How Long Have You Been Decorating?

[Guest wbottomley]

I've been decorating since the late 80's to early 90's.

My question... how long have you been decorating?

These are some pictures I found back in the day of 1993...







Newspaper article of the neighbor's too



I know there's more but can't find them at the moment.

[JimCanfield]

I have been decorating for about 10 years now, this being my first year animated.

[hobbes]

I have been decorating for about 18 years. Most of that time it was a static display. In 2000 I started using a PLC to control my mini-mega tree. In 2003 the PLC was replaced with custom built controllers. In 2006 that was all replaced with Light-O-Rama.

tom.

[DanCampbell]

How far back, with lights... lets see. When I was about 10, I cut the letters N-O-E-L out of masonite & mounted them on two dowels, painted 'em red and fastened multicolored C7's behind, then, hehe, formed a back from crinkled aluminum foil to reflect all the colors. It graced the picture window for a couple of years.

So, if childhood counts, 41 years. Serious outdoor decorating, first year.

[Linda Hadden]

I started in 1996 with 2 sets of Icicles and 3 sets 100 ct Multi coloured lights that I bought during a trip to the USA. It was rare to see an outside display in the UK then.

I didnt realise back then how addictive this would be. :D

Linda

[Donald Puryear]

I started in 1995 with my first house. Built my own controllers in 2002, moved to LOR in 2006. Just bought 32 more channels at the sale. Now I have 88 channels of LOR and 24 channels I/O and growing.

[Richard III]

I dont really rember and I am only 16 yrs old but i think it started when I was about 6 or 7 and me and my Dad put one string of lights around the door and not know to him he is the reason for my christmas light obbsesion and it gets bigger and bigger every year. With an LOR controller bought in 2005 and then a second one in 2006 that I put together myself

[toymakr000]

I started decoating in 1997 when we got our first house. The first year we had about 2000 lights and it has expanded ever since...

[JimCanfield]

This thread got me thinking and I remember being 16 years old and bored one day. I found an extra string of lights and decided to hang them outside around the door. I sat there for what seemed like forever checking every bulb so it would light up. I guess that is what started my obscession. Then the next year I [ut up a few more and so on until college when I took off a few years. I then moved out to my own place and that is where I took i tto the next big step. So technically I have been decorating for 17 years.

[George Simmons]

I've been decorating since I was a kid. Every year, no matter what, my mom would pile her four kids in the car the Saturday night before Christmas and we would travel around and look at lights. (Even though there wasn't anything but C9's back in those days, it was still pretty special to us kids.) I guess that's what inspires me - seeing little noses pressed against car windows and small mouths saying "Wow" just like we did all those years ago.

I got "serious" in 1992 and things have just been sort of spiraling towards insanity (a word I've heard neighbors use a couple times) ever since then. Depending on the yard I was working with and the total amperage at my disposal, there's been anywhere from 30-70 thousand bulbs out each year, with nary a square foot of ground nor a stray ampere unaccounted for. I've always relied heavily on chasers and mf sets for action, along with the occasional fader control or whatever other effects I could conjure up.

Last fall I realized I was starting to feel a little burned out, pardon the pun, and it seemed more of a chore than it was fun putting the lights up. I actually found myself wondering how many more years I'd feel like doing this? Then in December, the love of my life said: "hey, check out this cool website I found..."

This will be my fisrt year sequencing. LOR, along with all my new-found brethren in these forums, has most definitely rejuvenated my psyche. I can hardly wait for Christmas. I feel like a kid again, except this time I already have the toys!

George Simmons


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[JeffF]

We've been decorating our house since we moved in in 1999. But, when I was a kid(about 25-30yrs ago) I used to help my Grandfather decorate my aunt's house. She had one of *the* houses in the area and had a ton of blowmolds and wire frame. I used to help out with the ground lights while Gramps was up on the roof doing the roof lines and gutters. It used to take us a day or two to get everything done. Funny thing about it is what I remember most... the fact that we used to get extension cords warm by plugging in tons of lights into each and everyone one of them. I still can picture this octopus wiring.

At any rate, this will be our first year going blinky-flashy and I'm very excited to see how everything works out. I can't beleive how much work we've already put into 2008... and I really can't beleive how much more there is to do before the holidays. The wifey laughed at me until I told her all that still needs to be done... then the look of horror... or pity... or "Oh my God... He's nuts!" took over here face and she knew I wasn't kidding.

[Greg]

I have been decorating in some sort as long as I can remember. I come from a family that was decorating enthusists. My mom has pictures of me barely walking putting garland on my grandparents tree. I think the decorating bug really hit me in 1987 (I was 14) My father had a heart attack that year around thanksgiving. While he and my mother was in the hospital I got the tree, set it up and decoarted it. Did the rest of the house including the outside. To this day I can remember the look on his face when he came home. I think that sealed the deal for me been decorating ever since mostly static or slight animation, started using LOR last season.

[Tom Turkey]

To darn long

[Michael B]

I have been doing this for 23 years. 2 years annimated.

Michael Beason

[Robin]

Wow, how long? My decorating has actually been a progression of different displays.

My very first year was a blowmold snowman for my son when he was five. That was 15 years ago and it was all because of the Frosty the Snowman VHS tape that we watched 1000 times at least. That snowman is always in my display even now.

For a couple of years it was just some lights. Then my wife purchased some wooden cutouts at a craft fair. That is when I started my wooden cut out phase. I have well over 300 now and use some from time to time.

Five years ago I purchased four LOR controllers. Two 16 channels and two eight channels. Right now I have over 600 channels for this year.

Then I bought some old wireframes that were damaged during Hurricane Charley four years ago. I paid $500 for what I later found would be about $10,000.00 worth of frames if they were new. So I repaired all the frames, repainted them and added the lights. After doing that I though, if I can fix them I should be able to make a few. Well 400 frames later and I am where I am now.

This year I am only building a few frames, maybe two or three. But I have some "special projects" that should get people excited.

Last year my display had a little over 200,000 lights. This year should be real close to 300,000 if not a little more. The neat thing is that my display is seldom on at one time. When it is it is just for a few seconds.

I know this is more information that just how long but sometimes get excited. Oh and I have about 200 blowmolds and 50 or so inflatables. Just a hint, some of the blowmolds will be for sale this fall.

[Susie]

We started doing static displays five years ago when we first moved into this neighborhood. At that time, we were the only house that was decorated within several blocks. It must have inspired some of our neighbors because now, five years later, the entire neighborhood is in lights. Now, after doing our first animated display, we have a lot of people asking for help to animate their lights. You think this thing may be catching on??!!

[Dale W]

I used to decorate my parents house when I was in school (up through High School). However, once I started college, my desire to decorate their home went away.


When I was out on my own, my job kept me on the road and usually working through and on Christmas, so I did not decorate the apartment any (other than a 6" tree with toys beneath it).

After getting married and moving into our own place, I still was not into decorating because we spent so much time on the road (she was from up north and I from the south).

We started putting wreaths on the door, but I was not into putting lights on the house at all.

It was not until the birth of my daughter in 1995 and her reaching an age where she could ask around 1999 "where are our lights, daddy?" that I did not resume the art of decorating the house.

Our HOA sponsored an annual decorating contest and the winners typically were crisp all white lights. Pulling on my distant past and my desire to be a little different, we went with multi colored lights just about anywhere I could put them.

As we continued to hear the negative comments about multi lights (secondhand) form those "in the know", I was stimulated to put out more and more multi lights. In our neighborhood, out of about 100 homes (50+ that decorated), we were the only ones with multi lights.

I was energized to do more and more every year knowing that we were never a judges favorites, yet I continue to try to push the envelope on tasteful lights, animated lights and multi lights.

We used preprogrammed controllers that did not play music and I was very pleased with the display. However, we heard that it was not pleasing to the HOA.

After finding PC, I was jazzed to see there were companies that were manufacturing equipment that would allow me to program my lights to music and broadcast them over the FM dial. I found myself in decorator's utopia.

We went computerized in 2005 (my wife would not let me switch in 2004), and the rest is history.

We still do not win in our HOA contest, but we realize and accept that they do not like multi lights but want a home that would appear on Southern Homes and Garden.

We decorate to suit our own desires and pleasures. My daughter likes it, and my preschool neighbor likes it.

[Susie]

I know exactly where you're coming from. When the Christmas lights map was listed in our local newspaper, only the "very exclusive" homes were on the map. They were all homes with all white static lights.

[Guest wbottomley]

Robin wrote:

Wow, how long? My decorating has actually been a progression of different displays.

My very first year was a blowmold snowman for my son when he was five. That was 15 years ago and it was all because of the Frosty the Snowman VHS tape that we watched 1000 times at least. That snowman is always in my display even now.

For a couple of years it was just some lights. Then my wife purchased some wooden cutouts at a craft fair. That is when I started my wooden cut out phase. I have well over 300 now and use some from time to time.

Five years ago I purchased four LOR controllers. Two 16 channels and two eight channels. Right now I have over 600 channels for this year.

Then I bought some old wireframes that were damaged during Hurricane Charley four years ago. I paid $500 for what I later found would be about $10,000.00 worth of frames if they were new. So I repaired all the frames, repainted them and added the lights. After doing that I though, if I can fix them I should be able to make a few. Well 400 frames later and I am where I am now.

This year I am only building a few frames, maybe two or three. But I have some "special projects" that should get people excited.

Last year my display had a little over 200,000 lights. This year should be real close to 300,000 if not a little more. The neat thing is that my display is seldom on at one time. When it is it is just for a few seconds.

I know this is more information that just how long but sometimes get excited. Oh and I have about 200 blowmolds and 50 or so inflatables. Just a hint, some of the blowmolds will be for sale this fall.

Very good story Robin. Can't wait to see your new projects.

Your display has always been great.

[JimCanfield]

Only 2 years of LOR??? That is quite impressive there Jeff.