Five Things to Consider Before You Build That Mega Christmas Light Display

Special to My Merry Christmas Christmas Decorating May 11, 2017May 11, 2017Christmas lights 2 Comments

Ron Behringer thinks back to his epic Christmas displays of the late 1990s with great fondness. “It was a new age for Christmas lighting,” he says. “Computer technology was really cutting edge. It was expensive but it was so exciting. It took it all to a new level and I was all in.” Once upon a time Behringer lit up his home – and his neighborhood – with more than half a million lights. His synchronized display drew thousands of people, was featured on television news and was the envy of nearly every other Christmas fanatic in Arizona. Those wereRead more

Disney Snuffs Out Popular Christmas Light Attraction

Jeff Westover Christmas Features, Christmas News September 14, 2015Christmas lights, Disney, Osborne Family Christmas Lights 0 Comment

Once upon a time it was a great story. 20 years ago the Arkansas family of Jennings Osborne were in trouble: they decorated their home with millions of Christmas lights, irritating their neighbors and creating a traffic nightmare. They went to court and lost. When it seemed like the display was on its last legs Disney stepped in and saved the day. In the 20 years since the Osborne Family Christmas lights have been a mainstay attraction at Disney World during the holidays. The display has become a tradition for families who would visit just to see what better thanRead more

Daft Punk Pentatonix Christmas Lights

Jeff Westover Christmas Countdown, Christmas Features, Christmas Video August 10, 2015August 8, 2015Christmas lights, Pentatonix 0 Comment

Somewhere near you right now some poor guy is slogging through the heat of summer to put up a spectacular Christmas display. If technology has brought anything to Christmas it is a whole new level of creative celebration through lights and coordinated music. On day #137 of the countdown to Christmas we take a look at a light display from last year that we missed — one that is all about precision. Set to Daft Punk by Pentatonix, this display is pretty mesmerizing:

World Lights Up Christmas

Jeff Westover Christmas Features, Christmas News November 29, 2014Christmas lights 0 Comment

As the month of November closes the world lights up trees, homes and public areas with brilliant lights of celebration. In Australia, a Canberra lawyer has officially grabbed the Guiness World Record with nearly 1.2 million lights on his display, as seen here from ABC News: More ABC US news | ABC World News At the White House, the tree has arrived and the Obama family was there to greet it. Even though it was Florida, where it is warm, Frozen is the theme of the Christmas lights in the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World: It’s not all bigRead more

Ten Tips for the First-Time Christmas Lights Hanger

Jeff Westover Christmas Decorating, Christmas Features August 31, 2014Christmas lights, decorating 0 Comment

By Brad Knight My first experience in hanging Christmas lights taught me a lot of lessons. Newly married and mostly broke, we did not even have the money to get a tree. So I decided to surprise my bride by outlining our basement apartment window with a string of Christmas lights. I bought them at a local drug store for 88 cents. It was a near disaster. The lights were intended for indoor use only and I put them on the outside of the window. Everything was fine until a stormy gust of wind blew the connected extension cord (whichRead more

History of Christmas Lights

Jeff Westover Christmas History, Christmas Traditions May 30, 2002August 30, 2014Christmas lights, history 0 Comment

By Bill Nelson The world’s first practical light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison in 1879, and it was to be only three years later that an associate of his, one Edward Johnson, electrically lit a Christmas tree for the first time. The tree was in the parlor of his New York home, located in the first section of that city to be wired for electricity. The display created quite a stir, and was dutifully recorded by a reporter named Croffut in the Detroit Post and Tribune: Last evening I walked over beyond Fifth Avenue and called at the residenceRead more