5 Gadgets to Create The Ultimate Holiday Lights Display

By Brett McKay (from The Art of Manliness) on December 12, 2011

In the classic holiday movie, Christmas Vacation, hapless holiday hero Clark Griswold sets out to create the ultimate Christmas light display with 250 strands of lights with 100 bulbs on each strand (that's 250,000 lights for those who are counting). After a few hilarious accidents and setbacks, Clark succeeds in creating a home light display that's so awesomely powerful that the local power plant has to turn on their auxiliary nuclear generator.

To help create a home holiday light display that would make Clark Griswold jealous, we suggest the following five Christmas light enhancers.

LED Lights

LED (light emitting diode) lights are the latest development in Christmas light technology. Some people swear that LED's just don't emit the warm, firelike glow that traditional incandescent Christmas lights do. I'll admit that I'm in that camp, but I'm slowly converting to Christmas LED lights for a variety of reasons. First, they're much more energy efficient (no need to flip on those auxiliary nuclear generators) than traditional Christmas lights, and they last a lot longer. Plus, because they use less energy and heat, they're much safer than traditional Christmas lights.

And it should be noted that advancements in LED technology are bringing the light quality closer and closer to the look of the old incandescent bulbs. In the meantime, be sure to choose the warm white LED lights which have a more yellowish incandescent-esque glow over the cool white ones (unless you prefer the sharp, bluish, icy look they provide).
This video is very helpful for illuminating the difference between the two:

$15-$30

Light Keeper Pro

It's the bane of every person who hangs Christmas lights on their house. They spend hours meticulously planning and hanging their lights only to find that none of them light up when they flip the switch. Often the cause is just a single bad bulb. Finding that bulb can drive a person batty.

To save you time and sanity, consider investing in a Light Keeper Pro. It's designed to test and fix mini Christmas lights. While the individual light tester is pretty handy, the Light Keeper Pro's main feature is its piezoelectric zapper. You simply attach the Light Keeper Pro to a string of dead lights, pull the trigger, and it sends a high voltage pulse down the string. This pulse activates dead shunts in burnt out bulbs (the cause of dead light strings), allowing all the good bulbs to light up.

$20

Mr. Christmas Year-Round Outdoor Lighted Panoramic Motion Projector

For those who are too lazy to hang up lights or want to supplement their light display with even more razzle dazzle, the Mr. Christmas Motion Projector has got you covered. Just plant the projector in your front yard and aim it at your house to turn your boring siding into a canvas for an illuminated light show. When you flip the switch, snowflakes and Christmas ornaments will cascade softly down your house. You can use the Mr. Christmas projector year round to project things like the Stars and Stripes, for those who experience Christmas light withdrawal syndrome in July.
$125

Mr. Christmas Lights & Sounds of Christmas

Want to kick your Christmas light display up a notch? Then synchronize your light show with Christmas music. The ingenious folks at Mr. Christmas have created a light and sound system that allows you to synchronize your Christmas lights with over 20 classic Christmas tunes.

Here it is in action:

$129

FM Transmitter

Your neighbors may not be too keen about the Christmas music blasting from your Mr. Christmas machine. And passers-by, gazing at your magnificent display of lights and sounds from behind rolled up car windows will probably barely be able to hear it. Fix both problems by hacking your Mr. Christmas device by adding a FM transmitter. People who drive by will then be able to tune in on their car radios and hear the music loud and clear (be sure to place a sign in your yard to let them know what station to turn to).

$65

[Image Credits: Hannamariah / Shutterstock.com]

What other tools do you use to create your holiday light spectacle? Share them with us in the comments.

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Founded in January 2008, The Art of Manliness is a blog focused on reviving the lost art of manliness. With over 5 million monthly page views, The Art of Manliness represents a new kind of magazine for men, one that focuses on helping men become better citizens, fathers, husbands, friends, and simply all around better men. Husband and wife team, Brett and Kate McKay head up the up the blog. They live in Tulsa, OK.