So, why do we hang Christmas Lights?

Ten years ago there were half as many people installing lights on their homes.  Its sort of a funny thing you know, to pay money to have these lights on your house for a few months.  Our whole community transforms into a light show for 6-8 weeks.  Have you ever stopped and thought about why we do this? 

There is the obvious; to make our house look festive. But I think its more than that.  If the sole motivation was to support conformity with celebrated Holidays, I think there are a lot of rule followers out there that would be sticking a boat load more Easter bunnies and Leprechauns in their yards come Spring. 

You know what I think this whole Christmas light frenzy is all about? I think it comes from the kids that had great memories during the Holidays and now are adults.  I am one of them. The Christmas lights are so much more than decorations, they are symbolism and a handy trigger to crack wide open some of our most beautiful memories.  

30 years ago while thrashing candy cane paper off boxes of soon to be broken plastic toys at my grandma's house, I had no idea how great that space of time would later be remembered.  In the early 90s when the general parental over sight was at an all time low, the cousins and I would gang up and get into all sorts of Christmas mischief.  We would take grandpa’s four wheeler, drive through the neighbors fields and shoot bottle rockets at each other. The parents all chatted it up inside about who had the smartest kid completely unaware of the outdoor escapades.  There was this thick connectedness between all the aunts and uncles and cousins that was special. The bottle rockets made it even more special for the cousins with the wow factor.  

There were always more pies than food.  The best was taking small slivers of lemon merengue, chocolate meringue and pecan pie and creating the ultimate sugar coma.  There was always a lightness in the atmosphere.  A simplicity.  Lots of conversation about last year and next year, Uncle Elvis’ belly getting out of control in spite of his spindly legs, and just talking to connect.  There was no sense of time, only connecting and being.  I am not sure if that was the 90s or how I remembered it as a kid, but goodness sakes I find it hard to replicate that these days.   

When I see Christmas lights, I see and feel my roots, where I came from.  I think about some of my favorite moments and some of my favorite people who are not with us anymore.  Its like the inescapable symbolism on everyone's houses are demanding me to pause and remember and maybe even slow down.   

Not everyone has those rosy memories of Christmases past.  Remembering our past Holidays good or bad can have the same conclusion however, towards valuing what we have here and now with a heightened fervor.  If your childhood sucked, well that might be great news for your family and friends now. I'm guessing you are the absolute best person to make sure theirs is so much better. (I never have won any compassion awards. )

I think we hang lights to trigger our senses to refocus on what’s most important. No matter if you give your Christmas memories a 5 star or a half star, we may all be wise to slow down and carefully think on the vast riches we have this season because of the loved ones we hold most dear.  So yeah, plaster your home with lights and think about that favorite aunt who taught you how to drive!

Bloom Lawn and Lights …formerly Wildwood Christmas Lights

This post is the story of how Bloom Lawn and Lights grew from Wildwood Christmas Lights. 

In 2014, my brother-in-law and I began Wildwood Christmas Lights as a side gig. I was recently married, and Christmas lights seemed like a fun extra source of income. In the first year, we were fortunate to have 30 clients hire us. (If you are one of those first 30 brave clients, thanks for getting us our start!)  

Wildwood Christmas Lights began to take off thanks to word of mouth and yard signs. It did so well that I had to tell my dad I was quitting his remodeling company and venturing out on my own full-time in January of 2016. I would do lawn care during the growing season as Bloom Lawn and Landscape LLC and install Christmas lights in the fall and winter as Wildwood Christmas lights.

As a small-fledging company, I would do anything clients asked—decks, drainage, mole removal, whatever I could to pay the bills. Two problems emerged with how these companies. 

First, with Bloom, we offered such an endless list of services, excellent training for new team members on everything became impossible, and the quality suffered. We were doing too much!  The last thing I wanted my livelihood to be characterized by was being a jack of many and master of none. I needed to learn how to pronounce the word NO correctly. Our core service quality immediately began to improve as we offered less. 

As we figured out the services we could be great at, all our attention was thrust upon improving our lawn care and landscape lighting services. Every service we stopped doing freed up time and energy to double down on our core. We are a company uniquely gifted with maintaining beautiful outdoor spaces and providing a robust array of outdoor lighting. 

The second big problem was that our Wildwood Christmas Light clients needed to be made aware of our lawn care offerings at Bloom Lawn and Landscape. Hundreds of new Christmas light clients would sign up for Christmas lights without knowing we could mow their grass. We needed to rebrand to represent best who we are as a company. As painful as it was, we had to kill the name Wildwood Christmas Lights. You would be right if you thought that Wildwood Christmas Lights was a fat caterpillar and Bloom Lights is the butterfly!  

So here we are in our first full year with our new shiny brand. Formerly, we were two companies with very disjointed brands and looks, but now welded under the common banner of Bloom Lawn and Lights. For various reasons, we still have two distinct companies and two websites, Bloomlawn.com and Bloom-lights.com. When you see our trucks, you will see the brand representing both companies, Bloom Lawn and Lights. But rest assured, from glowing to growing, we have you covered.

The 80/20 Principle and Your Beautiful Home

When you wonder if you need a new suit, you can ask your tailor for an expected answer. If you are considering getting landscape lighting, you have come to the right place to help tip the scales in the right direction. Be warned that this is landscape lighting propaganda, but if you hear me out, you may find some points of interest. 

I'm getting ready to build a house, and the costs are exceedingly more than expected. The total costs are going up even from when the planning began. I am increasingly sensitive to gauging what costs will have a more significant impact than others. Where should I cut back, and where should I spend more?  

Richard Koch wrote a fantastic book, The 80/20 Principle, based on the Pareto principle. This principle states that 80% of the consequences are generated by 20% of the causes. Let’s point out a few simple examples. 20% of your relationships generate 80% or more of your relationship value and satisfaction. 20% of the kids at school generate 80% of the trips to the principal's office. 20% of stocks in a portfolio generate 80% of the growth. You get it. 

When thinking about your home, how it looks, and how the house makes you feel, there are some areas where, if done right, can create an outsized result. 

Before diving into the specifics of where one may best spend their money on their home's appearance, let's take a step back and underscore why your home looking its best is good for everyone. Your home is more than a shelter to check off Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It's a statement about who you are. When you pull into your driveway at night, a beautiful home reinforces the fruit of your hard work and gives a feeling of sanctuary and solidarity. Your home looking great is an ingredient that fuels your sense of well-being and offers a powerful subconscious confirmation towards being on the right track. 

For all the reasons why we keep our kitchens clean, power wash our houses, and reluctantly organize the garage, the appearance of our environment has a profound effect on us. Our behaviors flow from how we see ourselves. That is a profound statement, but it is profoundly true. The more successful we feel about ourselves, the more confidence we build toward perpetuating success. In The Power of Habit by James Clear, one of the most powerful themes of the book states every action is a vote for our identity. When our house is clean and orderly, we feel better about life and ourselves. This is not a small point. The appearance of your most frequented environment has a rippling effect on your life and behavior. Take, for example, the broken window theory in how New York reduced crime by fixing broken windows and targeting vandalism. When the city began to look better, a natural respect began to build, and a reciprocation that occurred translated into less overall crime. This is an identity issue. My point in having a beautiful home has less to do with how others see the homeowner and more with how the homeowner feels about themselves. When a constant reinforcing message of excellence and success is broadcasted from where you spend a large part of your time, your behavior will bend up or down per the standard you tolerate. 

When I go to Disney World, I get emotional, not because of how much fun the rides will be, but because of the immaculate, beautiful care taken to make the place perfect. The details matter here, and Disney figured it out. The intricate flower arrangements, the fresh paint, and the pavement that can be used as a lunch plate inspire and elevate our mood and general well-being. Disney World motivates and inspires me.

To behold true, beautiful excellence is the reward itself, overcompensating for whatever energy and expense are used to create it. 

When spending money on elevating your home’s appearance, we can name a long list of options, such as upgrading the driveway and sidewalk with pavers, overhauling your landscape beds, or adding stone or brick to the exterior. All the gigantic expenses I will incur with building my home will be completely unrecognizable after the sun goes down. In my utterly biased opinion, adding landscape lighting to illuminate your beautiful home at night is a 20% comparatively lower cost item that will generate a very outsized glamorizing result. 

A typical landscape lighting plan for a 3000 square foot home will use 10-15 fixtures, costing between $3500 and $5000 depending on the fixtures used and the control box. With the improvements in lights over the past ten years, you can expect a hassle-free experience for 7-10 years without worrying about changing a bulb. Many companies, like mine, offer a maintenance plan to bi-annually adjust the lights and prune back tree and shrub growth for optimal illumination. 

For the more progressive, permanent lighting options are available to be installed in the facia of your home. Our Gemstone permanent lighting program lets our clients control the color of their exterior lights using their phones. During Halloween, you can change your lights to orange or any pattern of colors you fancy. Our Gemstone lights can make programmed patterns like a yellow Pacman chasing another color light across your home at night. It's a fantastic product with extreme control functionality. A basic permanent lighting package should cost between $4000 and $7000, depending on how many linear feet of roof line you have. 

How you feel about your home and the message of beautiful excellence communicated about who you are will be compounded at night as your co-workers arrive at your swanky cheese and wine gathering. Sure, add stone to your exterior and get one of those cool bubbling rocks for your landscape bed, but seriously, consider giving your lovely home some night lights. 

Brown M&M’s and The Best Christmas Light Installer

Growing up, I would hear funny stories about pretentious famous people demanding to have a white limousine waiting for them with sparkling water chilled to a perfect 39 degrees.   Recently, my view on these urban legends was turned completely upside down when I learned the genius back story of Van Halen's demand for no brown M&Ms.  In the band’s contract, it was specified to have a bowl of M&M’s backstage waiting with absolutely no brown M&M’s.  This request was a strategic move to learn if the venue was detailed enough to fully capture all the contract requirements.

If a venue failed to understand the details of the candy preference, there was a much higher likelihood the details for the sound system requirements or stage specifications were overlooked.  In reality, Van Halen may have canceled only one show over a brown M&M, but there were many occasions where Van Halen’s team triple-checked everything upon seeing the brown candy.  

Similarly, when hiring a Christmas Light Company, there are clues you can find just like the Brown M&Ms.  Here is a simple list that may help sort out the great from the bad and ugly.  

The company’s trucks.  If a company does not have vehicles that are presentable with clear and clean branding, there is a good chance the company does not put energy into the little extra stuff to be excellent.  The less-than-stellar vehicle image could result from financial stress or just a disregard towards the value of aesthetics.  There is a greater chance a company caring to keep their trucks clean and presentable will also care about the details of your Christmas Light install. 

Google Reviews and Referrals.  We all had to start somewhere with no reputation.  Helping someone start business is one thing, but putting blind faith into a stranger to safely scale your roof and configure an intricate network of electrical wires is another.  If you can not find a massive amount of Google reviews or neighbors who are multi year rave fans, you may be signing up to have a lights out Christmas party.  For companies new to the industry, even if they have experience with other lines of service, have ten times the risk of making an error that results in having non-functional or unattractive lights on your home.   There is a seemingly endless list of what could go wrong with a Christmas Light display, but here are a few of the most common problems I have seen.   

• Putting too many bulbs on one power supply, overloading the circuit. 

• Using inexpensive clips not suited to last the whole season. 

• Leaving cut wire ends exposed, causing breakers to trip.

• Setting up timers incorrectly where half the house comes on a few hours before the other half.

• Not planning the installation correctly where the roof peaks do not have a bulb centered makes the lights look crooked and awkward at night. 

• Using old cheap incandescent bulbs to save money, but the bulbs burn out frequently and sometimes create a potential fire hazard.  

Was the Quoting Process Easy, Fast, and Thorough? Suppose the company has a smooth process for quoting your display with excellent communication around the process. In that case, there is a very great chance the same company has also taken the steps to be thorough with the most important part of the installation process: Safety! Picking a Christmas light contractor differs from picking someone to trim your shrubs.  Standing 30 feet off the ground with a bundle of lights carries inherent safety concerns.  If your Christmas light company is not organized, there will undoubtedly be shortcomings in their safety procedures.  

Christmas lights do something for me emotionally.  They help us all transition into one of the absolute best times of the year.  Those lights on all our houses bubble up warm, beautiful memories of the best times we have spent with those closest to us.  If you ask me, everyone should put lights on their house and celebrate as a community.  Christmas lights bring an irreplaceable texture to the Holidays, and picking the right contractor will ensure you spend Christmas thinking about great Aunt Judy and her famous jello bundt instead of leaving desperate unanswered voicemails because your lights are out.