We love this time of year. The events, the gatherings, the sounds, and most of all the lights. We love to take the boys on what we call “pajama runs,” (we surprise the boys with a run after they’ve change into their PJs. We drive around looking for Christmas displays while enjoying some holiday music, hot cocoa, and cookies). We have a few houses and neighborhoods that we see every year, particularly by the Bay, (there’s just something about Christmas lights near the ocean). And of course we always seem to find displays that we haven’t seen before and also try to find new neighborhoods to explore.
From classic displays to modern, music-driven shows, there are now endless possibilities when it comes to holiday presentations. Even the inflatable decorations are many times more than simple scenes; they are often animated scenes synchronized to music – and some even emit light that can act as or enhance a light show. Many displays that we have seen over the past several years include either lights or images projected onto surfaces from screens to buildings. We have even seen snow machines as part of displays, which adds to the festiveness to the season since we don’t usually have white Christmases in our area.
Today’s displays can be animated and music-driven, which can take weeks or months to program. In some cases, the person running the display has done mostly everything by hand and programmed the show, but there are products that allow anyone to set-up a holiday display for people to enjoy.
One such product is a holiday display kit called Christmas in a Box, which includes everything that one needs to create a holiday display that is synchronized to music. The kit includes a song player, a multi-channel light controller, and a song package. Upon ordering, the customer selects one of four song packages, which are Classic Christmas, Rock-n-Roll Christmas, Country Christmas, and Kid’s Christmas.
The customer can either use their own lights with the kit, or they can be purchased directly from the company. This is a “plug and play” product, which means that the lights and controller simply need to be connected to a power source and the display is ready to go!
There are many kits available of various sizes and price points. There are also products available at almost all retailers that allow one to create their own customized display. The available products include standard lights, icicle lights, rope lights, inflatable products, and projection equipment. There are also several sound systems on the market, including those that allow plug and play music synchronization. These products can be purchased individually and connected in various ways to create a one-of-a-kind holiday display.
For those who do not want to erect their own display, there are companies that will design, set-up, maintain, break-down, and store holiday lighting and displays. One such company is a national franchise with local decorators. The company, Christmas Decor, has a Rhode Island-based distributor, (Christmas Decor by Seascape), as well as several others throughout New England. Christmas Decor will evaluate a potential customer’s property, map a display according to the desires of the property owner, and once everything is agreed to, will build the display. The company provides service to both residential and commercial customers and maintenance as well as regular service visits are included in the price. Some other local companies that offer holiday light installation services include New England Holiday Lighting, (Worcester, MA); Holiday Impressions Lighting and Decor, (Warwick, RI); and Christmas Decorating Specialists, (Goffstown, NH).
Enjoying holiday displays is a great reason to slow down and enjoy this festive time of year.
Born in Nashua, Brian Chicoine spent his early years in Raymond before moving to Manchester at the age of 9. A few years after graduating from West High School, Brian moved to Providence to complete his undergraduate degree at Rhode Island College. After college Brian got married then he and his new wife Jackie spent a little more than five years in New Hampshire, where their two boys were born. The Chicoine family then returned to Jackie’s home state of Rhode Island and have been living there since. Brian has merged his passion for entrepreneurship and innovation with his love of new and bold ideas to bring fresh perspectives on the way things are done. Brian, Jackie, and their two boys currently live in Rhode Island, but their hearts are in New Hampshire.
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