Crazy Christmas Lights

I came across this on a Myspace bumper sticker first, then found the video on Youtube. Most of us have already seen the house that synchronizes its Christmas lights to Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizards in Winter," but little did I know that they're not the only family who does this. I also found another one featuring Candy Apple Punch's techno version of "Jingle Bells."

Because I've seen so many similar videos, I was curious as to how these people pull off such an impressive display every year. The Youtube videos had a link to the family's website, so I decided to explore a little.

The Holdman family has been doing this for the past couple of years -- in 2006 and 2007 from their home in a gated community in Utah. However, traffic, safety and privacy concerns forced the family to relocate the 2008 display to Richard Holdman's parents' house in Lindon, Utah. The display is currently up and running, with over $600 collected for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah as of December 11.

Richard Holdman sees the annual light display as a way to combine his love of Christmas lights, music and computers to create a unique product.

Facts about the light display (taken from www.holdman.com)

The entire display is 100% wind powered. The Holdmans power the display using power provided by the local power company, and then replace the power back onto the grid with wind turbines. The display uses about 1800 kwH of power and 3000 kwH is replaced by the wind turbines.

The 2008 display uses about 150,000 lights. This is an increase from 45,000 lights used in 2007.

If every light in the display was on, it would consume about 33,000 watts of electricity. However, because the display is animated, only about 30 percent of the lights are in use at one time, which conserves power. During the Christmas season in 2007, the light display only added about $100 to the Holdmans' electric bill.

Everything in the display is controlled with software and hardware (user programmable light controllers, etc.) from Light-O-Rama. The display also uses about 7,000 feet of extension cords.

Richard Holdman estimated with the money he has spent on Christmas lights for his displays, he "could have bought a few 4-wheelers instead." He added that he tries to buy most of his lights for the next year after Christmas, when they are 50 to 75 percent off.

Definitely a lofty goal for the most avid of holiday decorators.