Christmas Lights Articles
Here is a directory of some of our older articles. All of our newer information is listed in our Christmas Lights Blog.
Christmas Lights, Bulbs and Cords
When you are looking online at Christmas light stringer wire have
you ever noticed the SPT designation? It's merely an indicator of the
thickness and durability of the insulation. Most of the time, it may
not be even listed as a specification. If it's not, you can almost
always assume (but you know what they say about people who assume...)
that it is SPT-1.
There is another alternative now becoming
more readily available online - SPT-2 rated insulation. It has a
slightly thicker insulation than SPT-1 and we've decided that demand
finally justifies carrying it so Christmas Light Source will start carry
all of our C9 and C7 stringer wire in SPT-1 and SPT-2 insulation
thicknesses.
In non-Christmas light applications, SPT-1 is used
for everyday lighter-duty applications. SPT-2 cord is commonly used for
larger appliances like refrigerators. Read more......
LED Christmas lights are widely accepted now as one of the many
choices of Christmas lights available to consumers. However, it was
years ago that the concept of LED's was actually discovered. Christmas
lights are a recent application for LED's. Light emitting diodes
(LED's) were first used for commercial applications. There really is a
history behind LED's and the effect they currently have (and have had in
recent years) on the Christmas light industry.
1907
A British experimenter by the name of H.J. Round is credited with the
first report of a light-emitting solid-state diode. However, no further
research was conducted at that time. 1960's A red LED
light source was developed and available for commercial applications,
mostly indicators on equipment. At this time, the brightness level was
relatively low.
Read More....
The Capitol Christmas Tree has a history that spans nearly 44 years.
This stunning tree is located on the west lawn of the Capitol and is lit
each year with lights and decorated with handmade ornaments from
children and adults alike. Have you ever wondered how the tree comes to
be on the lawn of the Capitol each year? Here is some interesting
history on the tree itself and how the annual tree lighting ceremony has
become a time-honored tradition. Read More....
Christmas table centerpieces are easy to create using
basic materials you're already using to decorate the rest of your home
for the holidays. To add just a bit more sparkle and light, our battery
operated Christmas lights on either green wire or white wire work
beautifully. Christmas wreaths are often used on front doors,
above the fireplace mantel, or on the sides of outbuildings. Why not
use a small to medium size Christmas wreath
as a table centerpiece? If you have a round, glass or silver serving
tray, use it as the base underneath your wreath centerpiece. Next, use
our LED battery operated Christmas lights
either as a great bunch in the center of the wreath or wrapped around
the wreath to add twinkling dots of light. Add bittersweet, artificial
flowers, tiny ornaments and red bows for the final touches. Read More....
A baby shower should be an exciting and memorable event for the
expecting mommy and for her guests. The decorations for a baby shower
can range from very simple to ornate, but no matter what type of theme
is chosen, it's easy to incorporate mini lights into the decor.
Mini lights are the ideal decorating accent for a baby shower. Our
mini light set of 50 lights spaced 2.5 inches or 4 inches apart have
several fantastic decorating possibilities. Our pink and blue mini
lights come on either a white or a green wire, so they can easily
compliment any décor.
A great way to decorate the perimeter of the room is to purchase
tulle, (mesh fabric found at fabric stores), in blue, pink, or white,
and then wrap a strand of lights around the tulle. Read more...
A professional restaurant owner will be the first to tell you that the
atmosphere is probably at least half of the reason people are drawn to a
certain place to eat. They'll probably also agree that lighting is
crucial and essential for creating just the right warmth and ambiance
for any restaurant. Whether your establishment is elegant, fun,
whimsical, or romantic, decorating your restaurant with several
different types of lights will not only draw in customers, but will get
them talking to their friends and keep them coming back time and again
just for the atmosphere (assuming your food is good too!). Read More...
Weddings are a time of magic and romance...an event that will create
memories that last a lifetime for both the bride and groom, and for
their loved ones who celebrate their special day with them. The
decorations used at the wedding and the reception will set the mood for
the event. Lighting of all kinds will lend warmth, ambiance, and
romance to your wedding decor and create an event that will evoke sweet
memories for years to come.
Staircases look stunning adorned with chiffon and white mini lights
intertwined together and then swagged down the banister to create a
beautiful focal point. Mini lights are attractive simply used alone to
outline everything from windows, doorways, railings, and columns. Read More...
Christmas is an amazing time of year. There are so many things to do,
to plan for and to see. One of those things is Christmas lights. Every
year people dig them out or by the latest trend and decorate their
trees, and their homes with these colorful and cheerful reminders of the
holiday season. Christmas lights actually started out just as candles.
These candles were attached to the tree using wax or pins. The practice
began in Germany during the 17th century and over the next 200 or so
years; it became an established practice in Germany and began to spread
out into other countries of Eastern Europe.
The practice was originally started in order to bring illumination to
the ornaments that were placed on the tree. This practice continued
until around 1900 when candleholders became popular and people started
to use them instead of wax or pins to hold the candles to the trees. The
purpose however, stayed the same. It was to illuminate and make those
beautiful works of art that decorated the tree become even more visible. Read More...
General Christmas Of all our modern mythical icons, none inspires such love and respect
as that jolly old elf, Santa Claus. Whether he's called St. Nicholas,
Sinter Klaas, Father Christmas, or Kris Kringle, the red-suited marvel
is beloved all around the world. But, ask children everywhere, where did
he come from?
It's thought that the original Santa Claus was Bishop Nicholas of
Myra, a Byzantine city located in what is now Turkey. This bishop was
renowned as a good and pious man, and could not turn a person in need
away. The most famous story told about his charities: when he heard of
an impoverished widow's three pretty daughters who could not marry
because they were so poor, he provided the girls dowries.
This story grew over time, the legend eventually becoming that Bishop
Nicholas now a saint, St. Nicholas threw the money in through the
windows. Read More...
Everyone celebrates Christmas in their own way and each country has
traditions that are unique to the area or culture. These traditions are
some of the things that make Christmas special and unique. Some of the
largest differences come in the unique dishes, dinners and family
traditions that show up in the various countries around the world. There
are also certain activities that nations and cultures do that are
unique or special in how they celebrate this wonderful and joyful
holiday. In Africa, areas that are Christian have a Christmas Pageant,
carolers going through the village, there is a love offering that is
given to the Church during the worship service. Christmas dinner is a
community affair when it comes to celebrations in Africa. Each family
makes their meals and then everyone sets up outdoors allowing everyone
to join in the family dinner. Fufu, which is a rice and yam paste dish,
is served with stew, porridge and meats. Read more...
Figgy pudding is another name for Christmas pudding.
There are a couple of different ways to make it but it is actually more
of a cake than what most people think of a pudding. It is an older
recipe dating as far back as the 15th century but lost popularity during
the 19th century because of the ingredients and the excessively long
time to prepare and there is a large amount of saturated animal fats
used in the recipe making it a less popular dish when it comes to
traditional Christmas dishes. Read More...
Using Refrigerator Cookie Dough to Make Christmas Cookies One of the traditions of Christmas that
everyone looks forward to is cookies. They are delightful additions that
we place as snacks, treats and of course, for some of us they are the
traditional gift left for Santa. They can also take up a large amount of
time when it comes to making them. With the hectic lives that we all
have today making Christmas cookies is a daunting task and one that
usually ends up on the way side and is forgotten. There are a number of
ways however, that can make providing Christmas cookies a snap for
people who do not have a lot of time. Read more...
Lace cookies are some of the delicious cookies you can make during the
Christmas season. They are sweet, thin and delicate some people have
even likened them to snowflakes because each one is a little different.
The trick to making lace cookies is a thin batter and nothing, which can
cause the cookies to rise. These cookies are designed to be thin and
crisp. They do take a little bit of work so they are not classified as
an easy cookie. Read more...
Making Christmas cards from scratch is one of the best ways to show
the holiday spirit. They take time, energy, care, and show the people
whom you may not spend a lot of time with throughout the year that you
are thinking of them, wishing them well and that they are important to
you.
There are a few things that you need when it comes to card making. If
you are new to scrapbooking or card making then the best way to go is
to look at supply kits. These include everything that you need in order
to make the cards that you want. Some of these even include instructions
on how to make various types of designs. Read More...
Sugar cookies are the basics of
any holiday. They are versatile and wonderfully delicious. You can do
just about anything with sugar cookies including flavoring and a wide
variety of decorations that it can take. They can also be sweet or done
without the extra sweetness expected of them. The choice of course is up
to what you and your family enjoys.
Basic sugar cookie recipes can be
found anywhere, in just about every cookbook and can even be found
online with relative ease. Because the sugar cookie is such a versatile
cookie you can find a number of variations. Children can help out with a
number of aspects as well with these. Read more...
These
are delightful cookies that mix the best of chocolate and vanilla based
sugar cookies. You can also make chocolate and cherry or Chocolate and
mint. Whatever suits your fancy when it comes to making these lovely
Christmas cookies.
The first thing with these is you
are actually going to make two separate batches of dough. One will the
regular vanilla sugar cookies and the second will be the chocolate. Of
course you can always make the chocolate by itself and make two separate
batches but these can be used to create things like pinwheels and
stripes. Read More...
Press Christmas cookies are one way to make interesting and delicious
cookies for the holiday season. They do require some special equipment
however and they are one of the more complex cookies to make for
Christmas despite how easy it sounds to make them but this mainly comes
from equipment use. I love the fact that you don't have to roll out
dough.
It takes a bit of practice to make press cookies come out picture
perfect. Press cookies are forced through a disk that has a cut out
shape, for example a star or Christmas tree. It is forced out through
the use of a plunger pressing through a long tube you load with cookie
dough. The tube has a place to insert die's or the disks with the shape
you want on one side and a handle on the other with a sliding top which
moves down the tube in order to press the cookie dough through the
disk's design. Wilton makes a great line of cookie presses that come
with a wide variety of cookie shapes. Read more...
There
are a myriad of ways to decorate Christmas cookies from the simple to
the complex. Decorating cookies for Christmas is one of the fun things
that everyone in the family can pitch in and help with. There are tons
of decorations available and decorating ideas for making Christmas
cookies extra special. Read more...
Everyone associates Christmas with the colors red and green but most
people do not really know why those two colors are associated with this
holiday. There are a number of reasons some of which are regional but
over all green represents life, something that people need reminding of
especially during the harsh winters where in times past things were most
difficult. The red association came a bit later and showed up after
Christmas started to become a holiday that had religious associations to
the Christian faith. Red is said to represent the blood of Christ and
His sacrifice for us.. Others say that while the red represents the
blood of Christ the green represents the hope of eternal life that is
offered to everyone with His coming. Read more...
Have you ever watched gifts being wrapped at a department store
around the holidays? They're beautiful! You can achieve the same
professional-looking results right in your own home. The recipient will
feel special and loved when they take in hand your expertly wrapped,
too-pretty-to-open, (well, almost), gift.
- Gather these items together:
- Gift wrap (themed for occasion or to the person)
- Scissors
- Tape (double-sided or other)
- Curling ribbon, bows, or fabric ribbon
- Gift tag or card
- Box
- A straight edge (optional)
- ·Flat surface (table, counter, or hard floor area)
Read more...
Homemade Christmas Tree Ornaments
Many people have the tradition of making their Christmas ornaments,
or at least making one for every child, every year. They may be themed
or may be simply pictures with the name and date on them as a way of
keeping track of the years. For others it may simply be whatever
creative turn takes their fancy for the year. It is not just kids that
make these types of ornaments. There are adults who make their own as
well from simple to complex. No matter adult or child making Christmas
ornaments is a fun and memorable holiday tradition.
It doesn't take much to make homemade Christmas decorations many of
them are quick, easy and simple enough that even small children can
assist. There are some that have small pieces so be sure to supervise
smaller children. The first and probably simplest type of ornaments to
make is to use clothes pins and a variety of craft supplies. Read more...
Making memories with your kids is one of the highlights of every
holiday season. There are hundreds of things to do that can assist in
making each Christmas a memorable one for both you and your family.
While some Christmas traditions may be faith based or society based it
is the traditions that are passed down through the family that are the
most memorable. Some of the common traditions are making cookies, making
ornaments, getting the tree and decorating it.
Getting the Tree
It is a tradition for many people to head out to the Christmas tree
farm to find the perfect tree for the year. Everyone dresses up warmly.
Some families designate a person to cut the tree, another to pick it or
it might be a tradition for just the guys. Read More...
Fun Ideas and Facts for Any Time of YearSnow globes are amazing little things that can hold the fascination
of just about anyone and they add something special to the Holiday
season. While snow globes do bring on the sense of Christmas,snow globes
can be made for any holiday and any occasion. They make great home
made gifts for Christmas, birthdays and special events.
Snow globes are not difficult to make in fact, everything you need to
make them can usually already be found in your home or purchased easily
from the dollar store. If you are interested in making snow globes as a
home made gift idea or a craft idea for the kids then there are a few
things that you are going to need. The first item is going to be a jar.
It can be any sized jar depending on what size you want your snow globe.
This is a great way to recycle baby food jars, pickle and salad
dressing jars and even spaghetti sauce jars. Read more...
Gardens look fantastic during
the daylight hours with brightly colored flowers, greenery in every
shade, differing heights of shrubs and trees, and decorative accents.
Your garden can look just as beautiful in the evening hours when
decorated with lights. Everyone who sees it will be drawn in, feel
welcome, and want to stay awhile.
Begin by lining the pathway to
your garden with rope lights. These are accent lights contained in long
tubes with the lights spaced out evenly inside the tube. These lights
are perfect for outdoor use since they will not burn or scorch. The
3/8-inch Rope Lights are ideal for lining your pathway and come in
several colors blue, green, pink, milky white, orange, yellow, red,
purple and multi. With the changing of the seasons or holidays, it
would be easy to change the color of your rope lights to match. Read more...
Article ReprintsExpect a cold, dark and dreary New Year, thanks to the rising cost of
electricity. Two rate increases at TXU, scheduled for November and Jan.
1, will culminate in a 24 percent increase in energy charges. Although
the new rates will profoundly affect home heating costs, there is a
seasonal consideration as well holiday lights. The shocking increase
puts an obvious deadline on exterior light extravaganzas and will make
revelers in luminosity more conscious of how many lights they put up,
what kind they use, and how long they keep them on. Read more...
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