The Rest of the Story
Decorating for Christmas bas been a lifelong passion for Michael. Growing up in eastern Iowa, his parent's let him decorate their farm each Christmas. While his light display started small with just a few hundred lights, it quickly grew. With his Dad's help, Michael was taught how to wire outlets and even add circuits to the breaker box to power everything. In elementary school Michael and his display were profiled in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
One of Logan's fondest Christmas traditions was getting out of elementary school early to go with his immediate and extended family to pick out a Christmas tree. After the 12' tree was chosen, cut, and carried into his grandparents house they would spend the night eating Tavern pizza and decorating. It was always the start of the Holiday season for him and his family.
In 2019, Michael and Logan purchased their current home. One of Michael's 'must haves' when moving was for the home to be on a trafficked street so people could see his display. During a remodel, electrical circuits and outlets were installed specifically to accommodate the display you see today!
In Memory
In 2021, Michael lost his father in an accident on the family farm.
The tree in the front yard was planted in his memory.
The Heritage Oak tree was a meaningful choice: Heritage being his character, work ethic, and memories; and Oak having been his favorite wood to use while woodworking and making furniture.
To honor the big role his dad played in Michael's Christmas passion, special attention is paid to this tree. Each year the tree is decorated differenly than the rest of the display. This year, the tree boasts the only incandescent lights used (except Rudolf's nose).
The peacock sitting at the foot of the tree is also a tribute.
His dad filled the family farm with curious animals like
Texas longhorn cattle, emus, and peacocks for mere enjoyment.
How Does Santa Fly?
This time lapse shows the process to get Santa flying with his reindeer. In normal time it took about 90 minutes and went without a hitch. A boat winch on the chimney is used to hoist the set into the air. What isn't shown is the detour to clean the leaves out of the gutters - ha.
artificial Trees
The trees in the yard are made with PVC pipes, fence posts, zip ties, landscape stakes, S hooks, and lights.
The central post is a 2-inch PVC pipe slipped over a fence post in the ground and range from 5-10 feet tall.
The bottom ring is two half inch PVC pipes bent into a circle shape and staked to the ground in 3-4 spots.
Starting at the base, the lights are zip tied and zig-zag from bottom ring up to the S hooks on the central post. Lights on the ring are spaced about 8 inches a part.
