Author Topic: Lights, Brokies, lights!  (Read 39518 times)

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Lights, Brokies, lights!
« Reply #10 on: December 02, 2009, 10:14:06 pm »
I just spent half the morning trying to untangle the Christmas tree lights! It's a mystery since every year I cut out rectangles of cardboard from cereal boxes and careful wind the lights around them when I'm taking them off the tree. But then, in early December when I go to unpack them again, they've all gone together into a tangle! What causes this??

'Nother thing...before you go to all the trouble to untangle your lights, you might try finding their ends, plugging them in, and see if they work!!

Turns out that Christmas lights are a lot more complicated than you might have thought!! Check this out:

http://www.ciphersbyritter.com/RADELECT/LITES/XMSLITES.HTM
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Lights, Brokies, lights!
« Reply #11 on: December 03, 2009, 02:06:52 am »
I just spent half the morning trying to untangle the Christmas tree lights!

In a disquieting way, did everything seem mixed?  ;)


I bought outdoor lights this year for the first time and am attempting to string them on some bushes out front. It's complicated. I know I won't achieve an effect anything like what I see in some houses that I really like. For example, I particularly like one house near here that entirely covers one pretty tree out front in lights, with every branch individually defined. It's so beautiful I will drive or even walk out of my way to go past it. Last night I went by there with my dog, and we ran into the woman who lives there. She told me her husband applies the lights, and is extremely particular about them. I can't duplicate that, because I am neither extremely particular nor even moderately skilled. But I think Christmas lights is an area where you just do your best, then appreciate your own efforts for whatever they are while also enjoying the work of others.


Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Lights, Brokies, lights!
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2009, 02:09:47 am »
I just spent half the morning trying to untangle the Christmas tree lights! It's a mystery since every year I cut out rectangles of cardboard from cereal boxes and careful wind the lights around them when I'm taking them off the tree. But then, in early December when I go to unpack them again, they've all gone together into a tangle! What causes this??


It's part of the wonderful magic of Christmas :).
More concrete: must be the X-Mas goblin, brother of the just as famous missing-socks-goblin, first cousin of the dust bunnies goblin and godfather of the "I didn't break that" goblin.

Happy untangling! Just think of them lights as Chilean and Aguirrie's lights :).

Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Lights, Brokies, lights!
« Reply #13 on: December 03, 2009, 02:18:43 am »
In a disquieting way, did everything seem mixed?  ;)


I bought outdoor lights this year for the first time and am attempting to string them on some bushes out front. It's complicated. I know I won't achieve an effect anything like what I see in some houses that I really like. For example, I particularly like one house near here that entirely covers one pretty tree out front in lights, with every branch individually defined. It's so beautiful I will drive or even walk out of my way to go past it. Last night I went by there with my dog, and we ran into the woman who lives there. She told me her husband applies the lights, and is extremely particular about them. I can't duplicate that, because I am neither extremely particular nor even moderately skilled. But I think Christmas lights is an area where you just do your best, then appreciate your own efforts for whatever they are while also enjoying the work of others.

Gottas smile about that one.
It's the same with me and the small window lights. Other people have them all neat in exact rows, while mine just dangle higgeldy-piggeldy, somewhere near the window frame. I tried with sticky tape, I even bought specific vacuum cups to fix them - and one year I gave up. Now I just twine them somehow around the window and am done in five minutes. Problem solved ;D.
To me, mine are still the most beautiful window lights, because the room behind them is my home.

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Lights, Brokies, lights!
« Reply #14 on: December 03, 2009, 02:30:40 am »
Gottas smile about that one.
It's the same with me and the small window lights. Other people have them all neat in exact rows, while mine just dangle higgeldy-piggeldy, somewhere near the window frame. I tried with sticky tape, I even bought specific vacuum cups to fix them - and one year I gave up. Now I just twine them somehow around the window and am done in five minutes. Problem solved ;D.
To me, mine are still the most beautiful window lights, because the room behind them is my home.

A good solution, and a nice message!


Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Lights, Brokies, lights!
« Reply #15 on: December 03, 2009, 10:30:54 am »
In a disquieting way, did everything seem mixed?  ;)



You bet,  friend!!  ;D
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Lights, Brokies, lights!
« Reply #16 on: December 03, 2009, 11:43:17 am »
LOL about the tangled lights.  My parents finally bought a nice, pre-lit tree this year to avoid the tangled light issue... at least where the main Christmas tree is concerned.  Dealing with the lights is always my Dad's job, and this year he'd had enough.  We put the tree up when I was home over Thanksgiving, and I have to say it was great... it was significantly less stressful.

But, we also have a few smaller trees here and there in the house and some lights on garlanding, outside, etc.  So, for those extra decorations he still needs to confront the loose light strings.



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Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Lights, Brokies, lights!
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2009, 11:53:23 am »
For example, I particularly like one house near here that entirely covers one pretty tree out front in lights, with every branch individually defined. It's so beautiful I will drive or even walk out of my way to go past it. Last night I went by there with my dog, and we ran into the woman who lives there. She told me her husband applies the lights, and is extremely particular about them. I can't duplicate that, because I am neither extremely particular nor even moderately skilled. But I think Christmas lights is an area where you just do your best, then appreciate your own efforts for whatever they are while also enjoying the work of others.

I always wonder how they do that. It's such a beautiful effect. I would never have the patience. And how do they figure out how many strings of lights they need?  ???
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Lights, Brokies, lights!
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2009, 12:01:56 pm »
I always wonder how they do that. It's such a beautiful effect. I would never have the patience. And how do they figure out how many strings of lights they need?  ???

I know! I kind of wished I'd asked the woman even more about it, but she was just coming in from work and anyway she said her husband did it all. But what she did tell me was that every year they have to get more and more lights, as the tree grows. Her husband is frustrated because they ran out of lights and had to leave some branches uncovered. She said they bought them at Costco, which was now out of them. I mentioned that I'd seen some at a local garden store for 20% off, and she said she'd seen those, too, but that the strings weren't long enough -- they need strings of 100 or so or they'd have to hook too many together per branch.

It looks like he must run the lights along the branches and then meticulously tie them on every few inches, maybe with wire or sumpn. Plus, he'd have to do most of it on a ladder. I would guess the tree is at least 15 feet high.

One of these nights I'll try to sneak by and get a picture to post here. I tried to find one similar on the internet, but I can't figure out what to google to call up photos of this particular kind of effect.




Offline belbbmfan

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Re: Lights, Brokies, lights!
« Reply #19 on: December 03, 2009, 12:18:35 pm »
I had decided to put up lights outside for the first time this year. I thought about getting an extra christmas tree an put it close to the front door and put some nice lights in it. Nothing too fancy, just plain white lights. I was going to get them this weekend and this morning there was an article in the newspaper quoting a report that one third of all outdoor lights were actually unsafe and a fire hazard!  :o

I think I'm going to reconsider. The article unfortunately didn't say which kinds or brands of lights were safe.  :-\

Do you leave your lights on all night? Is that safe to do or should you unplug them after a certain time?
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