The neighorhood Xmas decorating race has begun!! (Austin, Plano: houses, neighborhood)

[ROckjaw]

OK, I have to admit that I love this time of the year and my little ones are so fun and excited with all the lights and decorations.... that said, coming from the mid-west, I am used to doing the Lowes type of lights and such.... however, I recall that when we arrived here in mid-Dec last year, I was wowed by the level of holiday decorating that I see in the area.....

Any ideas as to the average cost of having a vendor hang commercial quality exterior lights along the perimeter roof line of a big 2 story house?

Do people buy the lights from the vendor and then keep them for yearly use?

Is it common to "rent" the whole getup and just pay for the turn-key install and take-down?

Thanks in advance for your perspectives,

RJ

[5stones]

Most of the companies that I have seen charge a fee for set up and take down. They own the lights, wreaths etc... you just pay for what you want and they come and install and then come back and remove it.
Just be sure they know what they are doing and are bonded. 2 years ago we had friends whose house caught fire and burned down because the installer over loaded the circut!

We do it ourselves and AFTER Thanksgiving! We had several houses in our neighborhood get them installed last weekend! One neighbor even has thier tree up AND lights it up every night!

[nonexpat]

We moved away from Plano last year, and I have to say I haven't found a neighborhood in Austin that compares to Deerfield for Christmas lights. Now I'm living in Albuquerque, so we will see what we have here.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by nonexpat

We moved away from Plano last year, and I have to say I haven't found a neighborhood in Austin that compares to Deerfield for Christmas lights. Now I'm living in Albuquerque, so we will see what we have here.

You're going to see a lot of luminaries, Santos, and chili pepper garland for New Mexican Christmas. I would get it out of your mind now that you will see anything "traditional" (well, American suburbia traditional) in Albuquerque.

It's really pretty though! I adore Santa Fe & NM, and Christmas is the absolute best time to visit!