The Big Day

[Tom]

I know it's only July, but I wanted 2 share this web page I came across.  I like all kinds of Christmas Lights, + especially C-7's (+ the twinkle lights) and mini lights:
http://yulelights.com/page2/jsp_pg2.htm 

[BigMattFromTexas]

I LOVE Christmas decorations (Christmas lights are my favorite). I love getting on top of my house to put them up. My favorite are the LED muti-colored light> they save money last a LONG time and they are cool looking. I hate seeing houses with white lights only.
BigMatt

[Tom]

I had heard that the LED lights were not very bright, so improvements must have been made on them.  In support of the C-7 + C-9 twinkle lights, however, this quote from the Christmas Eve 1973 edition of TIME Magazine should be an incentive 2 always continue their manufacture:
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: A 6-ft. Christmas tree lit by 75 standard bulbs burning four hours a day would use 290 of power a week, a relatively harmless indulgence.  A tree decorated with 75 twinkle lights would expend 170 of electricity a week.

[BigMattFromTexas]

LED lights aren't bright at all and the blue look purple-ish but i like them
BigMatt

[Tom]

Here's what I would call a prelude to Christmas Lights.  Today, in the supermarket where I work, I discovered what are called Candy Corn Lights (mini lights) to decorate for Autumn.  The top half of the lights are orange, while the bottom halves are yellow

[Truvelo]

The problem with LED's is they are too directional and don't pump out enough light in all directions. Until this can be rectified the traditional filament bulb will reign supreme.

[BigMattFromTexas]

Here's what I would call a prelude to Christmas Lights.  Today, in the supermarket where I work, I discovered what are called Candy Corn Lights (mini lights) to decorate for Autumn.  The top half of the lights are orange, while the bottom halves are yellow

I hate the actuall candy corn, but I only have orange/red fake leaves to decorate for Autumn

[deathtopumpkins]

Or, you could be like me and use the same Christmas lights you've been using for the past 10 years! Those old non-LED bulbs still work just fine, so I'm gonna keep using them. 

[BigMattFromTexas]

Ive allways been into decorating for Christmas, last year we had our Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving!
BigMatt

[Alex]

Here's what I would call a prelude to Christmas Lights.  Today, in the supermarket where I work, I discovered what are called Candy Corn Lights (mini lights) to decorate for Autumn.  The top half of the lights are orange, while the bottom halves are yellow

I've not seen this style of light before. Each year I usually look for the more unusual sets. My favorites all time are these icicle lights I bought 15 years ago. They are the standard candlestick lights, but with plastic covers that are in the shape of transparent icicles. I also like the old-style bubble lights, and found those on sale at Sears years ago and still have them around somewhere.

[Tom]

One thing I've noticed about today's C-7 Christmas lights are that they're not pear shaped like I remember they were when I was a kid.  I wonder if there's a chance that manufacturers would go back to making them pear shaped, with some encouragement, of course.    

[Tom]

I found this Christmas Star kind of impressive (not my photo):
http://yulelights.com/page6/bluestar.htm

[Tom]

Merry Christmas, everybody.

Mod edit: This is not a forum to discuss religion.

[mgk920]

One thing I've noticed about today's C-7 Christmas lights are that they're not pear shaped like I remember they were when I was a kid.  I wonder if there's a chance that manufacturers would go back to making them pear shaped, with some encouragement, of course.    

I noticed this year that a store here in the Appleton area was selling high-voltage screw-in replacement C-7 and C-9 LED bulbs.  Available in both white and assorted colors, they were somewhat pricey at $12 and $14 for ten, respectively, but I would have liked to have seen one of those in operation to see how bright they are.

Mike

[Tom]

Here's the Christmas 1972 edition of LIFE Magazine filled with Christmas stories and pictures.  Enjoy.
http://books.google.com/books?id=2VYEAAAAMBAJ&source=gbs_all_issues_r&cad=1

[BigMattFromTexas]

I guess it's near time for me to figure out what I'm doing with the lights this year. I'll end up doing the lights outside.. again.. Haha.
BigMatt

[Scott5114]

It's October...

[agentsteel53]

It's October...

early October, even.

[english si]

Yea, it's not even Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Day yet.

You have to wait until after Thanksgiving, unless that falls into the 'winterval mush', I mean 'holiday season'. Got to get other feasts and holidays done with before decorating for Christmas.

[Scott5114]

I cringe whenever Christmas is brought up before December 1, really. 25 days should be adequate lead time. If you are so dependent on Christmastime sales that you have to push the limits beyond Thanksgiving, your business model is a piece of fucking shit.


We're adults here.  We're allowed to use the occasional swear word.  Freedom of speech.

[english si]

Mid-September is where you start getting Christmas foodstuffs in the supermarket where I shop. As soon as the 'Best Before' or 'Use by' dates becomes 26 December, then in comes the Stollen, Mince Pies, etc. The big seasonal section has gone 'World Cup offers', 'Summer Holiday', 'Back to School', 'Christmas' (though not the whole thing), 'Wine offer', 'Halloween' (I think a month is way too much of a lead-in for that - 2 weeks tops, if not less, in the UK) and will go back to 'Christmas' on November 1. At the moment, Christmas stuff is a smaller area tucked away, with a few offers, but it's still there - if they had decent mince pies, I'd have picked some up last week, but they didn't.

Is their business model a piece of shit? 1 in every 7 pounds spent in the UK is spent in that company's stores, IIRC - they must be doing something right. Pretty much every supermarket in the UK that is large enough to have a seasonal aisle has it full of Christmas stuff from November 1 onwards, if not before - clearly there must be enough people buying stuff to make it worth it.

To be fair, we don't have Thanksgiving and Halloween is small, and November 5th has gotten smaller in recent years (partially with the massive growth in Halloween beyond showing more horror movies on TV in the last 10 years), there's not much in the way.

[Tom]

Sorry if I rattled anybody's cage, but how would you like to work for a store where it's Christmas all year, as the following examples show:
http://www.bronners.com
http://www.canterburyvillage.com
http://www.hitchingpost.com

...and my wife is already playing a CD of Christmas Carols by Johnny Mathis when we're driving to and from MSU Spartan football games:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvn5Ztny76c

[huskeroadgeek]

I went by Bronners several years ago when I was in Frankenmuth, and I would have liked to stop, but unfortunately I didn't have time.

I love Christmas, but it doesn't really seem like the Christmas season for me until after Thanksgiving. I love Christmas music too, but one trend that has kind of annoyed me in recent years are the number of radio stations that start playing Christmas music nonstop from about the beginning of November. After listening to Christmas music that long, you're sick of it by the time Christmas Day actually comes.

[Tom]

About 2 years ago, a radio station in Petoskey, Michigan started playing Christmas Carols Nov. 15, and there must have been some complaints because the next year they went back to starting the day after Thanksgiving.

[US71]

I cringe whenever Christmas is brought up before December 1, really. 25 days should be adequate lead time. If you are so dependent on Christmastime sales that you have to push the limits beyond Thanksgiving, your business model is a piece of fucking shit.


We're adults here.  We're allowed to use the occasional swear word.  Freedom of speech.

So why do we have a censored word list, hmmmm?