Garden Ridge Christmas

I have been out traveling for work for most of the last month but we don't have Garden Ridge stores in CA so when I saw one here in Chicago I just had to go.  Well the Christmas isn't 100% set up but I was in love.  I thought Hobby Lobby display was huge, I was wrong!  Garden Ridge prices and displays are unique and I could barely contain myself.  This was a 12' artificial tree for $399.  Great price and it looked fairly full. 

I have been looking for a nice crystal deer and sleigh and they had them.  Now I could check them as extra luggage but that would be an additional 20 and 30.00 dollars for taking them on the airplane.  Oh it is soooo tempting!

They had an entire wall, probably 100' of just yard stakes.  So many Snowmen!

Here is the crystal sleigh.  A little small but if I could get them home I so would.

Probably 50 or 60 trees of all shapes and sizes to choose from. 

I did manage to buy a couple of items...how could you not!  I bought two gingerbread men that are not lit but I can add a couple hundred lights to it and attach a stake to it and I have my gingerbread men I have been looking for.  I'll post pictures once I finish them off. 

Bought a similiar snowman and I'll get some lights behind it as well but I think I'll hang it from my front window on the outside.  And in case your curious they just did fit into the suitcase!

They also have Menards here so have to figure a night to go hit that store next.  I might need to buy an extra suitcase.

It's almost Christmas time again!!!

Can you believe it is only 98 days until Christmas!!!  I wait all year long for this time of the year and now it seems like it is too close.  I have way too much to do :)  So join me over the next 100 days or so as we prepare for Christmas together.  I would love to hear from some of you when you start your prep and displays/ plans for Christmas so let's get started.....

Outside Christmas Display 2012

Our 2012 Outside Christmas display is up and running!  I didn't count the lights (major task in itself) but I think we are about 40,000 lights in the display.  The display is set to music so lights go on and off with the song.  I think I need to do a video this year!

I never think the pictures do the display justice!  Judging is Dec 3rd thru the city.  If you live near Temecula you'll have to come see the display in person.

Outdoor Display almost done

This has certainly been an interesting year with my Christmas Light Display.  As promised my lights were up and running Thanksgiving night.  However, you'll have to wait a day for final pictures of the display.

I've had some difficulty with the electrical this year.  I barely managed to get everything hooked up on Nov. 17th.  Did a test run and although I had a few things burnt out the display was all lit and running correctly.

Then on my birthday, Nov. 18th my family gave me this awesome green LED Christmas tree for the yard.  Love it!  However, that meant I had to shift the display around to fit the tree into my display.  Don't get me wrong, I love the tree and would take more items if given to me but I needed my birthday to occur before I did the electrical :)

Since I had an empty space I wasn't happy with in the front of my display I went ahead and rearranged quite a few things in the front to fit the tree in and fill the gap.  Then the electrical problems occurred.  I always do electrical after I have placed everything since I max out all the outlets, plugs, extension cords, you name it.  I'm basically a poster child for the fire department on what NOT to do!

Yesterday after I finished the entire display and had it running for a few hours one of my 6 plug outlet timer started flipping off.  I've never tripped a timer.  Anyway, long story short I think now I have either a bad extension cord or a way way over maxed extension cord.  So I narrowed it down to one extension cord but it is one of those with three outlets along the length of the cord so I once again will have to figure out electrical to pull the cord tomorrow.  Once I do that you'll have final pictures.

In the meantime let me show you some of the display -

This is at the end of my street, I am at the end of a cul-de-sac.  I took green and red LED's (c-6's) and simply staked the end into the ground and ran the lights up and over a branch.  I like having the two at the end of the street and next year would like to do the third tree I have further up in my yard along the fence.  Might do that in red or blue.  The lights really are more vivid then they show in this picture.

The gap in lights next to my green tree is NOT by choice.  the silver box is the associations sprinkler system and it is leaking.  They have been going into the box daily and will need to replace the leaking part so I left them a small path to the box.

I kept the arches in my display this year.  I just love the look of them!

Now if you know me at all you know I love frogs....so when I found these little guys I just couldn't resist.  Welcome to my three little frogs now proudly sitting in my yard.

My To Do list for tomorrow  -

• Determine if I overloaded the extension cord or if I have a bad one and fix it.
• Take pictures of the outdoor display.
• Inside decorating major push.  I'll start the formal tree tomorrow and try to get ribbon on.  

I would love to have the inside done by Sunday so it should be a busy weekend.

4 Day Countdown

Thank you to the rain gods for holding off all rain this weekend!

We were able to get almost the entire Christmas Outdoor Yard display set!  I need to add a few more multi-colored lights in the bushes and I have three things out in the display but other than that I have everything set. Normally I am out doing all the electrical on Wednesday/Thursday of Thanksgiving so it's a great feeling to be this far on Sunday.

Unfortunately the neighborhood associations sprinkler system is located at the end of our property and it is leaking really bad.  Didn't discover it until Saturday so I couldn't put the final lights for the bushes in that area along with a Santa I'm placing there.

Now, I'm never happy with the first run of the lights so I need to get home early enough to try out all the sensors at night (our entire display is on light sensors set to turn on at dusk).  Then I can see what changes or additions I need to make.  I still have some lights left over (now that never happens!) so I just want to think about it for a day and then see them all lit at night and make a decision on what still to do.

Here are some pictures of the display during the day.  Obviously the display looks 100% better at night!

 Not happy with the gap between the airblown polar bear to the far left of the picture and the row of four polar bears .  I'm going to have to move something forward or look for something this week.

I did the curved arches in the front last year so this year I made 6 more to be able to have three on each side of the driveway.  Then I was able to move the candy canes I used to have along the driveway to the long fence along the side of my yard.  That is one long fence.  Much longer than the picture shows.  

All the Penguins!  New this year is the little airblown mailbox to the middle right behind the lighted penguins.

The train is small and I did fix the top to the last car but isn't he cute!  Added new for this year.

So I have three days and Thanksgiving itself to get my display set.  Unfortunately I work everyday but I'll still find time!

Here's my to do list -

• Fix the see saw - it's not lighting and one I always have problems with!
• Fix the first arch in my entryway - one set of
• Figure out why the lights running along the top of my arches don't work - might be the set that is out!
• Fix one present - might be the controller so I need to figure that out first.
• I still have multi colored C6 lights so I might place those on the back fence.
• Use green lights to build a Christmas Tree from the tree along my fence line.
• Use the remaining multi, red, and green light sets.
• Decide if I'm going to use the clear icicle lights anywhere in the yard.
• Fix the gap between the polar bears with something.

Ok so maybe I still have a little bit more to do then I realized!  I can get all this done Thursday after work so no worries!  Of course once I have it lit I'm sure I'll make some changes or additions to the display but I still was able to get alot accomplished this weekend!!!

6 Day Countdown

6 Days left and I'm still out of town on business.  I'm actually in San Francisco and I'm watching the city workers put all their lights up in the trees around the city.  I think I need a city crew of workers :) 

Check out my new Outdoor Airblown.  Aren't they adorable.  I don't like to have too many airblowns, since it really is all about LIGHTS but some add character to the display and since my daughter loves penguins (and well who doesn't) we have quite a few penguins in our display.  I think they are now outnumbering my snowmen.  Since I like Snowmen I'm thinking I need to go find some cute ones!!!

I have to have all day Saturday to put out all my outside decorations! The weather report for Temecula still has rain all day! This is not good! I hope everyone reading this is calling to the rain gods, they don't seem to be listening to me!

 

 

Day	Forecast	Description	Precip Chance
Today Nov 15 Details	Mostly Cloudy Hi:65°Lo:44°	Day: Mostly Cloudy. High 65F. Winds SW at 8 mph. Air Quality:NA, UV Index:3	0%
		Night: Partly Cloudy. Low 44F. Light winds.	0%
Friday Nov 16 Details	Mostly Cloudy Hi:72°Lo:44°	Day: Mostly Cloudy. High 72F. Winds SW at 10 mph. Air Quality:Good, UV Index:4	0%
		Night: Showers. Low 44F. Light winds.	20%
Saturday Nov 17	Showers Hi:68°Lo:46	Showers. High 68F. Winds S at 8 mph. Air Quality:NA, UV Index:4	40%

7 Days Until Thanksgiving!

Okay panic has officially set in.  Can you believe that I only have 7 days to get my outdoor light display done?  The worst part is I'm out of town for business all week so there really isn't anything I can do about it. 

Fortunately I took vacation last week and we did get quit a bit done.  The weather was awesome for the first three days so we did almost everything on the house, entrance, fence, tree's and a few bushes.  I know I could have done a little bit more but I think I did about 98% of what I could do last week.  The biggest issue is that with the weather as nice as it is we will need to mow the lawn at least one more time before I can fill the yard with all the Christmas decorations.  Plus having Christmas decorations filling my lawn for two weeks before Thanksgiving is even over the top for ME!

So....I'm left with this coming Saturday and Sunday to finish my outside display.  This is definately possible IF the rain holds off.  Hence the panic.  If I listen to one weather site it says rain all weekend, yet another one has rain Thursday only.  So let the rain gods be nice to me!

I don't have many pictures of what we have accomplished since the electrical isn't hooked up yet but I did want to take a few to share.

This is just lights shaped to make a Christmas Tree.  I used red C6 LED's to create this one at the end of my property.  I hope to do at least two others closer to the house along the fence.

 

okay this is way too wimpy, need to double the lights.  Fortunately I just happen to have more!

 

Not done but a preview. 

 I always check my lights before I put them up.  Of course this time I forgot to check the arches when I put them up and two are out.  I worked on them Saturday and I'm down to the front one not working.  Unfortunately all the top strings and icicles are run from the first arch so those are all out as well.   Gotta love it!