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Starting Your
You do it only once a year, but decorating the exterior
of your house for the holidays is special. It's one that can
involve everyone in the family because the job requires a
variety of skills and talents. Kids can help string lights on low
shrubbery and bushes and adults can do the ladder and electrical work.
Together you can make your home a very special place for the holidays.
If this is the first year you'll be decorating your house,
it's a good idea to start with a plan. Make a rough sketch or outline
of your house with measurements of its height and width and the length of
walkways and railings. Note where there's an exterior electrical outlet
and any trees or yard details that you want to include. This sketch will
help you create an ultimate design for displaying holiday lights
on your house, but you don't have to do everything the first year.
Break up the design into components and add one of them each year.
With a master plan the end result will be a coordinated design where
you make several small investments over the years instead of one big one.
When choosing light sets consider the exterior miniatures which are the
most efficient to operate (But if you ask me, the full size bulbs are
much nicer. It's your choice...). And check the package to find out how
many light sets can be connected to each other so you don't overload
your circuits. You can determine the number of Christmas light
sets needed to string lights across the roof line or around the front
door by checking the dimensions on your sketch with those on the package.
To figure out how many feet of exterior miniature lights it takes to
decorate a bush or tree just multiply its height by its average width in
feet and then multiply this number by six. If you're using full size lights
cut the number in half.
Place yard ornaments like Santa Claus or Frosty the Snowman in the focal
point of the front yard. To do this, position the figure so it can be seen
best from the street. This might mean experimenting before you set it in
place. Use a floodlight or two to focus attention on it if it isn't
already lit. In general, strings of lights outline the architectural
lines of your house while floodlights call attention to a
special feature like a wreath on the front door or a stately pine
tree. Buy only flood or spotlight bases that are rated for
outdoor use with plastic, double insulated bases.
Invest in heavy duty outdoor extension cords and tie the ends together
to prevent them from coming apart underneath all of that snow. I find that
covering each plug and connector joint with plastic wrap to protect it from
moisture is pointless. This process can even trap moisture inside,
a condition that can cause an unexpected show on the front lawn! :)
Finally, remember to prevent accidents by running cords out of
harm's way, not across a walkway or door opening.
And don't forget to take a picture of your house with the lights on.
The best time of day is at dusk when the Christmas lights shine brightly
but there's still enough daylight for the camera to work. When the first
Christmas light hunters roll around complete with a backseat full
of kids, their faces glued to the windows in awe, you'll see....
All the work really was worth it!
Christmas Display
Just after Remembrance Day,
we begin to sense a change in the air. The weather begins to grow colder
and most of us here in Canada have snow in our yards. One gets the feeling
that Christmas is in the air. Seems that, when the cold weather rolls around
each year, we just assume Christmas is `right around the corner`.
Then, before we know it, a driving force pulls us to the outdoors to set up that 'ol
Christmas display.