With each passing year the barriers to assembling a blockbuster holiday light show get easier to overcome. What used to be the domain of computer engineers and geeks with a little too much ‘Clark Griswold’ in their blood can now be done by mere mortals. But if you’ve never done it before, where do you start? I’m going to write a series of articles to document my journey down this path, in hope of doing my part to make this accessible to more people and to hopefully help you learn through my trial and error.
Note that I am writing this in early December, 2022, which means every spare second I have is currently being invested in putting the finishing touches on my own light show. This will be fleshed out considerably come 2023. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do a little Q&A in the mean time!
How much will this cost?
I led with this question on purpose so we can get the proverbial elephant out of the room. There are actually two costs to consider, and both depend on how elaborate you want your presentation to be. The key to managing this is to build gradually over time.
The first cost is the obvious one: hard currency. You don’t need access to Elon Musk’s bank account to put on a great display, but this will cost significantly more than putting up an ordinary display. While a single 100-light string of old-school twinkle lights might run you $7 or $8 bucks at Home Depot, a 100-light string of WS2811 pixels typically starts around $18-22 and still requires additional hardware to actually work.
The second cost is not so obvious: time. To be brutally honest, the hit on your wallet is nothing compared to the hit on your social agenda. With an old-school light show you might have needed a day or two and maybe a few helpers to string everything up. Plug it in, hit the switch, and declare it done. Not so with a sequenced light show. The physical setup is still the most physically grueling part to do, but you’ll spend at least triple that much time doing preparation, sequencing, and troubleshooting. And that’s probably being conservative.
I’ll discuss this in detail at a later date and give some examples so that you can see just what you’re getting in to. But don’t let this overwhelm you. Nobody gets it completely right and fully completed on their first try. Again: the key is to build over time.
Will this send my electrical bill through the roof?
No! Most of the lighting used in a sequenced show is LED based, so it’s among the most energy efficient lighting you can buy. A 5-meter string of lights uses less power than an ordinary 60-watt light bulb. As a point of reference: I run thousands of lights in my show, and it still uses far less power than my air conditioner.
Side note: see how I used the word ‘meter’ in the above paragraph? If you’re metrically-challenged then you should read that as 16.4 feet. You should also start a cheat-sheet because the majority of measurements you’ll encounter, be they physical or electrical, are in metric.
I don’t know how to solder. Can I still do this?
Yes! You’ll be limited to ready-made parts and somewhat restricted on the lengths of lights you can use but you can still put on a great light show and your neighbors and onlookers will never know.
I don’t know the first thing about electricity. Can I still do this?
Also a yes! You don’t need to be a rocket engineer to do holiday lighting, but you will need to learn a few basic concepts. And I really do mean basic– you can pick up everything you need to know in a single afternoon.
My wife already thinks my Amazon habit is out of control. How do I get her on board?
Those among us who are happily married know that there are no silver bullets when it comes to the Wife Acceptance Factor. (Or husband. Or partner. Whatever. Substitute as necessary.) I recommend stressing the positive factors. If you have kids, letting them help you is a great way to get some parental bonding time in with them and it’ll teach them some useful skills. If you like to entertain then you already know you’ll have to decorate, so just think of this as an extension of that effort.
I would also recommend that you not hide what you’re doing. Even the most enthusiastic S.O. is going to be angry with you if your spending is out of control.
It’s Black Friday and the rest of the family is out shopping, so I figure I’ll just string it all up whenever there’s a commercial break during the football game I got on the TV and it’ll all be done in time for dinner. No problem, right?
You didn’t read a single thing I wrote above this, did you. 🙂
Those big, elaborate shows you see on TV and social media typically take all year to plan and implement. (Yes, there are those who consider this a full-time hobby.) I personally start planning my show in August, with the goal of being ready to go by Thanksgiving weekend. Come crunch time I’m typically not the most pleasant person to be around, because by then it’s weighing on me quite a bit. Thoughts like “WTF did I get myself into!” are not uncommon. But then the reactions of joy from friends, family, and neighbors remind me of why I do it.
Personal sentiment aside, starting on Thanksgiving weekend is pretty late in the game. You’ll be paying top dollar for parts, waiting weeks to receive ready-made props if you can even find any left, and doing some serious cram sessions to learn sequencing and setup. But that’s not to say it’s impossible. Click here for my advice on a Last Minute Light Show for Newbies (coming soon).
What do you mean ‘coming soon’? It’s early December, I need to know now!!
Sorry, but I’m still fixing the last bugs in my own light show! I’ll get to it ASAP- promise.