We all know someone who has tried to outdo Clark Griswold by "lighting up the neighborhood" at Christmastime, right?
Some of us even enjoy driving around admiring all of the holiday decorations and Christmas lights, looking for that one house that rises above the rest in terms of creativity and colorfulness.
The following homes have truly earned that distinction in their respective neighborhoods...
Check out these one-of-a-kind holiday light shows in:
- Mason, Ohio
- Boulder, Colorado
- Saint John, Indiana
- Dallas, Texas
Carson Williams -- Mason, Ohio
Have you heard about Carson Williams yet?For the third year in a row, he and his family have decorated their Mason, Ohio house on Winding Creek Court with 25,000 Christmas lights... AND set all the lights on timers to blink on and off in sync with a peppy tune.
If you live anywhere near Cincinnati (like my friend Suzie who tipped me onto this story), then you've probably seen this house in the local news, or even driven by yourself. (Hundreds of cars drive by the Williams house every night to see this one-of-a-kind display.)
But recently, the Williams' story went national after they were sought out for interviews on the Today Show, Inside Edition, and the Ellen DeGeneres Show -- to name just a few.
Everyone wanted to know who was behind this really cool video that's been floating around the Internet for the past month or so. (Yes, even the national media loves this kind of "news"!)
Check out the Williams family on the Today Show with Matt Lauer, Katie Couric, and other Today Show hosts.
See for yourself... Here's the 2004 video that's been getting all of the attention lately.
The Williams family's 2004 display was synchronized to the music "Wizards In Winter" from Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It consisted of 16,000 lights, and 88 channels of Light-o-Rama.
Here's the 2005 video showing the Williams family's 2005 animated display of lights.
This year's synchronization is to the tune of Barbara Streisand's rendition of "Jingle Bells". The Williams' 2005 display consists of 25,000 lights 140 channels of Light-o-Rama.
The musical accompaniment is broadcast over a low-watt radio station and is only audible to people tuned in to a particular frequency. So, it doesn't disturb the neighbors. (The rapidly flashing lights may be another story, but they're only activated between 6pm and 10pm.)
How To Create Your Own Holiday Light Show
So, what's it take to create a 3-minute long synchronized music & lights show of your own?...According to Carson Williams, it takes a good deal of preparation and set-up:
- approximately two months to hook up the lights
- 3+ hours to sequence the Light-o-Rama channels to control the lights
- over $3,500 in equipment and Christmas lights
- $150/mo tacked onto his electric bill
- ability to tap into a low-band radio station
- a little bit of computer know-how
- the curiosity to try your hand at some hi-tech decorating
Here are Carson's own directions for creating your own light show.
All Good Things Must Come To An End
Unfortunately, the Williams' have chosen to unplug their Christmas light show for the remainder of the 2005 holiday season. The reason? There was a minor car accident in the cul-de-sac near the Williams' home on December 7th, and the large volume of traffic hindered the response time of emergency vehicles.According to this dialogue between Carson Williams and his fans: "As I discussed on the Today show and everywhere I talked. One complaint and I would shutdown."
There was. And he did.
Listen to Carson Williams' candid interview with Dan Gaffney from WGMD in Delaware.
Alek Komarnitsky -- Boulder, Colorado
Here's another interesting story (...and plenty of video footage and press coverage) from a guy named Alek Komarnitsky from Boulder, Colorado who last year "fooled the world" into thinking that anyone could control his blinking lights display from their own computers.The unique twist to this story:
For 2005, he's come clean about how he did it, plus details about his all-new display for 2005 which consists of over 26,000 lights.
In addition, he's trying to raise money for Celiac Research -- which is an intollerance to gluten (things like wheat/rye/oats/barley) -- a disease that his two little boys are afflicted with. (Learn more about Celiac Disease vs wheat allergy.)
His story is quite comical... with a heart-warming touch in the end. (By the way, he respectfully acknowledges Carson Williams' own musical light display.)
Honorable Mentions In The Hi-Tech Holiday Decorating Category
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carbon offsets are total BS. not trying to dampen spirits but they are. giving somebody money for it is just the american way of making yourself feel better. However, in no way am I saying stop doing what your doing just quit paying someone over a guilt trip you don't have to go through
If you like this check out ChristmasUtah.com, I love 2005 Boogie Woogie Santa Claus, Marty's display is great.
do you any of you good people have any information about websites for guide(s) to viewing exceptionally decorated houses with Christmas lights?
Lynnette,
You wrote a nice blurb last year about my zany awareness/fund-raising efforts with Controllable Christmas Lights - over $14,000 so far.
While less lights this year (15,000 versus 26,000), new additions include giant inflatable Elmo and Homer Simpson - D'OH!!!! All under your control from 5:00 to 10:00 nightly (MST) at http://www.komar.org/cgi-bin/christmas_webcam
Merry Christmas,
alek
P.S. Nice writeup on inconvienent truth - I wondered the same things about what he does in regular life.
On a related note, I don't want to sound too politically correct, but some misc. points about my "wasteful" christmas lights for 'ya.
1. Less Lights "only" 15,000 this year - down from 26,000 in 2005.
2. Xcel Wind Power - Will be the 3rd year I've been in this program.
3. Carbon Offset - even though I�m using "clean" energy, I made a contribution to CarbonFund.Org for twice last year's 2 Megawatt-Hours of electrical power consumption.
4. For the second year in a row, you can (really) view the display on the Internet via live webcams. I.e. you don't need to burn fossil fuels by driving to see it in person.
5. Just like 2005 (but not 2004), environmentally inclined Internet surfers can go to the website and turn the lights OFF. Be forewarned that people from around the world (119 countries so far) enjoy seeing 'em ON ... so you will have to "battle" for control.
6. Lights off after 10:00 - I use a master timer so the display is typically only active between 5:00-10:00MST nightly. The overseas web surfers would like 'em left on all night, but I have great neighbors and figure they deserve a rest from the blinking lights.
Many folks don't realize that the cost to run the 26,000 Christmas Lights in 2005 was $5/day - i.e.
one Double Peppermint Latte.
And for me, that's plenty well worth it for the joy it brings to people and especially the kids when they see the display in person and/or on the web.
So while my Christmas Lights might be a bit tacky, they make an effort to be environmentally conscious;
plus they are just a darn lotta fun. ;-)
Finally, the Internet site has garnered thousands of dollars in donations to charity to help find a cure for Celiac Disease - something my kids have. So you better believe that komar.org is lit up again for 2006!
Do you sell a program for doing the timed musical Christmas lights? Can you use your existing lights or do you need special lights?
If you have them, how long does it take to ship?
Thanks!
that house with all the decorating in mason , ohio - is there any directions to get there?
doesn't it cost like 15 dollars per car?
Bud Lite showed the Williams house(Wizards of Winter) for about 15 sec in a commercial on ESPN Sports Desk today.
Lynnette,
Appreciate the nice writeup about my lights and the fund-raising effort - over $3,000 so far for the University of Maryland ... and check out our eBay auction at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6588655045
And yes, Carson Williams is the christmas lights GOD with his display - I heard one of the beer companies filmed a commercial there, so even though Carson had to shut his display down due to the traffic problems (class act by him), I look forward to see his lights showing up on TV.
alek (the guy from Boulder, Colorado)