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This area will showcase Questions I (Lee) have received over the years and my answers to them... If you have a question - click "Contact Lee" on the left! Thank-you! Why do you decorate? I decorate for many reasons... Growing up as a kid, my Mom and Dad decorated, especially my Mom. They got me into it - and I like doing it. This is an ART to me - not just throwing some lights up. My home is my palette - the lights and decorations are my paint. Over the years I have become a person of high regard for my yearly decorations in my community - with 10's of houses and families and individuals saying how they can't wait to see my decorations and how they love them so much. (Thank-You to all for that) Furthermore, people from all across town have gotten wind of me, and LOVE my decorations... I have even had some people from out of town hear of me while staying in Vegas and came over?!? (I can only imagine some friends or relatives whom live here told them of me?!?) How long do you plan to keep decorating? Good Q! I cannot answer that 100% correctly - because there are many variables. As far as what I know now, I will decorate yearly as long as I physically can! If I run into my soul mate and we become boyfriend/girlfriend, I will decorate her home too if she wants ;-) Do you ever get new stuff? Is the display the same year after year or does it change some? Another popular question. I will say I have some decorations that are well over 20 years old - and still look and work as good as day 1 - so there are things that stay the same yearly, but their exact location may change to liven things up each year... Furthermore, every year I vow to add more decorations than the last - and have 1 "Big" thing I add that is the "Wow Effect" for that year! This year will be the control boxes and electric boxes, and weeks of planning, hours of programming for a "Animated Light and Sound Show" that will make use of ALL my lights and decorations. Several more Lit Christmas Trees were bought and will be placed all over my yard now, IN THE GROUND, as if they are growing... It will look COOL - trees of all sizes, and of course still my 10 other Trees I always have that are from 4' to 8' - lit and decorated with garland and ornaments, and my 3 Fiber-Optic trees that I always have too! Every year, I try and design the display a little different to give it a new look. Some things such as signs or such, they only are able to be put in certain spots, so that won't change! As for light bulb colors, light string placement, and decoration placement - it's all up for grabs! You will never know what to expect where, though a general design concept is used every year to some extent - as the house shape and yard does not change! How do you decorate? Do you go for high numbers or lower numbers and more style? Ahhhhh - My FAVORITE Q! Many think because I do not use 500,000 lights, and use 20 circuits, and have 999 boxes of light sets I am not the biggest or best, and why bother to enter contests and such and make such a fuss of my "Big" light display... To them I say Bigger is NOT always better! I go for STYLE 100% - not numbers. If I put lights everywhere and anywhere, it would look gaudy, and overpowering, and look like I just strung lights everywhere I see an empty space. That does not require much thought process or thinking to do. The BIG problem decorating that way is power. IF you can get that - more power to you. (Literally) My house was built in 1977, and I have run my power to the MAX - using every available circuit possible, and even adding more than were originally in the box - this year tapping into the last circuit I had not used yet... And yet, you will see looking at the pictures on this website and by visiting my home, the look is very pleasing. Everything has a design and a place. Everything is in sequence with things around it, and follows a certain pattern or color scheme...NOTHING is just thrown up at every empty space in an attempt to have the most lights up... Design Does matter..... I don't have a bunch of lights thrown everywhere I can - that's crazy! BUT on the same token I also DON'T have a lot of blank spaces, I DO have a pleasing and orderly looking design with lights in all areas of the home and yards where they can be put... A nice balance - not a lot of blank space and not too much used space... get it? (Confusing huh?!?) How long does it take you to build your display and take it down every year? Well, that varies... Being a Mobile and Club DJ - some years I have less or more jobs than others. IF I were to work on this non-stop - most every day, (and I have 1 year in which I had less DJ jobs that winter than normal) - it took me about 3 weeks to fully do the display, and about 2 weeks to take it down... here's how I would ideally do my display - if I had NO DJ work... (Keep in mind I do take a day off here and there to enjoy life with friends and such.... but being a decorating fanatic - this does take some time for me to plan and do every year) October 15, my birthday... All decorations removed from Shed/Garage. Everything accounted for and stock done to see what I have and make sure it compares with what I have in the PC database... New things bought up to then throughout the year added to the PC database... Everything laid out in my room! (I have one of those "Great Rooms" or "Bonus Rooms" as a bedroom) NEXT: October 20 - 28... Planning stages. I figure what will go where and make the "Design" for that year, and figure what "New" stuff I will buy to add to my display and buy them... This is important, so when I go to put everything up, I know what goes where and nothing clashes with one another, and the design is PERFECT in nature and looks good when done... This also helps streamline the set-up of my display and makes it faster by pre-planning it all out! October 29 - 31... Halloween Display is done. I create a Haunted House on my sidewalk and driveway... This is easy to plan, as it is just a bunch of tent poles, tarp, and table cloths to black out the area, and some stuff inside to create the effect! The hardest part is getting the "Shell" or outer walls and ceiling put up - that takes about a whole day just to do that. Realize we have a HUGE garage - a 2.5 car one, and a HUGE lot that our home sits on - it is from the 70's so it's bigger than a lot size a home sits on now - so this is a really big room we make. We also add inside walls to there are "Halls" to walk in as you are inside the haunted house... ( I make sure NOT to book DJ work these days, so I am sure to have them OFF to do this) November 1... Halloween Taken down and stored for next year... Holiday Decorations and lights moved from my bedroom to the side of the house and separated. November 2-5... Lights and decorations checked for working order, fuses and light bulbs replaced, broken decorations fixed if they can be.... November 5-11, decorations put up - spending every day, from about 8:00 AM to about 8:00 PM as working hours.... (This varies a LOT - this year I had a LOT of DJ work, so they are taking longer to put up) And a TIP to all of you, now it's not cold at all - so I enjoy adding them NOW - as by the end of the month it cools down.... brrrrrrrrr November 11, Veterans day - Lights turned on with a HUGE ceremony to honor our veterans also - at 5:00 PM (This year lights will be delayed due to DJ work and last of the new circuits and outdoor electrical outlets being installed) November 11 - January 1.... Lights and decorations on from 5:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. (4:30 - 12:00 in December) January 2 - 10... Lights and Decorations taken down... It takes a bit longer than putting them up as they are packed a certain way all in boxes and big "Storage Zip bags" Again 8a-8p for the working hours, unless DJ or other work keeps me from spending that much time every day LOL! Vandalism... Any? Yup, seems I have a prankster, a few of 'em that like to take a bulb here or there, (or a few bulbs) - or cut a cord.... Luckily, I know how to wire a cord back - so a cut cord is no biggie. especially if on a strand of lights, I just replace the strand. And, I have over 100,000 spare light bulbs, for lights of all sizes and shapes, so replacing bulbs is easy too if they are taken, or burn out. The funny thing is I note on paper to these people and stick it outside for them to see that police will be notified if they keep doing this - (and they do) and I have their pictures from night eye video cameras... The police know of them, and when they do enough damage to equal a certain dollar amount... They will be booked. Power Bill? Should I ask? Let's just say IF I win the Griswold Award Contest from KVVU - the prize is usually like $1,000 or something - and that might "Help" pay the bill I create for my light display for that year... 'Nuff said there. It may not look like every inch of the home is covered in lights (it is not - that would be too much and look gaudy) - but I still have HIGH Quality lights and decorations that use a LOT of power. I use mainly C-9 lights, which is 9-watt bulbs, and there are 25 bulbs per set, that's 225 watts of power for 1 light strand... get where I am going.... An average home light like in a lamp is usually 25 or sometimes 40 watts, so you do the math.... |
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ALL Pictures on this website and Info/Facts on the Decorations Copyright © 2000-2007 Lee Grube You MAY utilize the pics/info on here for Helping Lee in the Decorating Contest ONLY - or for featuring him in your Newspaper/Website or Such. NO photos info may be used for other decorating sites/articles where someone may think it's "Your" info or pictures not Lee's.
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