Our 2010 display had over 6,500 total lights, mostly multi-colored lights. For 2010 I added homemade North Poles and 5 arches. I also switched the whole display from incandescent lights to LED lights. They cost more but last longer, are energy efficient and I think they look nicer.

One of our families favorite features is the blow mold Santa and Reindeer on the roof, it was the first item we bought for our display when we moved into our house in 2008. We hope to add more reindeer in the future, if I can find them.

2009 was the first year our lights were synchronized to music. I bought the “lights and sounds of Christmas” controller from Menards. It plays 20 songs in three different modes. Basically it is a 6 channel controller that does not need to be programmed. I used it again in 2010. In 2011 I will be using my first Light-O-Rama (LOR) controller with 16 channels.

Pictures from the 2010 display

Arches

These arches are made from PVC and multi-colored LED lights. There are a total of 4,000 lights, 800 on each arch.

In the future each arch will use 8 LOR channels, for a grand total of 40 channels.

In 2010 the arches were static, meaning they were not synched to music through the “lights and sounds of Christmas” controller.

North Poles

I learned how to make these North Poles from the website Planet Christmas. There are two sizes made from 3″ and 4″ PVC. On top is a 3″ plastic light dome from Lowes. Inside I wired a C-9 light with a lamp cord.

In 2011 I may add rope light to the outside so they are more visible at night.

Santa and Reindeer

Hard to see the reindeer in this image but it’s there. If I can find more of these I will add them to the display. I may also rig them so the are “taking off” rather than sitting on the roof.

Here is a video of the 2010 display, please forgive the low quality.