2009 Tear Down Began Today

John and Joey took down all the outdoor lights (except for the trees) today. They got most of the extension cords and made a few storage trips. I went 75% shopping at Walmart and Target. My fun begins tomorrow. Here's a few shots of the porch from last week. We had 10 trees on the porch this year...each had a different theme.

We had the following themed trees: princess, tropical, gingerbread, USA, Peacock, Vintage, Gator, and LED. We had 6 snowmen, 5 motionettes, and one train also.

After Christmas Sales: Part 3

For the big '09 after Christmas shopping rush, we got a lot more than we expected to get. We filled both vehicles top to bottom, front to back. Here's the run down.


The first store opened at 5am. We were finished and home by 9:30.


5am- I hit Penneys.
6am- We both hit Macys.
7am- I hit Target. John hit Sears.
7:30- I hit Michaels. John hit Lowes & Penneys.
8am- We both hit Home Depot & Kohls.
9am- We both hit Dillards.

John took everything to storage and we called it a day. Here are some highlights...

4 ft pink tree (prelit) Kohls 2x
4 ft white tree (prelit) Kohls
4 ft gold tree (prelit) Kohls
small pink tree skirt Kohls
small pink tree skirt Kohls
3 ft glass candy cane Kohls
18 " fiber optic snowman from Target
lighted glitter white village scene Target 2x
Philips LED mini trees 8 total soft white Target
Thomas Train inflatable HD
5 bags village trees HD
Teeter Totter outdoor Tinsel lighted HD
4 ft. LED topiaries 2x soft white in pots Penneys
tall snowman lantern Penneys
2 lg prelit gingerbread houses Penneys
2 buckets gold/white ornaments Penneys
tall LED outdoor tree Penneys
Tinsel Bear in balloon Sears
Tinsel Penguin in parachute Sears
circus village pieces Lowes
Annalees Macys
Annalees Dillards
gator snowman Lowes

I know there's more from Target...already can't remember.

Resurrecting an Idea from Years Ago

A few years ago we took photos inside the Christmas store at one of the Disney parks in Orlando. That was the first year we did a gingerbread scene at the house. Anyway, I was just looking back through the photos and discovered a ginat gingerbread man that I believe I can carve out of styrofoam for next year's display.

From Copeland Christmas Blog

I don't know where the scene would go, but the little Annalee gingerbread guys could hang from lights like they did in the 07 display shown here.

The gingerbread is hanging from a blue icicle light in this photo...it's just hard to see. Maybe I could do a giant candy themed tree and have the gingerbread village under it and the large styrofoam pieces on the wall. Or...I can make oversized candy pieces for the tree!!!...this sounds good. Large swirl candies wrapped in cellofane...large gingerbread cookies carved from styro...gum drops dusted in pastel glitter and strung over LED lights...strands of popcorn. I just have to find a source for good thick styrofoam.

Copeland Christmas Porch Photos

We decorated the porch this year. Mom and Kathy really came up with the vision, then they helped set everything up.

Here's the pink trees...the big one is decorated with Princesses and the small ones are gingerbread.

Here are the Tinsel snowmen and the new penguin from John's parents!


I'll take photos of the other half of the porch and post them tonight.

Yesterday I Did the Pantry Scenes

The big challenges yesterday were to wade through the storage units for the exact stuff I needed, load it into the truck, get home, unload it, then bring it all inside and figure out where to put it. I started the day out knowing that I wanted to do a ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas scene above the kitchen pantry, then a gingerbread and candy land scene above the snowmen scene. If it wasn’t for my Mom helping at storage and then in the kitchen, I would have gotten nothing done. First thing we did was put a spot light with a 15 watt bulb under the living room Tinsel tree. It helps liven it up a bit.

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Next, we tackled the Twas the Night Scene. We began by propping Grandma up high and getting her book positioned right. Then, we put all the other characters around her with their little poem bubbles. I am pretty happy with how it’s turning out. Still more to go though. Here’s a blurb and photo about 2008 ‘Twas the Night scene.

Lastly, I started the Gingerbread candy land scene above the pantry which is the back of the Twas the Night Scene. The most time consuming part of this whole undertaking is getting the foundation and support ready for the pieces. For example, there is a perfect tunnel of extension cords, power strips, white lights, and empty boxes that run under each display. The white lights illuminate the snow. This is the part that takes a while to do…10 ft in the air on the ladder.

I’ve never spoken about my ladder before…I do have a top of the line blue Werner laddder that has made all of this possible.

John took off work today to go on the boat, but since there are 7 ft seas in the gulfstream, we nixed that idea. Instead, we are off to storage again…this time with a friend’s tow trailer.

2009 Ideas

I have a few more ideas I need to get documented...I will lose them if I don't put them in writing.
I got this penguin thing last year on clearance. It will go nicely on the Antarctica scene...which I decided will go in the dining room. I have an Antarctica DVD which might get played under the table. I will wrap the two framed prints with a wintery, icy paper. I will put the white feather tree and the two silver trees in this scene. I will try to put the two giant snowmen on either side of the table. They might not fit in the room though.


Next....
I have an idea for the center of the garage...
It will have a giant wooden sleigh that is filled with presents. The right side of the garage will be Santa's workshop again but will have a sign this year so there's no mistaking what it is. The two 4-ft Annalee elves will be filling the sleigh. Some of the elves will be attached to a dowl and will look like they are standing on top of each other (being all goofy) helping to laod packged. There will be one extra goofy elf that is doing a flip in the air (from fishing line).

Next...
We have the following scenes that I still need to wrap my head around...

• gingerbread scene
• snowman scene gator and owl tree
• circus scene
• 'Twas the night scene
• peackock tree
• USA tree
• Wizard of Oz scene
• ladybug scene
• gold angel scene
• red cardi nal scene
• carollers scene
• snowboarding village scene (w/ fog machine)
• pink disney tree
• water scene in the village
• ...more to come....

The 2008 Display is Open

I'll have to get video and photo tonight. Here's a quick shot of the garage lastnight. This is part of the gingerbread mountain. You can see the train tracks and the USA tree in the background.

We're so excited. A cold front is coming through now, so it will be nice and cold tonight. The current temp is 58 (it fell 3 degrees in the last half hour)! Lastnight we had a lot of people come by and mention they came last year and were excited to see the lights from the road again this year.

Made Progress on Garage Display

Yesterday, John helped me a lot on the garage. This weekend is the Stuart Airshow. The past three years, I can remember running out of the garage to look at the F-18s every time I heard them. Or, we were on the roof putting up lights...then you can really see them.

This year was no different; jet's flying overhead, 90 degree heat, and fake snow/glitter stuck to my arms and legs. Yesterday, we finished three-quarters of the starry, starry night backdrop. Then, John helped elevate the USA tree and the new USA toy soldier. I did a lot of the gingerbread stuff.

Now, it's about 11 am and John is headed to the roof to begin putting up the icicle lights which run the perimeter of the roof. I took the star from the peacock tree and put it on the USA tree (since it's a nice shiny star).

More Ideas for the Interior Display

So, this past summer, I took a road trip through the Blue Ridge Mountains. I stopped at a little Christmas store and saw so many of the most wonderful partial themed trees. I'm doing about a dozen partial themed trees this year because I was so inspired by them.

Here are a few photos from this weekend. I went to the Christmas Store in Universal Studios Island of Adventure and saw some of their themed partial trees.

I don't ahve a blue tree and I don't like Bart Simpson, but this tree was stunning.


So, here's my list of themed trees for the 2008 display. I've already got all the trees and ornaments from years' passed.

1. Ladybug tree
2. Wizard of Oz tree
3. Gingerbread tree (maybe)
4. FL Gator tree (new to 2007 display. see below.)
5. Old fashioned aluminum tree (2x)
6. USA tree (new to the 2006 dispaly. see below.)
7. Jewel-tone tree (new to the 2007 display)
8. Disney tree (maybe)
9. Dr. Seuss
10. Kids book tree (don't know if I have enough stuff to do this one)
11. Tropical tree (flamingos, sand, shells, etc.)
    
    

    above: 2007 Copeland Christmas Display

    
    

    From 2007 11 Christmas Set up

    
    
    above: 2007 Copeland Christmas Display
    

Got A New Christmas Annalee!

Jim and Cathy got us a new Christmas Annalee last month!

It's a set of gingerbread bakers on a baking sheet. These guys will be a great addition to the gingerbread scene that I think might be moved to the kitchen this year.
Photo: 2007 gingerbread portion of garage display

Garage Gingerbread Photo

Another Gingerbread scene from the garage

Garage Display (Gingerbread)

Today's shot. I'm still learning this new camera.

Finally finished the garage display

So, I finished the garage display last night at 11pm right when Joey and John finished their sequencing. I'll take more detailed photos tonight and post them. I really like the gingerbread display and the USA tree this year. We've planned a lighting ceremony for this Friday at 6:30, so I need to figure out how to schedule the show in the Show Editor. Neighbors have remained positive about the display. Hopefully it will continue. The strobes aren't as blinding to drivers as I thought they would be...good news. And the north poles can be turned down to 50% intensity, so they are not too bright. They have 40 watt bulbs because 40 watters are 75% cheaper than 25 or 15 w bulbs. Every little bit adds up.