Christmas Lights 2011

This post is a little late as my lights have been up for 7 weeks already. We had some really nice weather the weekend of October 22 so I put most of them up then and was finished by October 26. I didn't turn them on, though, until November 7.

My improvements this year were subtle but very important:

• Added semi-permanent clips to the house so putting up the lights in all future years will be easier.
• Replaced may of my old lights with LED.

The boys just liked being outside, but Evie was actually somewhat helpful.

So from the street, my light display didn't change much from last year but I improved my infrastructure for future expansions. I have certainly made a lot of gains since I started 6 Christmases ago.

2005

2011

Christmas Lights 2010

This post is a little late. I put up my Christmas lights on time as always, October 31. It was an excellent afternoon to put up the lights and I had some help from Derek.

This year I basically maxed out my outdoor 15-amp circuit. I have about 35 strings of lights on one outlet. So to upgrade next year I'll have to begin adding LED lights (80% more efficient) and eliminating standard lights.

The indoor decorations came a week later. Evelyn was slightly less helpful than Derek, but full of Christmas cheer.

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

My improvements this year were:

• white and red trim around more of the roof line
• some extra red and multi lights on the trees
• lights around the railing of our back deck (not pictured)

Christmas Lights 2009

My obsession continues. This year the lights were up by October 31 and promptly displayed on November 1. I added some color diversification and didn't waste any lighting on the bushes, which were fully covered by snow 50% of the time last year.

Here is my Christmas light progression. 2005-2007 were at my Kentwood house.

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

I think the green and red trees on the left are a nice touch. I also doubled the number of lights on the center tree and did a blue/white combo on the tree to the right. The house itself still has plenty of room to expand :)

We even trimmed the tree and decorated the inside of the house the first week of November. Evie was curious, and of course had to help 'da' with his project.

Evie has the Christmas spirit! Here is a video of her playing with her favorite new toy - Perry the Penguin.

Christmas Lights 2008

I love Christmas. My interest in Christmas lights stems from a childhood void. I bugged my parents every year to put up lights and wasn't satisfied with the few strands they displayed. I vowed to have a good display of my own when I grew up.

I was spoiled last weekend with 65 degree November weather. I also had the challenge of determining a new layout for a new house. I'm pretty happy with my design this year. I have decent coverage but plenty of room to improve. Here is the 2008 display, please drive by for the full experience.

2008

And here is my progression since being a home owner.

2005

2006

2007

Christmas Lights 2007

As promised I put up my lights promptly during the first week of November. Also as promised I added $30 of lights to my display this year (bought on super sale last January to maximize my dollar). My two big changes are color lights on the tree and lights on the second story. I also added density to all sections. The 2nd story lights were a little precarious to install and required the purchase of a new ladder.

Here was my first year - 2005.

My 2nd year - 2006.

And this year! 2007

The colored lights blink and some of the white lights "sparkle." Enjoy the video and MERRY CHRISTMAS!