-- By Derrick Pedranti
I've always had a keen interest in the outdoors. When I was single I used to take my dog Jake on all kinds of hikes. We'd hike the trails of Orange County, the canyons in Palm Springs and on the East Coast, the scenic wilderness of Virginia and Maryland where the vibrant seasonal colors of green, red and yellow put the West Coast to shame.
When I got married I found I had less time to take deal ol' Jake on hikes. It's the sidewalks of suburbia for him now. And when I had kids my interest in the outdoors changed. Since I didn't have as much time to go to the great outdoors I became very interested in making my own personal outdoors "great". I developed an interest in landscaping and when the holidays arrived -- outdoor lighting.
And after my first experience decorating the house I felt the unspoken feeling of competition with my fellow neighbors. It's not something you talk about but it's there. You can sense it around you.
This blog will outline what I learned during my first year of competition. Specifically I'll cover how to outdo your neighbors with holiday lighting.
It's all about strategy and there are three I'm proposing -- (1) balance your design, (2) shop for deals and (3) pace yourself.
The first is "focus on balance in your design". We all have different tastes and likes. Some prefer icicle lighting, others like straight-up mini lights. Some like the red and white candy cane lights along the pathway, others prefer lollipops that change colors: yellow, green, blue. Some like a good ol' Frosty the Snowman, others enjoy the raindeer with the tilting head. Just pick what you like and go for it. But don't forget about balance. If you're going to outdo your neighbors you're going to need a lot of lighting. Make sure when you lay it all out you do it proportionally. If you have a stellar pathway of candy cane lights but the tree next to your pathway is dark, it will look bad. If the right side of your house has a big blow up Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus but the left side has a couple lollipops, forget about it. Just make sure all parts of your front yard have an equal proportion lighting so that it’s balanced.
The second strategy is "shop for deals". This is so you can buy more bang for your buck which means more decorations. Look for coupons in the paper and in the mail. Look for deals on the hardware store websites. Also, take a day and go wander the aisles of each store before you buy. Check out your local Home Depot, Ace Hardware and Lowes and compare prices. Use this technique also to get ideas. Sometimes it takes immersing yourself in a sea of holiday lights, animatronic raindeer and pathway decorations to brainstorm killer ideas. Personally I decided on my candy cane and lollipop pathway lights by shopping for deals. While in the stores take note of the prices so you can strategize how to best fit the most amount of lights in your budget. Another way to get the most decoration for you buck is to wait until it's close to Christmas time. Stores reduce the prices the closer it gets to Christmas. You have to be careful because they run out of certain items but some of my favorite decorations I purchased for 50% off the retail price at the last minute.
The third strategy is "pace yourself." Don't try to be the best decorated house on the block the first year you do it. Like anything else it takes time to become a holiday lighting pro-fessional. Rome wasn't built in a day. Also you'll need time and money to get the needed decorations for your masterpiece. Keep to a budget each year and slowly accumulate more and more. You don't want to break your bank and put yourself under financial hardship trying to do it all the first year. Plus give yourself time to learn things. This year I learned the importance of using electrical tape to help prevent the plug ends from getting wet from sprinklers and rain. This is technique I believe will help preserve my lights year after year.
So remember to outdo your neighbors with holiday lighting focus on achieving balance in your design, shop for deals, and pace yourself. You may not be the best house on the block during your first year of decorating but if you follow these strategies year after year soon your neighbors will stop and drop their jaws in awe of your masterpiece.
