Neighbors

[ShaggySS]

First of all I am new here so be nice. I have always been into the Halloween and Christmas spirit I always bought new stuff after each holiday to expand my next year’s display. Recently I have gotten bored with just putting up lights and turning them on. I reached 10,000 lights last year! Yes I am aware thats 10,000 is pathetic compared to some people. I had always wanted to add music to my decorations but I never really pursed it. Then I saw some people create those singing Halloween pumpkins and I was hooked. That’s exactly what I wanted to do. I researched how to build them and I planned out my whole house. My biggest mistake was watching those shows on TLCDiscovery Channel with my wife where the people go all out crazy with lights. Each episode they talk about the angry neighbor and police and I always laugh at that. So I am set I know exactly what I want to do but my wife is on the fence. As much as she enjoys driving around watching light displays she doesn’t want to become THAT house! She doesn’t want all our neighbors to hate us. So I was thinking we could just limit the show times of the show to only a few hours a day or maybe just on the weekends. I am curious how everyone else deals with their neighbors and what they have learned over the years.



Thanks,

Scott

[Bob Wingert]

I would imagine that every neighbor(hood) is different. You'll just have to test the grounds next year. What we did was give everyone a forewarning of what was about to take place. They were all so excited after seeing our little halloween show. That was my 1st go @ it, thus we made it small - it was more of an audition for me to see how everything worked. Did 48CH and 15K lights this year, we had people dancing in the streets, honking, waving, complimenting etc...It was a HUGE hit. They are already asking whats on the plate for 2011...

I would at the very least, give them a courtesy heads up. And dont just run it on the weekends. Run that sucker 7 days a week. People I wouldn't think could that bitter, coud they??

[friskybri]

Most people will love it some wont. I have one that hates my mega tree because she can still see it with her shades down. I just said buy better shades. So next year I am adding more strobes to that side of the yard. LOL. Most of the ones that complain on TLC are on the diplays that I think are Guady. If you make your display look nice have purpose and great sequencing. It will look great. You want to be that house that everyone goes to see. I could name several that I would love to go see.

[caniac]

we had lots of cars come by to enjoy ours and some folks would take the "long way" home from work just to enjoy them. Only had two complaints, one was about noise and we turned down our amp a couple of notches (the officer said a Mr./Ms. Scrooge had reported us) then some kids which i ignored (didn't like Christmas music).

[PaulXmas]

Firstly we have a neighbour from hell!

11 years ago when we moved in she had very few if any outside decoration.

I started decoration my house every year adding more and more.

The neighbour has never complained....about the display (everything else the rest of the year) and she has grown her's a little each year.

We live on a bus route so it is hard to complain about the noise and traffic.

I have never seen more than 6 vehicles at any one time.

[LENNY RUEL]

Neighbors usually are not a problem if you keep the visitors in check as that will be the thing in the end that ruffles feathers. And it helps if the neighbors see you are concerned about them as well. We have signage up in the neighbors yards on both sides of our display. One of course is the "tune to FM 106.9 to listen to the lights" the other is actually a sign that has the rules about being courteous to our neighbors as well as show hours. Most of ours are alwyas curious when they see me working during the summer on elements and often will step in to the garage and ask questions. I get way more "thank yous" for doing this than the opposite. I know some neighbors CAN be hard, but there in the end is not much they can do on a public street. Plus a snotty neighbor risks being ridiculed as a grinch or scrooge by the rest of the neighbors, especially since it's only for 5 weeks, and moreso if you take donations on top of it. Once they get used to the display itself you would be surprised when many of them tell you they really don't notice it other than a little traffic congestion

Lenny

[TechMan]

I actually had a lady from back in the neighborhood(that we dont even know) stop by on a Saturday eve a few weeks back to say they really enjoyed our lights and brought us a plate of holiday treats!! And we only have like 4k LED's! Guess that's part of the reason I'm here to learn about LOR, as next year it's on! Already ordered over 5k more, and now just waiting for the LOR Feb sale;)

[Tim Fischer]

As was said - most people will love it. If you're courteous, keep traffic in check, don't go overboard with media attention, etc. you might have 100% support. Many of us have at least one "problem" neighbor but that's true with most things. If that happens, try to make reasonable compromises, and if that doesn't work, then at least you've tried.

The biggest things that will bug your neighbors is traffic jams and late show hours.

[Cray Augsburg]

10,000 lights = pathetic? Oh well. Depending on what YOU want your display to look like, it's really not so much the number of lights as it is the number of channels. I have seen a few displays with relatively few lights and 32 channels that look as tastefully done and WOWsome as any of the others. Truly, it is the creativity and action that draws attention. Yes, I know WOW factor is important and can be had by sheer volume of lights. But zipping down a line of mini trees changing them from red to green as the music builds works well, too.

As has been said, be courteous to the neighbors. Even include them if you can. Let 'em know what you plan (just maybe not in a way that makes them immediately think the street will be jammed with cars). A recent thread here was from a user who planned to send "Thank You" cards to all his neighbors.

Keep the sound (if you use speakers) low. Limit your show hours to a reasonable time frame. Don't aim fixtures toward neighbors windows. Resolve issues quickly. Ask viewers to also be courteous, etc.

You'll probably find yourself in your yard wiring a tree next season, and some neighbor will drive by greeting you with "Hey, Clark" or "Love the lights, Griswold!"

Above all, within reason (at least acknowledging you're not the only person on the street), have fun. It's your show. Make it what you want, and make the most of it.

[ShaggySS]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to respond. I picked up some really great info. I really like the idea of perception. If I show my neighbors I care about them then they can’t be too mad at me. I also like the idea of thank you cards. I am talking with another neighbor of mine about doing light sequencing so if he does it then I think I am golden.

[Texas Griswolds]

I have never had any problems with my neighbors. Some of mine have even given me some of their old yard decorations to add to mine. My neighbors watch me setting up all the lights and can't wait for the first night I light it up.



Good luck with your neighbors.

[chipwdw]

as its been said. talk to them about the display. i talked to all of them around me before the first year with LOR 3yrs. ago. they were all for it, as is most in my n'hood. i am in a HOA n'hood so i wanted to make sure it was all good. now like most here, they love it and plan parties on the first day the lights are on (usually thanksgiving, if not working). so this year i wanted to have a choir sing live, so again i spoke with the neighbors and met with the HOA president. it worked out great, everyone loved it. i ended up getting the street closed by the city and the police there, for the few hours the night of the 2 concerts!! moral is talk to them. i also have 2 grinches, but they are on the other side of the n'hood so oh well go the other way! also where are you at. put it in your profile, you maybe able to meet someone else thats close.

chip

[Guest Don Gillespie]

ShaggySS you are old enough to purchase a bottle of Crown Royal once you have that bottle go over to your neighbors house with one glass and lots of ice pour some Crown Royal in the glass offer it to your neighbor if he refuses the glass then don't tell him about your light display when you are ready to light up go back outside with the Crown Royal turn the lights on and then reoffer him the drink if he still refuses the drink its because maybe he doesn't like Crown Royal on ice however I do so tell us where you live so we can be your neighbors we like Crown Royal on ice chances are your neighbors will love the lights just let them know what your are doing most of them are pretty good.

But really about that Crown Royal :D:D:D

[George Cotton]

This was my 2nd year for LOR driven Halloween lights. but read on, it all was really good. I had 4-5,000 lights, graveyard, mummy and a LIVE witch for Halloween night to give out treats.

Since last year, the neighborhood has really changed. An eldery couple across the street died; another eldery couple moved closer to kids before Halloween. Both of these really enjoyed the light show and the "traffic", especially on Halloween night when they tuned their boom box to my FM signal so the music was everywhere.

One of those houses had new middle-aged occupiants before Halloween, the other was empty till after the new year. A older couple bought a remodled home next to me and finally, a recently retired couple returned home after a 2 year mission trip.

To say the least, I was concerned with all new neighbors. I visited with all and they had no problems. I told them to expect maybe 300 trick r treaters. Most laughed. I actually had 270+. Neighbors ran out of treats at 120, 150 and 200 visitors. They ended up joining MY party and enjoyed the couple of hours of mayham of one night. They could not believe the crowd, but said they would be ready next year. One even ask about adding his house to my light show. It's close enough to run a CAT5 cable to his controller, if he decides to do this.

During the week-long run, there would be a car or two during each 20 minute show. At one point Halloween night, there were 12 cars parked near my house. Most had small kids that parents were watching closely as they danced up the "Yellow Brick Road" of rope lights from the street to the front porch and my live witch and her boiling caldron.

My Christmas show ran for almost a month, but it is much less flashly. Traffic was really slow till the week before Christmas. Up till then, maybe a single car per hour was normal, then a couple per show as Christmas got closer and the word spread.

Since then, I've had a co-worker add some reindeer and several large lighted wreaths to my display choices for next year. I'm looking at a sorta mega tree (or two). Oh, did I say that I'm retiring on July 1st? Now what might be on the horizion, I don't know. I did buy a few thousand lights at after Christmas sales. Mostly LED's.

[paulanator]

This was my first year of animated LOR Lights and the week before the lights went on, I put together a little letter explaining the lights and what we were going to do, and what they could expect, including a bit more traffic on the street.

It explained the hours and how we wanted to be courteous to neighbors. I have outside speakers, they will be on low so you can hear from the sidewalk, and turned off at 9pm. Show is 6-10 weekdays and 6-11 on weekends.

I also put my phone number in there, and asked that they contact me with ANY problems, and I will take care of it. We went around and gave these out and invited everyone to stop by and enjoy the show.

It went so well, we were shocked. The neighbor across the street has a huge picture window facing my house, and I was worried. She said she had the music on every night and watched the show many nights. She also had her family members over, to watch, and they even came outside to sit and watch with friends.

We have great neighbors thankfully, and it went well. I think part of it was letting everyone in on the plan and what we are doing.

That was with 10k lights and 48 channels, this year is going to be 23k lights and 160 channels... we will see how much they love it this year.. lol

[NickByrd]

I wish I had given the neighborhood a heads up. We had no problems, it just took them a while to catch on. I was testing sequences and lights for about 2 weeks. For the longest I just kept doing lighting test sequences and running 2 songs. Once I installed the FM transmitter and signs with the full show. Neighbors started coming by. I actually met alot of the neighbors that keep to themselves.

Just doing the display this first year was a good ice-breaker for the neighborhood. I anticipate next year will be bigger crowds and I am going to do the informative letter.

I too have a Neighbor from Hell and even she liked the lights.

Bottom line, there is always a GRINCH somewhere out there and you can never please everyone. Do your display on your terms while being curtious to the neighborhood and don't worry about the 1 or 2 sour folks.

Nick

[NickByrd]

Sorry it posted twice.

[Steven]

Cray Augsburg wrote:

Even include them if you can. Let 'em know what you plan

Before my first(!) year, I talked to 4 of our neighbors, told them what I was planning, and invited them to join in. 2 accepted, so my display included 3 houses the first year. The 2nd year another joined. This year the new neighbor also wants to be part, so we should have 5 houses.

Now, if I can convince the grumpy old man who's house will be in between 2 of our houses to let us decorate his house, then we'll have 3 houses on each side of the street.

[jim6918]

I really held my breath a couple of nights this year. I used a local radio personality (personal friend) to do my announcement, and he couldn't stop talking about the display on the radio each morning. I couldn't really complain as he did the voice over for free and has such a great radio voice. About a half + dozen nights the traffic was just crazy, cars lined up 12 deep in both directions, blocking driveways, horns honking, at least two near fender benders that I witnessed. My immediate next door neighbor, normally a pretty good guy, did comment to me a couple of times that he had to wait to get turned into his driveway. I made it a point to visit each neighbor several times during the season and ask them if things were OK. A neighbor across the street made a special effort to pull all his cars up into his driveway and a piece of lawn next to it thereby giving extra room right across from my house.

Heard about a couple of verbal exchanges between cars about who blocked whose views of the show. I was told, but didn't see, that two guys met between cars to discuss who was there first.

I don't think I will be expanding my show length next year, in fact I may be aiming for shorter show length to get more turn over.

[crackchecker]

jim6918 wrote:

I really held my breath a couple of nights this year. I used a local radio personality (personal friend) to do my announcement, and he couldn't stop talking about the display on the radio each morning. I couldn't really complain as he did the voice over for free and has such a great radio voice. About a half + dozen nights the traffic was just crazy, cars lined up 12 deep in both directions,

Me too. I had people calling me or contacting me on FACEBOOK telling me that my display was all over the radio each morning. For most nights it was steady by only up to three cars at a time. Christmas eve I had car lined up in both directions. Funny thing was, I didn't ever first had notice most of it. It usually came from someone else in just a casual comment.

Christmas eve traffic jam I saw first hand. I was cooking brownies for the neighbors that evening and when I went out to delivor them I walked out my front door and into about six photos and two video cam shots. That is when I would have invested in cand canes to hand out to everyone.