Outdoor Decorating

Outdoor Christmas decorating

Professional home display
If you have the time to read this article then you either need more Christmas decorations to put out or you are a really organized enthusiast. Either way I am glad you took the time to visit. PlanetChristmas is dedicated to bringing the best of Christmas decorating news to you and I am honored to be a part of the process. This time of year is extremely busy and I have been running around like crazy with the normal tasks one has during the season. At the same time I’m investing hour-after-hour on a new design for my home display.…
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My search for the first snowman
Who made the first snowman? Who first came up with the idea of placing one snowball atop another and sticking a carrot in the top sphere? This was my quest for over six years. It would deplete my bank account, test my marriage and get me in with a lot of cool celebrities. I was at a career crossroads of sorts when I decided to tackle this project. Weary and jaded from working as a writer and illustrator in the shrinking magazine field for over 15 years, my flashier assignments were well behind me. I was looking for something that…
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95 foor Christmas tree in shopping mall
In last month’s PlanetChristmas magazine, I shared some tips on how to get started with a large scale Christmas display at your home. It’s time to follow up with examples of how important planning is in the world of commercial decorating. Perhaps the most common object associated with the holiday season is the Christmas tree. Add animation and musical synchronization to that tree and you have an incredible crowd pleaser. Many shopping centers realize this and are starting to install giant trees within their venues. Unfortunately, most don’t realize the amount of planning that goes into a successful display. It’s…
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Lasers in your Christmas display
Lasers have not been used much in Christmas lighting displays. They are typically viewed as too confusing for the Christmas decorator or the effects were dull and boring. The technology has evolved over the last few years and the laser industry is making systems that are user-friendly and spectacular looking for the Christmas decorator. Lighting designers and everyday Christmas decorators have been using LEDs and incandescent lights effectively. Some of these larger displays are controlled via DMX that make all of the lights on the house seem like they are turning on and off or changing colors to the music.…
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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’…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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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…
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Another Over The Top display!
The judges agonized over all the entries for the PlanetChristmas Inflatables Category of the 2008 Worldwide decorating contest and unanimously agreed the Liquori house in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York was the hands down winner for not only inflatables but also blowmolds. Let’s just say this one is definitely over the top! Their commitment to the community was inspiring, but it’s obvious what they really need is a bigger yard. Michael and Rosina Liquori have 25,000 lights, 500 blowmolds, giant toy soldiers, nutcrackers and 40 inflatables. Candy canes and snowflakes are all over the display as well as the…
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