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7000 hits to the website on 11/15/2010!
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The questions we get asked the most
What are those lights in your trees and where did you get them?
The lights that you see up in the trees continue to be one of the most popular elements of Christmas in the O.C. These lights are called many different things - meteor tubes, snow tubes, snowfall tubes, LED dripping lights, and whatever name you may have given them. We just call them snow tubes and they are low voltage LED lights that resemble the effect of falling snow. We rented a boom lift back in October to help us place the lights as high up in the trees as we could - the lift was also much more safe than last year when we basically risked life and limb using ladders and gravity to get those things up there!
Now, the coolest thing about our tubes which make them completely unlike any others that you might can purchase is that as a group, we designed every aspect of these tubes to best fit our light displays. We then had the tubes manufactured to our specifications from by a factory in China. Christmas crazies, like us, get together and get together through group buys - allowing us to save a good bit of money. We actually were in charge of running the group buy. Over 20 individuals participated in the group buy and we ordered close to a thousand tubes. DHL delivered a shipment of 9 very large crates to our doorstep direct from China. We sorted through all of the tubes, packaged them up, and sent them out to all of the participants of the group buy. It was a very successful adventure and the tubes that you see up in the trees are one of a kind!
You will notice that the falling effect is not the same every time - there are three different patterns that ensure that the lights are never in sync. This is what provides that kind of magical dream-like impact - one visitor actually said that she felt like she was in a snow globe and has visited many times just staring up at the sky.
So, where can you get some snow tubes? You probably will not be able to find tubes exactly like ours, but there are some very similar products on the market that you can purchase. I am pretty confident that in a couple of years, these tubes will be produced in mass quantities and sold at Walmart and Home Depot. Actually, you will notice that Walmart actually sells something similar but are much shorter in length (and I think they are available online only). You can perform a google search using meteor tubes or snowfall tubes and you will find some retailers in the US who sell them. Just make sure that you purchase the power transformer and the lights. I have noticed that some sites sell them separately. I also suggest that you check the specifications to make sure that the tubes are spaced far enough apart to suit your requirements - you may have to purchase extension cables to get your desired length.
Are the candy canes different this year?
Yes, this year we are using RGB pixels. And, since we learned so much about ordering products directly from China doing the group buy for the snow tubes, we ordered the pixels direct from China this year. Last year, each candy cane had over 2500 lights. They weighed close to 25 pounds. This year, each of the candy canes have 150 pixels. We did recycle the pvc candy canes from last year and added some tinsel to disperse the light a bit better.
These pixels sure are bright! And, being RGB, the candy canes can now be any color of the rainbow! Christmas in the O.C. is one of the first displays in the world (yes, there are Christmas crazies outside of the US) to incorporate this new technology.