It's About Time!

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

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

• Christmas Tradeshows
• PlanetChristmas Magazine
• PLUS2009 our Annual Expo!
• Pretty Good Deal on Ropelight
• Tip of the Month
• PlanetChristmas Radio!
• Registering for the PlanetChristmas Newsletter
• And finally...

Christmas Tradeshows

Flashback to 2002. Dan Hall had mentioned in the PlanetChristmas forum how we ought to have some sort of expo so we could come together, network and meet the vendors. I remember thinking surely there was already a tradeshow catering to the serious Christmas decorators. Nope.

In 2003, the PlanetChristmas Lights Up Symposium was born. We called it PLUS. It ended up at a hotel conference center I could see from my office window. With a group of ten volunteers and calling in just about every favor anyone ever owed me, we pulled it off and over 100 decorating enthusiasts met for a long weekend at the end of July in little Franklin, Tennessee.

PLUS has evolved over the years as we strive to keep it relevant while also expanding the community. What most don't realize is the incredible amount of work required to put on an event like this. Here's some behind-the-scenes insight of how and why we do things.

Think of PLUS as three independent elements: education, meeting the vendors and community building. Each has very different needs yet they all depend on each other.

There's a temptation to mimic some tradeshows and have the vendors finance everything. That might be good for the attendees but it really limits the number of vendors that can afford to attend. I've always had this fundamental belief you get what you pay for so PLUS is structured that way. Your registration fee goes towards renting the classrooms, audio/video, course materials, food and all the gazillion other little things required. Likewise, vendor fees go towards exhibit hall space, carpet, drapes and all the things exhibitors require. You know the money you pay is going to cover costs for what you're doing and not to supplement anything else.

How do we pick the PLUS location? We know many attendees now make PLUS part of their summer vacation so we search for a town that can entertain the entire family yet be reasonably priced. We're too big for most hotel conference centers so we now have to be in larger cities. For 2009 we required the location had to be close to a major airport. Las Vegas and New Orleans were too hot. Chicago and Denver were too cold. Louisville ended up being just right (and they really bent over backwards to make us feel important). Where will we be in 2010? The search is already underway with a new requirement added that it will be on the west coast.

Education is vital to PLUS and this year we're really expanding the course selections beyond the usual computer lightshow sequencing and how not to zot yourself with electricity. As an example, we're adding robotics, dealing with artists performance rights, handling the national media outlets and even how to bake a real gingerbread house. We've also added a separate tract for people in the Christmas business that covers everything from franchises to decorating huge venues.

We have an exhibit hall almost six times bigger than our first PLUS. All the vendors you know and love are coming back for PLUS2009 as well as Galaxia, Music 'N Motion and Winterland, just to name a few.

What about hotel rooms? If we had been willing to commit to a thousand room nights at one hotel, we could have received the convention space for free. Unfortunately, it also means room rates are bumped up and if we don't move all the rooms, we still have to buy them. No thanks. I know how Internet savvy many are in the PlanetChristmas community when it comes to finding a good deal on a hotel room. Instead, we have some small room blocks reserved at hotels within a very easy walk of PLUS. The rooms are not financially tied to PLUS (meaning there are no kickbacks) so rest assured, what you pay for a room is just to cover your lodging.

What about the family members that aren't as Christmas centric as the rest of us? Louisville has plenty to keep them occupied but we also have a dedicated area called Family Fun / Kidz Kamp. We provide the adult supervision to keep the kids busy.

What's the glue holding everything together? Community building. We have something scheduled for every evening to make it easy to talk with others. Everything leads up to our gala banquet on Saturday evening where we all come together, enjoy good food and celebrate our successes. We're all in the memory making business and we take this quite seriously while also having a great time.

The bottom line is putting on an event like this takes a staggering amount of time. Luckily I work with a steering committee with an incredible passion to expand the PlanetChristmas community. I look forward to seeing you in July!

PlanetChristmas Magazine is Becoming Real!

I've been talking about PlanetChristmas Magazine for awhile. I went to print school this month and it was such an odd experience. There were eight in my class. Seven had been in publishing their entire lives. Then there was me... Luckily they took me under their wing.

The good news is PlanetChristmas Magazine is about to debut. Advertising is already being sold, and an award winning graphic designer is hard at work building the internals of the publication. The first edition will be the latest generation electronic magazine due to hit your email box in April. The second edition will be printed and destined for your snail mail box in July.

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

PLUS2009 Our Annual Expo in July

Go ahead and mark your PLUS2009 calendars for July 29 through August 1, 2009 in Louisville at the Kentucky International Convention Center. It's our gathering of people that decorate for Christmas. Doesn't matter if you're a professional or simple enthusiast, you're going to learn from the best.

PLUS2009 is now 3.5 days of nonstop activities. We start Wednesday afternoon and go through Saturday night with our gala banquet. Last I checked there were over 60 different class titles offered in the course catalog.

Want an easy way to keep up with PLUS information? Go to the website at PlanetChristmas PLUS. It's the first place official PLUS information is shared with others. PLUS2009 registration is now open with early bird specials but the best deals expire the last day of this month.

Still Looking for some Incandescent Ropelight?

Through a strange twist of events I'm still the keeper of a few 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 time to be thinking about a theme for 2009. Your display tells a story and you need to make sure the story is engaging. Follow the lead of Disney. Every park has one huge landmark emphasizing a theme. Think Cinderella's Castle or Epcot. What's your landmark? Imagine a 25' mega-tree in the center of your display or maybe flying reindeer on their way to the North Pole. Determine your centerpiece and create a story around it. You'll be amazed how much easier building everything becomes when you know where you're going.

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 company called Constant Contact to handle the PlanetChristmas email distribution and make sure we comply with all government rules and regulations. If you want to remove your name from the list, go to http://www.planetchristmas.com/Newsletters.htm and enter your email address. You'll be given an option to "opt-out" of future mailings. Likewise you'll also be able to remove your address from any future emailings by simply clicking a link at the bottom of the PlanetChristmas emails you receive in the future. For the record, PlanetChristmas values your privacy and does not share your email address with anyone.

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