passion for the good old days and a desire to bring the joy of the season to everyone. Blow molds are not just milk jugs, soda bottles, and gas tanks. To a blow mold enthusiast they are Santa in his sleigh, elves carrying gifts, prancing reindeer, a battalion…
Read More »
Streamlining your display setup and teardown
Time is precious and it becomes more so as the pre-holiday decorating season gets underway. This is my ninth season for an over-the-top display and fourth year of using a synchronized light and music show. As the display has grown bigger and elaborate the set-up has become more time-consuming and complex. The deadline to “turn-on” the lights still looms. Each year I discover new techniques that save time in my display set-up. Some are simple ideas that could save hours of time and some are tested techniques that will not only save time, but make the process easier. Before 1.…
Read More »
The Grinch…
When it comes to “Do-it-Yourself” wizardry, I don’t think you will find a more creative bunch of people than those that do extreme Halloween displays. Their uses for motors, pneumatic actuators and levers never cease to amaze me. Now, I know what you’re saying; you’re saying “Blasphemy! This isn’t PlanetHalloween Magazine…it’s PlanetChristmas Magazine!” To which I reply “Feel free to write your own column.” To be fair, we do have a lot of creative people around here as is illustrated by the fact that it took two editions of PlanetChristmas Magazine to cover just a few of the ideas people…
Read More »
LED Products for the entertainment market
LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology in the professional entertainment market has been on a fast track in the entertainment industry for the last six years after originally being introduced at the 1997 LDI show (http://www.ldishow.com/) to a crowd that often yawns at unproven technology. It was then that Color Kinetics, a Boston company broke new ground by merging microprocessor control and a network address with LEDs to create and pioneer several new intelligent solid-state lighting devices. Armed with a multi-million dollar Research and Development program and patent upon patent, Color Kinetics brought the entertainment industry into the LED lighting revolution.…
Read More »
Christmas village tips
Here are a few tips that will make your next Christmas village scene a step above the rest. Polystyrene. Buy a few sheets of polystyrene from a hardware store. It is used as home insulation and comes in 4×8 sheets. This one item serves dozens of purposes in the scene. Small pieces can be placed under buildings to add height and to provide tunnel space for cords. It can be stacked and carved into a mountain, glacier, hill or cliff. Nothing is worse than a flat town. Carve a 1 x 5 foot length into a mountain range and place…
Read More »
Indoor decorating
It’s getting really close to setup time. I’ve been working on my indoor display since the middle of September. The trees are up and in place, but not completely decorated yet. I’ll be totally done inside the house the day before Halloween. I’m certainly keeping my fingers crossed. The next project is to set up my Christmas village. I move it around and change things up every year because that’s what makes it fun. I know you’ve checked out on PlanetChristmas Richard Holdman’s picture of his father’s Christmas village around the tree and Chris Berglund’s new layout he built for…
Read More »
Recording your own music
It started with Ryan Lissner of Ryan’s Christmas Lights (www.RyansChristmasLights.com) in Salisbury East, Adelaide, South Australia looking for some fresh music for his down-under Christmas display. Off-the-shelf music wasn’t an option but Suite Christmas by Carrie Lyn was a possibility. PlanetChristmas magazine asked Carrie for some DIY advice on recording a Christmas album. Suite Christmas. Rush! That seemed to be the theme of the recording project that lay before me. This was an opportunity to share with the world the talents of the new lineup for Carrie Lyn Infusion, in addition to styling of Carrie Lyn “that violinist” as Ryan…
Read More »
Sequencing for a living
It’s finally November. For many lighting enthusiasts we’ve been planning our over-the-top displays for months and are now ready to begin putting up the lights. I know quite a few of the larger displays have already started the outside work. This is the time of year when many newcomers join the decorating community and are dazzled by the elaborate displays. Many do not realize the amount of planning, time and effort that goes into these works of art. There’s another component of our displays some would rather not discuss and that’s the cost. Like many hobbies today, this can get…
Read More »