2008 Christmas Display

Christmas 2008 Display

Welcome to our Christmas display for 2008!
We added a lot of lights this year and some
more control to take the display to the next level.

SONGS FOR 2008:
(Click on the links to see the videos.
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"Hark the Herald Angels Sing" by Mannheim Steamroller.
This is a song we edited the trumpet intro onto (from another
Mannheim song- the trumpet intro makes Ryan think of his Uncle
Jimmy whenever he hears it. Uncle Jimmy is a great musician
and loves Christmas almost as much as Ryan does!).
Great tune to start the show off with.

"A Christmas Festival" by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops.
We used this last year, and at 8 and a half minutes it was quite
a job to get the sequencing done. This is a fantastic orchestra-
only medley of Christmas songs.

"Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight)" by the Ramones.
The Ramones are cool! And while they've done quite a few
Christmas songs, this one moves with a quick tempo, lending
itself to some rapid lighting changes.

"Good King Joy" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
A staple in TSO's concerts, this version has the middle vocal
section removed (by Ryan). Quiet and moving at the start of the
"Good King Wencenslas" part, it blasts off when it moves
into "Joy to the World".

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Miley Cyrus.
Ryan let the girls pick one song each this year and Hayley
picked Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana (of course!).
Many of the kids who come to see the show love this tune,
so it wasn't a bad pick after all.

"Traditions of Christmas" by Mannheim Steamroller.
This is not a well-known tune, but last year Ryan decided to
sequence the lights to it. Chip Davis (founder of Mannheim)
says that he wrote this song to let people recall (through
song) the memories of Christmas. It's soft and soothing
and the visitors the past two years have enjoyed it.

"Jingle Bell Rock" by Alvin & the Chipmunks.
The girls love the Chipmunks, so it made sense that Riley's
pick for a sequenced song was this classic by Alvin, Simon &
Theodore. This is another favorite of the kids and also seems
to bring a smile to many of the adults as well.

"O Come All Ye Faithful/O Holy Night" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
The second song in the show from TSO. This was the first new
song that Ryan decided to incorporate into the show for 2008.

"Believe in Holiday Magic" by Kellie Coffey.
This is a song that Disney used in their holiday show at
Disney World a few years back. A very long song (just under
10 minutes) with some different Christmas songs included.
Very nice vocal at the start and the end with a great
medley of music in the middle of the song.

"The House on Christmas Street" by Judy Pancoast.
True story about this late addition: Judy made a generous offer
to some of the people that do large displays. She offered to send
50 of the CD singles from her song so that people could hand them out to visitors and help promote the song. That was early fall. Unfortunately, there was some sort of production issue so the CDs didn't come. Ryan decided not to do the song. Then, at noon on Christmas Eve, Rachel called Ryan and told him that the CDs had arrived. Ryan came home at 3pm and did the entire sequence in 2 hours! It was in the show that night and people have really
enjoyed it. Thanks Judy (but don't do that to us again!)

The house during the day for 2008. We moved the North Poles from the end of the sidewalk to cover the entire perimeter of the yard. We also moved it back about three feet from the edge of the
street, to allow people who walk by to watch without standing in
the street. Seemed that most people liked the new lay out.

Our inflatables for 2008 (we removed a few of the smaller ones
from last year (Elmo and Tigger) and lost three to wind during the
season (Mickey as Santa, Noel, and a 4 foot red ornament):

The left side of the front yard...

Inflatable Teddy Bear..

Our 6 foot snowglobe- the center point of the left front yard...

Snoopy as Santa...

The 8 foot carousel on the right side of the front yard...

The Moose family...

A green four foot ornament...

Frosty the Snowman and his Christmas tree...

The North Pole perimeter on the right side of the yard...

The two radio signs are below...

Picture from across the street...

Front of the house during the daytime...

The front of the house, with a close-up on the arches...

The biggest addition was that we added red and green light strings along with the multi-colored lights that were put up last year. This allowed for more color control of the house during songs.

Below is the pictures of the lights right after installation...