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Christmas Lighting

Z

ZeroHour

Mod/Salad Tosser
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Joined
Feb 7, 2005
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2,275
Location
Eastern PA
So in avoding finishing off my biology lab for tomorrow I setup the yearly christmas tree lights wrapped around the dorm door! :laugh:

I wish my camera would work I could post some phots. I'm thinking about putting up some more. I miss our room from freshman year. We had about 3200 lights! The room could reach 80 degrees with both windows and the door open!

I know its early but we are out of the dorms by december 12th and I need to take them down before I leave then. So I always put them up before thanksgiving.

How about the rest of the north east? You guys go big on your christmas lights? Any awesome plans? Pictures from previous years? I know this starts happening soon cause the days off during Thanksgiving week and used to setup decorations!
 
Back at our first house we did a good amount. I dont have any pics of it, but it looked pretty good IMO. Probably the best in the neighborhood. Then at the last house we were one of the few that decorated. We didnt do it as much as our yard was much smaller but it was rather tasteful.

I want to go all out here in the dorm room, but financially, thats a bad idea. I am going to get some lights and a small tree to put on the desk and such. Maybe wrap myself a few gifts.
 
Sophomore, junior and senior year we had a live Christmas tree. It would stay in the apartment till March or so.
During soph year New Year's party, someone saw the tree was dry and decided to feed it beer. The entire tree smelled like beer till we took it out a few months later. :laugh:
 
This is really all that gets done in our house...my mothers "Hallmark" tree (as we like to call it).

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We are starting tuesday. We just got one of the musical interfaces that will make our lights flash to the music, so we'll see how that goes. :cool:
 
We put icicle lights on the outside of house. Looks pretty cool.
I used to have candy canes, fake, decorative ones, that lined the walk way but did away with them when my neighbor was helping me snow blow and tore one to shreds. :laugh:
:censored::censored::censored::censored: went flying all over and I was LMAO.

As for the inside, just my fake tree and a few decorations. I keep it simple.
I usually put candy canes on the tree and my yellow Lab would eat them, wrapper and all. I'm going to miss that this year. :(
 
i used to go crazy decorating the house with lights. but to be honest, it's a major pita. there's also no younger kids of family members around anymore either so for our house only the tree really goes up nowadays. we don't even spend christmas at home anyway.

i was always most proud of out tree. every year i would break the last years record for lights. i think the most lights i ever had on the tree was about 3500. that's pretty much one set per branch. you could sit on the couch and feel the heat being thrown off the tree. you always had to watch it though, fire hazard.
 
I started on the porch last week & made myself a holiday chandelier for my dining table...I haven't decorated it w/ ornaments yet, whipped it together drunkenly last night:


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I'll get better pics when the whole house is done...amazing how much more in the spirit I am this year, being single IS all that it's cracked up to be. I'm having a dinner party next week & can't wait.
 
how is that stuck to the ceiling? is that star shaped thing a light? it looks flush mounted to the ceiling...
 
the star shaped thingy is a canopy...I was going to use a basic one & paint it to match the chain because I couldn't find a complete kit, but Lowes had the mirrored star canopy - looks great for this, it was $15 at the local store. I used an extension cord for the wiring, cut off the male plug end & fed the wires through the chain & canopy & hardwired it to my ceiling box where my regular chandelier was. I bought an $8 fake tree, cut off about 8" of the wood trunk & screwed a fancy hook into the end of it. Hang the hook from the chain & plug the lights in...that box works off a wall switch on the side. I made two ribbon bows to help conceal the plug & hook, but it wasn't really necessary...looks nice tho.

I'm re-doing the wiring next year, the covering on the extension cord is quite beefy & could be a little thinner for fishing through the threaded rod.

I've got about $25 in it & I will be using the ornaments I have for my little kitchen tree (this will replace that tree). My niece & nephew will get a kick out of it.
 
Very creative PP. :cool:
Can't wait to see more of your decorations.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
the star shaped thingy is a canopy...I was going to use a basic one & paint it to match the chain because I couldn't find a complete kit, but Lowes had the mirrored star canopy - looks great for this, it was $15 at the local store. I used an extension cord for the wiring, cut off the male plug end & fed the wires through the chain & canopy & hardwired it to my ceiling box where my regular chandelier was. I bought an $8 fake tree, cut off about 8" of the wood trunk & screwed a fancy hook into the end of it. Hang the hook from the chain & plug the lights in...that box works off a wall switch on the side. I made two ribbon bows to help conceal the plug & hook, but it wasn't really necessary...looks nice tho.

I'm re-doing the wiring next year, the covering on the extension cord is quite beefy & could be a little thinner for fishing through the threaded rod.

I've got about $25 in it & I will be using the ornaments I have for my little kitchen tree (this will replace that tree). My niece & nephew will get a kick out of it.
Click to expand...

and you did all that drunk? :shocked: Nice job! :)
 
Thanks! I'll try to get more pics over the weekend coming up...I was trying to conquer the outside before the snow hit :blackeye:

I'd love to see more ideas from others...I saw the tree chandelier while shopping last weekend as store holiday decorations (not for sale), only on a much grander scale.
 
I've noticed the tree chandelier thing is a trend that is catching on more and more each year.
It's pretty neat, but no way I'd be up for tackling it myself.

We do pretty traditional things with lighting.
We finally went to fake tree last year, mostly for the convenience and price factor. I think we cram roughly 1,300 or so lights onto the thing and then I Hallmark it up with ribbon, similar to Pen's mom. :eek:
Mike has an old village from his childhood that we set up. It's kinda lame, but whatever. It definitely gets you into that Christmas spirit.
Then we put those net lights out on our front bushes. We also put white lights on our railings on the inside staircase (split level ranch) and lights on the fireplace mantels and other places.
Time consuming and frustrating, but the effect is lovely.

Mike's lucky that I have oodles of patience when it comes to lighting the tree. I don't think it'd get done if I didn't do it.
 
We haven't done much of anything yet. We do have a Christmas Tree, though. Well, it's a Christmas Stick, or Christmas Twig. A significant portion of a tree came down in the driveway, so my girl decided that we would use that as our tree. We sawed it down to size so that it would fit through the door last night, and it's waiting in our sunroom for us to finish the job. I was pleased that she came up with this idea as it saves me from having to be involved in getting a tree, and it's also free, a bonus. :cool:
 
frenchblueC2 said:
I've noticed the tree chandelier thing is a trend that is catching on more and more each year.
It's pretty neat, but no way I'd be up for tackling it myself.
Click to expand...



it was super easy & really didn't take all that much time... I bought a book & wired the entire house when I built it, so I'm pretty comfortable playing w/ the electric. UL listed? naw, that's for sissies



Villages are cool...especially when it's something you've had from your childhood that you can bring out every year. It kinda keeps the season real.
 
Thanks, I contracted it, but we did a buttload of the work ourselves (me & my dad)...my brother did the excavating & he busted his femur racing MX shortly thereafter, so he was useless for a while. It took a little over a year from start to finish, it's pretty small, but comfortable for me.





/threadjack, srry
 
not really a thread highjack, it can still be linked back to your xmas chandelier ;)...however, threads becoming a bit tangential seem to be the norm around here :laugh:
 
We may be having some shenanagins up here at school. The science building just doesn't seem to have any christmas cheer. :laugh:
 
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