Welcome to your Second Quarter 2009 edition of the PlanetChristmas newsletter! It is published regularly and covers relevant topics for the Christmas decorating professional and enthusiast.

Our newsletter is a bit shorter now that we also have PlanetChristmas magazine to read but there's so much information to share the newsletter won't go away!

Here's what you can read about in this Second Quarter 2009 newsletter:

• Good Christmas Deals
• PlanetChristmas Magazine has Hit the Streets!
• Our Annual Christmas Expo
• Do you Twitter? We now do!
• Pretty Good Deal on Ropelight
• Tip of the Month
• PlanetChristmas Radio!
• Registering for the PlanetChristmas Newsletter
• And finally...

Good Christmas Deals

I keep looking for the silver lining in this worldwide economic slump we're all suffering through. The good news is there are some surprisingly good deals on Christmas decorations from several PlanetChristmas vendors.

Melissa at Christmas Done Bright tells me she's running some sort of "super-double-secret sale" to purge the warehouse of lights and frames that are in the way. I got a peek at a mountain of incandescent lights and she was definitely wheelin' and dealin'. Email Christmas Done Bright, ask about the super-double-secret sale" and have that credit card ready.

I stumbled onto the new Winterland storefront. 20% off everything as of this writing. What impressed me was the incredible selection.

Looks like it's also time for the big annual sale at Light-O-Rama. It's always highly anticipated and a real favorite among the computerized lighting set.

Finally, checkout the revamped web store for Christmas-LEDs.com. Buried deep on one page is a reference to a special discount to anyone with PlanetChristmas. Now we're talking.

Know of some good deals? Let PlanetChristmas know.

PlanetChristmas Magazine has Hit the Streets!

I've been talking about PlanetChristmas Magazine for awhile. The first edition is now available and fully digital. The best part is no trees are being sacrificed for your reading enjoyment.

How can you make sure you receive PlanetChristmas Magazine, For the Serious Decorator ? Be sure to register for the publication now. It's free.

Our Annual Christmas Expo is August 1 in Louisville... and the ducks

After talking with a lot of people, we decided to scale back our annual gathering and make it free for 2009. We're calling this one "re-PLUS"... meaning we're re-doing the PlanetChristmas Lights Up Symposium for 2009.

It's a one day event on Saturday, August 1, 2009 in Louisville, Kentucky at the downtown Hyatt Regency hotel. We'll be in classes all day but there's a riverboat cruise planned for the evening before (Friday, July 31) and we'll be hitting Fourth Street Live on Saturday night. Think of it as an education sandwiched between a couple of fun evenings.

Want an easy way to keep up with re-PLUS information? Go to the website at PlanetChristmas re-PLUS or just remember www.gotoPLUS.com. It's the first place official re-PLUS information is shared with others. re-PLUS2009 registration is now open and remember, it's free.

Then there's the rubber duck issue... we have a boatload of "special purpose" rubber ducks looking for a home at PLUS... here are a couple of samples:

You must be present to claim your ducks.

PlanetChristmas Twitters!

Into Twitter? PlanetChristmas tweets on Twitter. Come join us at http://twitter.com/PlanetChristmas

PlanetChristmas is also on facebook... though I'll be the first to admit I don't totally understand all the excitement, much less how to use all the features (why are people writing on my wall???). More to come.

Still Looking for some Incandescent Ropelight?

Through a strange twist of events I'm still the keeper of a about a dozen rolls of 3/8" 120VAC, incandescent ropelight. 150 feet on a roll and each in a sealed, factory fresh carton. Blue, green, pink, purple and red colors are left. Apparently this ropelight was manufactured in late 2007 and for whatever reason has been sitting in the corner of a warehouse. I hate to see any potential type of Christmas light sit idle so I've arranged to sell this stuff for $63/roll plus shipping. PlanetChristmas gets a few bucks a roll and the world will be a little brighter this holiday season. Seems like a pretty good deal to me... especially since I've already bought quite a few of the rolls... but even I have my limits. Interested? I've setup a way to order this ropelight in the PlanetChristmas store. Good luck!

PlanetChristmas Tip of the Month

It's Summer and thoughts are starting to drift to Christmas display building for 2009. Now's the time to be thinking infrastructure. Do you have power in all the right places? If not, as Larry the cable guy would say: "Get-er-done."

PlanetChristmas Radio is on the Internet!

The PlanetChristmas radio station is available 24/7/365 to anyone with a fast Internet connection to tap into. Find the details at http://www.planetchristmas.com/PCRadio.htm

Registering for the PlanetChristmas Newsletter

I'm working with a group called Planet Subscriptions to handle the PlanetChristmas email distribution and make sure we comply with all government rules and regulations. At the bottom of all our emails you have the option to remove your address from any future emailings by simply clicking a link. For the record, PlanetChristmas values your privacy and does not share your email address with anyone. Not registered to receive our newsletters via email? Do it now!

And finally...

Don't limit that Christmas feeling to December. Help people every month of the year. You'll make a positive difference in the lives of others while at the same time making yourself feel pretty darn good.

Next time: look forward to more Christmas decorating tips.

Chuck Smith of PlanetChristmas