Christmas 2009 – Plans Complete
Plans for our 2009 Christmas Lights Display have been completed and I’ve moved into the execution phase. The mega tree will be replaced with a Z-tree this year. A Z-tree you ask? A fellow Christmas lights enthusiast, Mike Ziemkowski, built a new kind of mega tree several years ago, and it is named after him. Mike is extremely creative and you can see his work on his website at http://www.lightsondisplay.com/. Just click on the Display tab and select a year to view.
A Z-Tree is made out of 3/4″ PVC pipe. At this point the basic structure has been built and looks like this:
Next steps are to paint it hunter green to hide the white pipe, wrap it in garland, add the lights and were ready to go. I’ll add the 3D star on the top again and finish it off with 50 strobes.
This finished product will look a little different than Mike’s in that instead of wrapping the lights horizontally, I’m going to wrap the lights vertically in sections. Hopefully it will look similar to the tree at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. Not nearly as big nor as many segments, but with a similar look. If you haven’t seen the Silver Dollar Christmas Tree, take a look at this YouTube video.
Another change has to do with the two large oak trees. Instead of wrapping them this year. I’m going to light them with vertical tubes of light. Each tube will have seven segments of clear mini-lights, and each segment will be controlled by a computer channel. So there will be five tubes on each tree and a total of 35 channels. The prototype put up yesterday looks like this, without the lights:
Do not try to adjust your monitor. The tubes are plumb, the tree is crooked.
The other changes this year will include lights outlining the roof and leaping arches. With the lighting of the roof, the elves will be moved down to the ground to a location to be determined. We’re also going to try something brand new for us this year, and that is the addition of a donation box. Many other Christmas light enthusiasts have been very successful in collecting donations for their favorite causes. The Lindsay brothers in Canada have collected over $55,000 the past six seasons. So we’ll be collecting for the Heartland Habitat for Humanity. Our church has contributed money to build Habitat houses for years, and I’ve been a regular Wednesday volunteer at the builds. We’ll see how the public reacts to this addition. 100% of the money collected will go directly to Heartland Habitat for Humanity.
We continue to move forward as time flies when you’re having fun, and traveling too. You can see the clock ticking down in the upper left corner of this page, which is a constant reminder to me of all that needs to be done this year to pull it off on time.
I love Christmas lights too!!! I’m a Heartland Habitat staff member. Thank you so much for thinking of the families we serve. Any amount you raise will be greatly appreciated. And what a great way to do it! This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen. Yay, Christmas! I’m excited already
Comment by Sarah McMillian — March 24, 2009 @ 4:25 pm
WOW…you retired guys are on the ball!
I’ve GOT to get going, I’ve not had time to do anything with the display plans.
Good idea with the modified Z-Tree, I was planning on a Z-tree but haven’t thought about how/what for sure yet.
I like the light tubes on the two big trees..that will hopefully save you a lot of time with straightening the squirrel playground!
Way to go man, looks like you are doing well with the plans! Can’t wait till PLUS!
Comment by Tyson H. — May 18, 2009 @ 5:30 pm
Your Z-tree is exactly why I’m wanting to build. Can you give any dimensions to help out, such as length of the base and sub-base sections, height of each section. Thanks.
Comment by Gary — November 12, 2009 @ 12:06 am
Sorry for the delay in responding Gary. Last minute crush with all the display details have kept me doing very little else. Not that I’ve got things pretty well under control, I am finally getting back to you.
Let me say that with the test run the last couple of nights, I am extremely pleased with the results. And the LEDs make it just that much better. I’ve been documenting the build with video and pictures and hope to put together a “how to” video with things quiet down, which will probably be after the first of the year. All the details will be included, but basically the tree is 10′ across at the base and each of the four tiers is 3′3″ tall. I had planned for only 3′ each, but didn’t figure in the additional height that was produced by the connectors. I’ll include all of that in the video.
My only concern is the weight of the thing. with all the lights and garland, each section is pretty heavy, so there is a lot of weight bearing down on the bottom tier. I’m just hoping it will hold up throughout the season, especially when we get the cold and snow. We’ll just have to deal with whatever comes our way. Just need to get some video in the can in case of an unexpected disaster.
Thanks again for your comments and interest.
Comment by tim — November 24, 2009 @ 5:35 pm