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Newsletter October 2008

It's About Time!

Welcome to your October 2008 edition of the PlanetChristmas newsletter! It is published regularly and covers relative topics for the Christmas decorating professional and enthusiast.

Here's what you can read about in this October 2008 newsletter:

Ready to spice up your display in 2008? Animate!

Thanks to Carson Williams, the Internet and Miller beer commercials, most of us have seen "that" house flashing to the beat of the music. It's a combination of great Christmas decorating talent and dynamic music that brought Christmas light shows to the attention of the masses.

Several PlanetChristmas vendors allow you to make your static Christmas lights into a dynamic Christmas show to dazzle the viewers. Many of us tend to go over the top with hundreds of computer controlled channels and spend too many months out of the year sequencing the lights to music but the lifelong memories we make for so many others is well worth the effort.

What if you want some sort of animated show but don't want to build something from scratch? It's possible to buy stuff right off the shelf to really liven up your display. A few are below.

Gemmy's Holiday Light Show for 2008. $49 to $99 available at Sears, Sam's Club, etc. I must give the marketing people at Gemmy credit for creating packaging that makes you drool about all the capabilities this product can give you to really animate your yard display. It includes ten built in MP3 based songs sequenced to lights, six (in the $49 unit) or 12 (in the $99 unit) Edison sockets to connect your lights and the ability to plug in your own iPod and have the lights dance to your favorite tunes. Sold me!

Took a "12 outlet" unit home with me recently. Open up the box and you're confronted with a bunch of little boxes and very few instructions. Pieced everything together, plugged lights into every outlet and fired up the system using the built in songs. Let's just say your initial reaction will be mixed. The pre-recorded music is done at a slow bit rate and sounds garbled. Best as I can tell, there are only six unique lighting channels with six duplicated on another power pedestal controlled by a skinny wire from the main control unit. The lights do flash to the music but there's no dimming. I plugged in my iPod and wasn't impressed. The music sounds great but the lights seem to flicker at random and only sometimes with the music (they're using the old "color organ" concept from the 1970's). Overall, I wasn't excited about this product.

GE Lights and Sounds of Christmas. $85 at Home Depot and available elsewhere on-line (there are even a few left in the PlanetChristmas storefront). I wrote about this product last year and was impressed. It's the same for 2008 but priced a bit cheaper. Six light channels and 20 built-in songs sequenced to music. This thing is very easy to set up and makes you different from the neighbors. The music is MIDI based (remember cell phone ringers from a few years ago?) and the lights don't fade but it's good enough for viewers to be well entertained.

Light-O-Rama PC-CTB16PC-FullShow including PlanetChristmas 16 channel Light Controller, MiniDirector with MP3 Player and Music Sequence Package #1. $550 available direct from Light-O-Rama. I'll admit this used to be available in the PlanetChristmas store, but the store has changed directions. This is still a great system even though it has a hard-to-remember name. The base is a fully built Light-O-Rama CTB16PC 16 channel light controller housed in a weather resistant plastic enclosure and designed so you plug your lights into 16 power dangles. The package includes the LOR MiniDirector with MP3 player set up to control a network of Light-O-Rama (LOR) light controllers while simultaneously playing MP3 music files. This is the smallest director unit and does not have an internal clock for scheduling shows so an external timer is required. You insert a SD memory card into the MiniDirector and plug it in to a LOR Network. Connect the MiniDirector to your stereo and you have music for everyone to hear! Full fading of lights. This package also includes five songs already sequenced to the 16 channel light controller: Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi, Kay Thompson's Jungle Bells by Michael W. Smith, Carol of the Bells by David Foster, Deck the Halls by Manheim Steamroller and Stille Nacht (Silent Night) by Manheim Steamroller. Since all this is part of the Light-O-Rama family of products, it's easy to expand.

Animated Lighting Christmas In A Box All-In-One. $999 available direct from Animated Lighting. Think of a computer, MP3 player, 16 channel light controller, FM transmitter and super simple cord connections all in one box and ready to take over your light display. In reality it's the latest generation Animated Lighting Monster Brain and LC-16 light controller bundled with a miniature FM transmitter that has a 150' range and color coded plugs, graphics, video and instructions to make it brain-dead simple to install. Included are two different show memory chips to include classic and modern Christmas music as well as gaps between songs to allow traffic to move. It's all plug and play. Take it out of the box. Plug in the lights, put a sign in your front yard telling drivers to tune to 106.7FM, plug in the control unit and just sit back. Includes full fading of the lights. Very slick plus you can add many different songs form 100+ available on the Animated Lighting website. A great product since everything is in just one enclosure and the built-in FM transmitter is a nice touch so people in their cars can listen to the music. It's also part of the Animated Lighting family of products so it's easy to expand.

Recommendations: Which one of these systems is best for you? It all depends on how much money you have and if you want to expand in future years. The GE Sounds and Lights of Christmas is good if you never go above six light channels. Light-O-Rama and Animated Lighting are great if you intend to grow.

Official PlanetChristmas Theme Song

If you attended the PLUS2007 banquet you experienced Judy Pancoast singing live "House on Christmas Street" (47,000 twinkling lights and Santa Claus up on the roof...) IMHO it had PlanetChristmas community written all over it. Judy received a standing ovation.

Well, Judy and I have stayed in touch and I asked her what the chances were of making her tune the official PlanetChristmas theme song this year. She was all over the idea because she had been thinking the same thing. I'm humbled. Listen to the song at http://www.judypancoast.com/christmas_street.htm.

What does this mean? If you listen to PlanetChristmas radio (http://www.planetchristmas.com/PCRadio.htm) you'll hear "House on Christmas Street" a lot. If you have a chance to incorporate the song into your display it will be a message to the world you're a proud member of the PlanetChristmas community.

If you have voice-overs done by The Demented Elf, Kevin has agreed to toss in a free promo with "House on Christmas Street" as the background music tract. Just in case though, PlanetChristmas has a generic voice-over version available.

Can you think of anything else we can do with the theme song? Let me know. csmith@PlanetChristmas.com

Checked out the New-and-Improved PlanetChristmas website, yet?

The PlanetChristmas website has been totally revamped to make it easier to read and navigate. For the record, the old website (which still can be seen at 2008.PlanetChristmas.com) had plenty of razzle-dazzle but wasn't the easiest in the world to maintain. Took a step back and simplified the world. If you missed it in the new website, scroll down to the bottom of the home page and check the giant countdown clock. You'll never guess what it's counting down to...

Return of the World Wide Decorating Contest

It's back! The PlanetChristmas World Wide Christmas Decorating Contest for 2008 is returning bigger and better than ever before. Keep an eye on the PlanetChristmas website for the entry rules. Winners get prizes and a feature article in PlanetChristmas magazine. If your company wants to donate to the growing prize list, just drop me an email.

Time to Clean the Santa Suit!

Are you one of Santa's elves during the season? Now's the time to take your outfit to the dry cleaners and get it "refreshed." Some cleaners will do it for free if you walk in and give a hearty Ho, Ho, Ho! If you are suit challenged, I just replaced my Santa suit with the help of the good folks at Halloween Express (if you think about it, who better to have a costume!)

Rudolph's Rumor Run

Lots of rumors swirling around out there. I usually ignore them, but some just need to be shared.

If you live in the Philadelphia area, be sure and checkout the decorations in the King of Prussia mall this year. I recently got a behind-the-scenes tour. They're using LED based minilights that don't have the bluish or yellowish tint we've become used to. These lights are just pure white with concave lenses and dazzling. Also see the incredible tree on top of the reindeer carousel and the animated tree with the moving dolls, stars and soldiers (which is automated by Animated Lighting equipment) in Santa Land.

Got any juicy bits of gossip you want to share with the PlanetChristmas community? Send a tip to csmith@PlanetChristmas.com

PLUS2009

Behind the scenes planning continues for our bi-annual gathering, an event we call PlanetChristmas Lights Up Symposium or PLUS. We're emphasizing community building, education and vendor relations.

Mark your PLUS2009 calendars for July 29 through August 1, 2009 in Louisville, Kentucky. PLUS2009 registration begins January 1, 2009.

You'll note PLUS2009 is now 3.5 days of nonstop activities. We start Wednesday right after lunch and go through Saturday night and our gala banquet.

Want an easy way to keep up with PLUS information? Go to the new website at www.gotoPLUS.com. It's the first place official PLUS information is shared with others.

Cookie Recipe of the month

Bet you didn't know we're cookie lovers at PlanetChristmas. I'm always searching for the next great recipe. Checkout a few at http://www.planetchristmas.com/Cookies.htm. Here's the latest that's sure to add a few inches to the waistline... Cherry Double Chocolate Cookies:

  • 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 1/2 ounce milk chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
  • 1 cup dried cherries.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar at medium speed of electric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Add chocolate chips, pecans and cherries until incorporated. Drop tablespoon of dough about two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets and flatten slightly. Bake, switching positions of sheets halfway through baking until puffed and set, 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool one minute then transfer to wire rack to allow to cool completely. Makes two dozen incredible cookies. Enjoy!

Checked out PlanetChristmas Links?

We've added a feature to the PlanetChristmas forums called PlanetChristmas Links. Submit your favorite websites for a variety of categories and they will be put in the forums database for other people to easily find. Check it out by going to the forums and look along the top navigation bar for "PlanetChristmas Links" or just goto http://forums.planetchristmas.com/links. One note though... you must be registered in the forums before you can add to PlanetChristmas Links.

We've also got a new sponsor in the forums offering some darn good prices on LEDs. Checkout LED Holiday Lighting.com

Never forget PlanetChristmas believes strongly in protecting your privacy so personal information about your account is never sold or shared with anyone.

PlanetChristmas Shameless Promotion

A brand new batch of exclusive PlanetChristmas shirts and jackets are now in stock. See all the details at the PlanetChristmas Store. Money collected from these sales goes toward PlanetChristmas and PLUS.

Logo on clothes

Tell the World What's Happening in Your Area!

With our PlanetChristmas forums, did you know there's a section where you can go down to the state level and post information about what's going on. Use this to let your community know about events and also remember to place important dates on our public calendar. Want a shortcut to the PlanetChristmas forums? http://forums.planetchristmas.com

PlanetChristmas Tip of the Month

Nothing is worse than trying to fix a burned out string of minilights when the weather is miserable outside. As you're setting up, label all your extension cords to make it easy to troubleshoot. Finally, keep a few extra strings of minilights in reserve. Use these strings to simply drape over any bad strings you have during the season. Fix the bad strings before you setup for 2009.

PlanetChristmas Radio is Totally Revamped and on the Internet!

The PlanetChristmas radio station has been totally revamped for Christmas 2008 and is available 24/7 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. There's a new way to register for the newsletter that complies 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...

If ever there's a time to have a great Christmas display, this is the year. Economic times are tough and people want to believe things are getting better. Christmas is the perfect time of year to bring people together and your decorations are just what the doctored ordered!

Next time: look forward to more Christmas decorating tips.

Chuck Smith of PlanetChristmas