Deck Your House Contest!

from Shawnee Life - February 2023

WELCOME WAGON

Commentary by the Top 3 Winners!

A lot of work goes into our lighting installation. Two computers are used to control the lighting looks and power relays. There are approximately 10,000 - 15,000 LEDs used in the display. The icicles are actually a standard strand of Christmas lights that were zip-tied to form icicles and took approximately 15 hours to make. The lights on the roof are held in place with thin steel wire. There are over 110 strands hanging in the trees to create the willow effect. The approximate power consumption is around 1200-1500 watts (single 15a breaker).

And here’s a little information about us… Both of us were born and raised in Southern California. We’ve been together for over 16 years. We don’t have any children, but we do have one fat spoiled 15-year-old Russian Blue cat named Killer. Matt has been in the army for over 20 years and deployed to Iraq twice. We are currently stationed in Lima, OH and will be reassigned in the next few years.

The lighting inspiration comes from several aspects of my life growing up. When it came to Christmas my grandparents would deck out every single inch of their house, inside and out. Some of you may have noticed our house lighting changes based on other holidays. That's because the house is controlled via a computer and network nodes, which allow us to change the lighting looks and colors on a whim. When Christmas time arrives my two hobbies come together, lighting and computers. With a little magic and a big imagination, the skies the limit...well I mean budget, but you get the picture. Our display may be crazy but the power consumption is not as insane as you'd imagine. The roof alone uses the same amount of power as 3 strings of incandescent mini lights. Speaking of the roof, the inspiration for it came from Disneyland's Wintertime Castle during the holidays.

We love seeing people slow down or stop to look at the lights. It lets us know that even for just a moment our holiday spirit has brought some joy to others.

Judging Notes:

- Definite winner & good representation of Indianbrook!

- The drama and whimsy of the weeping willow lights combined with the light show that changes every few seconds were elements that made this home a showstopper…and a traffic stopper!

- Can see this house from far away. Love the spirit! The straight lines on the roof are so nice!

- Can only say WOW!

2nd

PLACE: The Schmiedebusch Family

Erica, Dan, Lucy, James & Jax of 4857 Kitamat Trail

Winner of $250 cash prize and an award!

This is our fourth Christmas in Indianbrook! The decorating took off in 2020 when everyone needed something to make them smile. Since then, we have started in late October/early November with outdoor lights and decorations but the crafting and homemade touches are started much earlier. We drafted this year’s “North Pole” setup shortly after the contest last year so that we could start shopping the after Christmas sales for needed decor. While it was still warm, many hours were spent outside painting the kids’ playhouse to use as Santa’s Workshop, spray painting wooden stakes, and checking a rather outrageous number of light strands. Our kids, Lucy, James and Jax, love running through the yard at night when the lights start going up and driving through the neighborhood to look at everyone else’s. Stay tuned - next year’s theme is already in the works!

Judging Notes:

- Love the theme and effort is noticeable. The music was a nice touch and loved the elfie station!

- Lots of lights! Her own ideas! Used the whole yard!

- Classy and colorful!

- The path to the elf house was great!

- The décor is layered with so much to look at!

3rd PLACE: The Fry Family

Michelle, Bob, Zachary, Zoey, Bradley & Kelly of 800 Kiowa Trail

Winner of $100 cash prize and an award!

We are the Fry family: Michelle and Bob, with our four kids Zachary, Zoey, Bradley and Kelly. We have lived on Kiowa Trail since 2017. We bought our house because we fell in love with our backyard. Our family loves seeing the deer, owls, hawks, and other birds and critters. We also enjoy talking and getting to know many of our neighbors.

Our family loves to decorate for the holidays. Our parents and grandparents were always big on decorating for the holidays and we love to carry on that family tradition with our family. We have a couple of holiday decorations that were my grandparents, like the antique sled we have in our front yard.

Judging Notes:

- Loved the suckers! Great layout! Colorful! Snowflakes all over the house!