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Newsletter September 2008

It's About Time!

Welcome to your September 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 September 2008 newsletter:

Learn from the Broadway Shows

Never been one to enjoy Broadway type live shows. I do remember going to see Cats in New York many years ago and thinking the entire time how expensive the tickets were to see a bunch of people sing and dance in funny outfits.

My wife and I took a Caribbean cruise earlier this month, in between hurricanes. That's a picture of Marla next to the big ship on the left. Can't hardly beat a cruise. No matter where you go, the hotel room follows. All-you-can-eat and a pretty darn easy way to relax. They even throw in some Broadway shows on that big ship. My wife drug me to one the first evening at sea. Spent the whole time looking at all the stage lights. I have no idea why people were singing and dancing, but the lighting effects set my mind to racing about Christmas displays.

It was weird. While watching the show I was thinking they bought a lot of the stuff on the stage from the theatrical catalogs I get in the mail. The lights hung from the trusses above the stage were pretty typical, but when they got them synchronized with the props and the singing... well, it was magic. Can you tell I was impressed? So much so I arranged to be part of a backstage tour the next day.

Now I have a new respect for the Broadway dancers working the cruise ships. Us landlubbers make the assumption our surroundings don't move. Not so on a rocking ship during rough waters. I'm still not sure how they have mastered jumping in the air and assume the landing point will probably move a few inches before they get there. My hat is off to everyone in this profession.

What really amazed me were the lighting props on the stage. Almost everything was hand-made. Big chandeliers with flickering candle lights were really jigsaw cut plywood with LED flicker bulbs hot-glued into place and connected to the battery pack of a Dewalt portable drill (clever because they had to easily charge the battery every night.) There was a big metal structure the dancers leaped around on outlined in color changing ropelight... or so I thought. In reality it was outlined with about a zillion little hand soldered LEDs hooked together with the connectors off the power supplies of retired PCs. Such ingenuity! It really did remind me of many hand crafted Christmas displays out there.

One of my favorite effects during the show was how they used a row of small, clear spotlights on the floor at the back of the stage and pointed right at the audience. There were times when all those spots would come on at once and blind the viewers when we least expected it. Then they would lower a see-through screen in front of the stage, turn the lights on again and the dancers would leap around the middle of the stage casting giant shadows on the screen. Way too cool. I could go on for quite a while about all the ideas I "borrowed" from the professionals.

What's the lesson to be learned? You can get ideas for great lighting effects for your outdoor Christmas display from places you never imagine. With a little hard work, imagination and desire to dazzle your audience, you can truly make lifelong memories with your Christmas display!

Lights Appearing on Shelves for Christmas 2008!

This is such a great time of year for Christmas decorators. Merchants are starting to put Christmas items on the shelves and teasing us with possibilities for this season. Looks like the prices for incandescent Christmas lights have gone up 15-20% from 2007. LED's are becoming more prominent because people are starting to think about being green and you can't beat the energy savings of LED Christmas lights. Best as I can tell, LED pricing is about the same as 2007, but the lights are brighter. The vendors are getting clever with the LED packaging... 25, 50, 70, 100 and 140 count strings are fine, but it makes it hard to compare pricing to 2007. Several threads are going in the PlanetChristmas forums discussing LEDs. Rumors are still prominent incandescent Christmas lights are in their twilight years.

Christmas Ornaments for 2008

Got my Bronner's Christmas catalog a couple of weeks ago. I'm still trying to figure out who in the world would buy a pickle ornament... until I remembered as a child I had a dog ornament that was right at my eye level in the center of the living room tree. Every time I think of it memories come flooding back. Get some new ornaments this year and make those lifelong memories for others.

Use Halloween to Get Ready for Christmas

If you have a computerized outdoor Christmas display, you might give thought to using some of the capabilities to decorate for Halloween. That's what I did last year. It forced me to get some lights out early and clear away the cobwebs in my brain for cranking up the computer and controllers. Let's just say I was the only house in my entire city with a computerized Halloween display. It wasn't much, but it was unique. Come the day after Halloween I hit the ground running getting ready for Christmas.

PlanetChristmas Magazine is Coming!

I've been busy creating PlanetChristmas magazine. This free publication will be aimed at the decorating enthusiast as well as the professional. It's a natural addition to our community.

How can you make sure you receive PlanetChristmas Magazine? If you've already registered your email address to receive this newsletter, you're almost there. Goto the PlanetChristmas newsletter page, enter your email address and follow the directions to update your profile. If you haven't registered, this is the place to do it. Remember: we need your physical mailing address so we know where to mail the magazine. You can also rest assured your information WILL NOT be shared with anyone else.

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.

Rudolph's Rumor Run

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

Looks like Christmas Done Bright has figured out a way to use LED mini-lights on their wireframes. The amazing thing is the lights have built-in clips with colored lenses. Light colors change mid-string as the design needs them. I don't know what magic is going on but if the rumors are true, I'm going to have to get a bunch of these. The thought of LED lit wireframes drawing next to no current, lasting almost forever and nearly indestructible is exactly what this world needs.

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.

We've rented a large section of the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville. This is truly a first class facility that can live up to the high standards required for a PLUS event. Parking is easy (though not free), there are hotels right across the street and almost way too much to do right in the downtown area. The Ohio River is just a few blocks away for those floating in by kayak or barge. Three interstates all merge close to the KICC for easy access. The airport is twelve minutes away and is served by Southwest. Six Flags is just 15 minutes from our gathering and then there's Churchill Downs for those into horses (though no racing is scheduled late in July.)

You'll also 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.

Checked out PlanetChristmas Links?

We've just added a new 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.

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

Christmas items are starting to show up in the stores. Don't be bashful. Checkout all the new items for 2008. Keep in mind the really unique stuff will sell out first and chances are there will be no more coming so if you see something good, get it now!

PlanetChristmas Shameless Promotion

The official 2008 PlanetChristmas caps and shirts have arrived. See all the details at the PlanetChristmas Store. Money collected from these sales goes toward PlanetChristmas and PLUS. Also keep an eye out for the official PlanetChristmas jacket to be introduced soon.

What's New at PlanetChristmas?

The PlanetChristmas community has experienced tremendous growth. Our three fundamental rules of family friendly, positive and Christmas centric guide what we say and do. The real key to our community is a willingness to exchange information so others can have better displays. Come join us! http://forums.planetchristmas.com

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.

Newsletter Suggestion?

Have a suggestion for a main topic or want to write an article for a future PlanetChristmas newsletter? Send me an email: csmith@planetchristmas.com If you know someone that really should subscribe to your newsletter, send them to http://www.planetchristmas.com/Newsletters.htm

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