Seasons Greetings From Blenheim, New Zealand

[xmascrackers]

Hi, my name is Lisa and I come from the town of Blenheim in the South Island of New Zealand. We decorate our home for Christmas and last year saw over 2000 people visit. This year it is only myself and my father decorating so we have had to put the start date back to the 14th of December to give us time to get everything up. We are already getting several hits a day as people swing past to find out if we are up and running yet. Our biggest problem is the sun. It fades all the decorations and the heat which plays havoc with the inflatable items. But it looks as if it will be our best display yet - fingers crossed. Merry Christmas to All.

 

[Miss Darcy]

:welcome:

 

[officepro4u]

Welcome and be sure to post pictures once you're all done! I would love to see what it looks like. Do you have any traditions in New Zealand?

Diana

 

[mammaduke]

:welcome:Hello there Lisa,
Hope you have a fun time here, as we all do.There is so much to do here, & so many people to talk to.
Welcome & have fun.:hi:

 

[Annette]

Hi Lisa..
Welcome to MMC. Would love to see some pictures after you get everything decorated. I am sure everything will turn out fine. Wishing you the best!

 

[xmascrackers]

Hi, Thanks for the welcome - I look forward to sharing ideas and Christmas Joy. Christmas traditions in New Zealand (NZ) are quite different from most of the world as we are in the middle of summer and this changes things dramatically. Traditionally Christmas wasnt celebrated in NZ till the advent of the Europeans in the 1800s and followed British customs of a hot roast dinner and the like. Over the years Christmas has been modified to suit summer temperatures so these days many people do the bbq thing or go to the beach for Christmas. In our family we have an open home on Christmas day where anyone is welcome to turn up on the day and share in a relaxed day of conversation, drinks and nibbles (which run non-stop) over the day. We either spend the day on the patio if the weather is nice or inside if the weather is not so good. Christmas eve is spent manning the Christmas display which is very busy that night. Of course the lights dont go on till 8pm and arnt really effective till after 9pm because it is still too light. To make up for that our display has a large number of day effects and we get quite a few visits in the daytime to see the effect at this time. The really annoying part of Christmas here is that Power is very expensive and we run on 240v so it is costly to run a display and the price of Christmas lights and display items is very high. An example is 100 mini bulb light set $14.95. We have a very limited range of items available compared to what I see on websites overseas which adds to the frustration and freight costs within NZ are ridiculously high. But all in all Christmas is a wonderful time here to celebrate a range of things from the birth of Christ to spending time with family and friends. But I am always dreaming of a white Christmas

 

[officepro4u]

I can totally relate to the warm Christmas! I live in the Orlando, Florida area and it's usually warm at Christmas time. Today it's 85 degrees!!

I can still get in the Christmas spirit even without the cold ~ no problem!!

I didn't even think about how much the decorations over there cost! WOW!! I don't think I'll ever complain again. I just picked up 100 strand of lights last night for $2.50.

Thanks for sharing!!

Diana:sparkle:

 

[xmascrackers]

I would kill for prices like that. Just looked at a 3ft high inflatable Santa for $150.00 and have purchased a set of 80 led lights for the amazingly low price of $39.95 - $10 off. Wow am I lucky.

 

[Billy Battles]

Welcome!

 

[RavenHardt]

Hello and Welcome.

 

[sugarplum fairy]

Welcome! Glad you are here!:merry:

 

[ninapooh]

A big hello and a warm welcome

 

[xmascrackers]

Greetings back and thanks for the warm and friendly welcomes. Its December 2 here and although our lighting display doesnt get turned on till the 14th we are getting 4 or 5 hits during the day to see the display and what is new - we have had to put up obstructions to stop them walking all over partially erected displays and loose cables. Tonight there have been about 20 slow drive bys - think I may have to put a light out tomorrow night to highlight the blackboard which says when we will be lighting up. I just hope I can get it finished in time. Have tomorrow off so will try and finish the patio area, put the balls on the picea and run the power to the fence lighting. Also need to go buy a heap more power boards and extension leads to run the inflatable displays and to complete the fernery lighting. Will also try and do a lighting check on the lights being run from the patio power points. (hope I havent overloaded them - I still want to add more lights).

 

[TwinkleLights25]

Welcome! Make yourself at home! :welcome:

 

[xmascrackers]

Well it is now the 19th of December and our display has been up for a total of 4 nites. Biggest night so far was saturday nite when we got over 100 people walking through the display. Main points of interest were the snow globe and the fibre-optic village items. Last night we had about 6 vehicle hits but no walkthroughs - probably due to the rain. Dont expect many tonight being Wednesday but with primary schools getting out on Thursday and Friday expect we will be innundated on Friday and Saturday nights. So far no vandalism just sets that break down. Have had two complete sets fail and have had one set blow 14 bulbs one night and 12 bulbs the next - this will be its last year I think. It is my oldest set of fairy lights that are still operational. We bought 3 sets in 1997. Lost the first in 1999, the second in 2003 and this set has all but disintegrated. A sad end but they did me well. Pity I have over 300 spare bulbs for the set that came off the other sets when they died.

 

[RavenHardt]

Welcome