Thoughts...on my Decorating Friends.

I sit here in my kitchen, snow falling outside, and missing my husband and eldest daughter as they are on the trek to Omaha to retrieve the van. The rental had to be returned yesterday by 1:30 and it's a 24-hour drive so they left bright and early Christmas morning. Hence a new "adult" Christmas tradition was born....opening presents on Christmas Eve.  It was very warm and cozy with a fire going, and I think I might vote for continuing doing things that way in the future.

I was just fooling around on Facebook and realizing that so many of the contacts that I have there are people I've met through the Christmas decorating community. Yes, it is known as a "community."   I know this might seem strange to people who are not part of it, but those folks who go crazy decorating their houses each year actually network on websites, forums and on Facebook. Many of them meet each other at expos, educational workshop days and weekends, and other fun events.  Decorating enthusiasts are part of a rapidly growing community devoted to the hobby of not only lighting your house for Christmas, but animating the lights through computer programs that are increasingly sophisticated. LUCKY LUCKY ME! I had already written the right song for this group of folks, and someone found it, and all of this had nothing to do with me promoting it or anything. It was out there on iTunes and other sites and had been available since 1998.  I'm just fortunate that the first decorator found it, and then it caught on.  I've had such a wonderful time getting to know so many great people that I made sure to write some new songs for them on the latest album. It's just a wonderful thing to see what they do with my music.  I'm really blessed by watching their videos and by the displays I've gotten to see in person.

I first found this community through one of the  very first "House on Christmas Street" videos that popped up on YouTube back in 2006...which led me to www.planetchristmas.com.  I signed up and introduced myself on one of the forums, and was greeted enthusiastically by the folks there. Since then my life has been enriched SO MUCH by being accepted into this group of amazing people. They are all over the world, and I am lucky to call many of them not just contacts, but FRIENDS.  

I've met them at conventions and at their houses. I've met hosts on my tour, and I've met other decorators who have come out to see me in concert on the tour.  Many I've only met online, but I feel like I know them just the same. They add fun and joy to my life, and a sense of support and encouragement.  And I am VERY grateful.  

I don't have an animated display, for the record, but I have done a good sized display for many years at my house, since before I wrote the song. I've ALWAYS loved outdoor Christmas decorations, since I was a little kid.  The thing that always "got" me was Santa on the roof.  However, at my house I have never been brave enough to get him up there. I did fall out a window once trying to jury-rig him so it looked like he and the reindeer were flying down from the roof. Luckily I fell into bushes.   Yup, it's me that does it...it's not Philip's "thing," although he has been helping these past few years.  I'll never get into synchronizing the lights...I just don't have the time or the smarts or the patience.  But I do love my blow molds!

Anyhow, like any other community, people have differences, but I am fortunate that the folks that I have met have just been the nicest people on Earth. Just imagine what a person must be like who spends most of their time thinking about how to get Santa to fly over their house, or how to make the display the most fun for children, or where to set up the snowmen (cause there's never just one!).  Or people, like Paul Aziz in Oregon, who actually invent animatronic figures, like his talking and singing snowman.  These are folks with imagination, skills and a sense of whimsy, who understand the wonder of childhood. Each decorator is somewhat of a Disney in their own right.

The majority of these folks not only design a display, but they create a whole  30-minute radio program to go with their display, so people can park at their house, turn their radio on a certain frequency and hear a show while they watch lights.  On my tour I've seen tons of people parked in cars with their families, enjoying a take-out supper and watching the show. How many people all over the world have been entertained for free like this?

Kevin Dunn, a.k.a "The Demented Elf", is responsible for developing the radio program feature and his voice can be heard all over the world at displays.  He is also a super-nice person who has had a radio career and makes the programs sound very professional. He has his own year-round radio station, too: www.holidayamericaradio.com  They plan to play music for every holiday all year round.

Then there are the people who  actually build a walk-through display at their homes, like Larry and Rachel Charpiat in North Carolina, Darrel Moyer in Pennsylvania, and Tommy Sosebee in South Carolina.  They spend hours and hours getting it right, and then they devote their ENTIRE CHRISTMAS SEASON to helping strangers park, giving them hot chocolate for FREE and handing out candy canes.  They practically have amusement parks in their yards, and for many of the people around a visit to their display is a yearly tradition, and yet they don't charge a cent for admission.  And many of them have donation boxes at their displays for a local charity, to boot.

Well, I could go on and on.  Again, I'm just reflecting upon my good fortune of having so many wonderful people in my life because of that one song.  If you are one of them and you are reading this, I want you to know that I do not take you for granted. I am blessed to know each and every one of you. Thank you for accepting me into your community of joy.  You have put so many smiles on my face, made me laugh and sing and made me feel special.  I really and  truly love you all and I wish you the happiest of new years. Thank you for all that you do to make the world a brighter place!!!

Many Thanks to So Many People

 The tour has officially been on for three weeks, and yet it seems like a lifetime to me.  I've met so many wonderful people and had so many unique experiences and I thank each and every one of you for the graciousness, hospitality, caring and affection that you have shown to me along the way.
So where did I leave off?  Oh yes....Cleona, PA on Wednesday night.  I finally got to meet Darrel Moyer, a young college student I have been corresponding with for a long time through planetchristmas.com and Facebook.  I was wondering what Darrel would be like in person because his emails are always so detailed and enthusiastic and he seemed like such a wonderful guy, and I was not disappointed.  He is so full of good spirit that he practically shines.  He took me on a tour of his display which is practically all blow molds (plastic figures) and I felt like a little kid.  Darrel is quite a collector and he knew the company that made each one and  sometimes even the year that it was made.  He even took me to another neighborhood to see a display where there were so many blow molds that it was impossible to count. I had a terrific evening with Darrel and his family, just as I had the night before with Jason and his family.  These two guys live only about 90 minutes from each other and they should definitely be friends.   They are both in their early 20's, have a passion for Christmas decorating and trains and are nice Christian men.  If there are any nice single young women out there who would like to make contact, let me know!

I left Darrel's and drove down to Fredericksburg the same night.  It was only two hours but felt like longer because the tiredness hit about halfway there.  I had cookies that Jason's mom had baked and I ate about 20 of them to help me stay awake.  I definitely have not lost any weight on this tour because I do eat a lot to stay awake.  Oh well, I have the big red coat to cover all the flaws!

Friday in Fredericksburg was jam packed full of activity. First of all, it was snowing.  Of course!  The snow has followed me wherever I've gone!   I started the day with my hosts, the Shanks, picking me up and bringing me to WGRQ radio where I did a fun segment with morning host Dave Adler. We had goodies from Paul's Bakery and we did "Candy" live and he did a great job on the "oh yeahs".  School was canceled everywhere so that was a bad sign of things to come, but I still had a great time.

After the interview I went back to the hotel and tried to catch up on the 100+ emails in my mailbox, then it was on to Paul's Bakery and the Young at Heart Gift Shop for a three hour appearance.  I met a gaggle of super people at Paul's, including owners Paul and Sandy and their family and friends.  Even Santa was there for the afternoon!  I felt bad because the weather was keeping people indoors, but I was mystified too......I mean, there was less than an inch of snow on the ground!  In New Hampshire there has to be at least a foot before they cancel school!  But businesses were closing and as the afternoon went on more and more people were staying in, so there weren't a lot of people who came to the shop.  Still, I very much enjoyed looking at all the nice things that Sandy sells in the shop, especially in the Christmas room, and of course the delicious treats from the Bakery and the candy counter.  I've just given up on the figure til after Christmas.

Unfortunately the Shanks had to cancel the performance due to the weather, so that made two shows so far that had to be put on ice, so to speak, because of Mother Nature.  I did enjoy watching thei rfantastic light show and the "photo ops" outside of the house,and then I went back to the bakery and Paul took me over to his house to see his display.  It was unique in that Paul made nearly every single lighted wire frame figure in his yard, and they all had gingerbread children doing things like jumping rope, playing on a teeter-totter, bowling and even taking off in a rocket ship.  He animated the lights to make it appear that his figures were doing all these things.  Paul even created a little train to take children around the display on.  He uses gingerbread people to carry on the theme of his bakery.  It was so charming and fun, and just amazing that one man had created all of this stuff.  I especially enjoyed the bowling gingerbread man, whose bowling ball went all down the lawn and then knocked over a pile of snowmen.  I wish I had a video to show you!
All of us ended up meeting at the Golden Corral, one of my favorite restaurants and we had a wonderful dinner..  It was very hard to leave them all after such a nice day.
Everywhere I've gone I've made new friends and then had to leave them.  But I will never, ever forget them or this amazing experience.
Okay, Friday deserves an update all it's own...so that's coming next.