XMAS LIGHTS ... show me your pics

House is about to get done this weekend. But I have the bug. So I decorated the minivan...



$13 of prelit garland and a 99 cent bow, plugged into a 400w inverter out back. Now watch as I don't dare exceed 35mph for the next few weeks...

Don't take much to make the kids giggle nowadays, this oughta do it for this afternoon, I'll have to think of something else to make them laugh tomorrow. Maybe glue some plastic candy canes to the living room rug and see if they're dumb enough to try and lick 'em...oh wait...that's how to make ME laugh!!!

 

I once watched a guy try to pull a quarter stuck in cement out with his teeth... There was blood before it was over with.

I think that I will get a hold of a santa coat and a glove and have an arm hanging out of my trunk... That might get me arrested for disturbing the peace... making all those kids cry... and some adults... so I better not.

 

Not mine but I thought that they were funny.

 

Xavier

 

i cant remember if i was living in fla or pa at the time, (must have been florida because i had the roof off..but they usually dont care) i got pulled over for having christmas lights on wrapped around the roll bars of my jeep. she said if i put the roof up it would be ok because the lights would then be on the inside.

 

I've been checking into it, talked with family working at DMV, TXDOT, DPS, talked with a local sergeant at Starbucks, etc...

White or green lights are ok. No red. No blue. No amber. Yellow and purple are ok but why bother. Nothing can blink or be a "beacon" light. No black lights. It can't obstruct vision out of a window and it can't cover any factory lighting. And if it's too obnoxious or bright that's also a problem.

I haven't put a strand of lights across the back so nothing gets near the third brake light at the top of the hatch, and even if I did, it wouldn't be close enough to block anything. All white lights. All above the windows on the roof rack. Secured with ties. So I'm legal as it is.

My only concern was the inverter getting warm after awhile. So I leave it completely unplugged during the day, and in the evening, plug it in when driving only. The longest amount of driving I've done with the lights on is about 2.5hrs and it wasn't so warm I couldn't hold it comfortably. Could probably leave it plugged in all the time but don't want the battery to drain when I'm not driving. Love that 20 amp outlet out back. The inverter pulls no more than 15 amps according to the manual and that's to make 150 watts off the 12V plug wires. If I want more than 150 watts I need to hook it directly to the battery with the other wires. So all together I have about 54 lights and they take 0.8w each so I have plenty of overhead for the DSi charger, cell phone charger, MP3 player, FM transmitter, laptop charger which is 65w, etc...

Florida law is pretty much like Texas. If you stick with white lights only, and they don't blink, you should be legal.

Pennsylvania law is strict like all their motor vehicle laws. No ornamental lights at all. If it doesn't have SAE and DOT approval, it can't be on the car.

 

Nothing fancy at all this year, hardly made a dent in the X-Mas lites stash this year. Been ill, been missing work, almost lost the spirit. Lites came up late this year and if it wasn't for my honey they just may not have happened. This year for the first time I needed help putting them up and I'm glad we did! Looking down our street today compared to 10 years ago it's sad, no one puts up any lites anymore. Burned me rite out but we got lites!

My honey always wanted a white picket fence, so I made this one for her in 2001, the bush next door liked our place so much it grew through it gets lites every year.....


Made the fence above and fence, gate with latice all from costruction site garbage bak in the day and still solid 10 years later, even the white paint was a mixture of sorted 1/2 gallons of garbage white paint all mixed together...... I'd love to bring a paint sample in and demand it get matched! There must be 20 different shades of white I never did fix that latice where our old pup Bart poked his nose through. I don't now what that bush is in red and white lites but it sure blooms full of puffy white flowers in the spring/summer. Oh, white round PVC for down pipe on the gutters, again all job site waist... the stuff is almost bullet proof!






And what would my house be..... with out a car trailer infront for X-Mas!? Yard, front and back Puppy safe and clean, house puppy safe and clean, drive way full of cars, but puppy safe and clean of "un-safe puppy sh**".... but what would my house be with out, for X-Mas...



It kinda looks X-Mas, house with lites, car trailer reflecors glowing, 83 and 87 wagon licience plate glowing....kinda warmas ya up.

 

Great pictures Tedy. I'm also finding it hard to get the decorations up this year...to busy I guess. Thanks for sharing.

 

Looking good there Tedy. Now I might have to drag out a few decorations,lol.

 

Thanks for the pics tedy .... that last one sorta looks like a stargazers view of the Gemini layout, or pegusas .... you get the idea, at least I didnt say uranus!!
L OL

 

Here's a cool display

http://www.flixxy.com/best-christmas-lights-display.htm

 

I bet Tedy's lights do that. He should post up a video of them?

 

That is cool, started great with the music but then they lost me with the "bug" music.

Mike, there is no freeken way I could flick the lite switch fast enouph to keep up with the music!

 

Attention seeking...

 

You could always pay a neighbor's kid to do it. Offer 0.05 cents a flick then give them $1 after 4 hours and tell them you felt generous so you gave them a raise.