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Twinkle! The Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Christmas Decorating – AVAILABLE NOW!Twinkle! The Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Christmas Decorating

Twinkle! The Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Christmas Decorating – AVAILABLE NOW!

Published by darrenv on October 23, 2024

WHOOP! We finally made it! Twinkle! The Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Christmas Decorating is available now in eBook and paperback. You can grab the kindle or paperback version from Amazon, the ebook version from just about anywhere you find ebooks, and both versions are available directly from The Christmas Light Emporium as well.

For those of you who have asked about acquiring a signed copy. We will have about 200 signed copies available as soon as the paperback edition goes live at The Christmas Light Emporium  on about November 7th or so.

It’s been a long road and a lot of work, but I am thrilled with the result and think you will be too. I have a million things I want to add for the second edition already! And THANK YOU to all the folks who helped make Twinkle! a reality. I am forever grateful.

Sign up for my email list and I’ll keep you posted on special perks from the various brands that I own including The Christmas Light Emporium, Oak & Sugar Premium Craft Beverage Co., and The Costume Emporium.

I’ll also be posting additional content relative to Twinkle! Including illustrations and examples of some of the more complex sections of the book, expanded video content on some topics, lists of resources, etc. So if you really want to take your Christmas decorating game to the next level. Stay tuned!

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Twinkle Update

Published by darrenv on September 13, 2024

Just a quick update. I am finishing up round 3 of editing on Twinkle! I am working hard to get everything wrapped up so this great resource can be available to decorators for the decorating season! I anticipate editing to be complete within the next two weeks.

Illustrations and layout are in progress, alongside editing. I am hoping to have the print edition ready for this season as well as the eBook version – and if I’m lucky, maybe even the audiobook version!

You’ll be the first to know when and where it is available.

D.

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What’s Your Story?

Published by darrenv on July 12, 2024

I am looking for great stories from Christmas decorators for potential inclusion in my new book, Twinkle!: The Ultimate Guide to outdoor Christmas Decorating.

I expect the book to be ready for editing by around the end of August, so send me your stories quickly!

The book will include quotes from decorators about why you do what you do. I want to know the story of our display and why you decorate. I want to know your favorite stories about people who have visited your display. I want to know how many smiles and memories you have helped create. I want to know about the charities that benefit because of your important work as a decorator. Whatever story you have, I want to hear it!

Send Your Stories to:
darren@iam.christmas

Everyone who submits a story will get a free PDF version of the book when it comes out!

If your story is used in the book, I’ll send you a printed copy too!

Stay up to date on theBooks progress:
www.iam.christmas

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Announcing: CRUSHING CHRISTMAS!

Announcing: CRUSHING CHRISTMAS!

Published by darrenv on July 1, 2024

I’m stoked to announce a new project we’ve undertaken at The Christmas Light Emporium: CRUSHING CHRISTMAS!

CRUSHING CHRISTMAS! is a video series – of video shorts – in which we destroy all of your favorite Christmas lighting and decorations with a hydraulic press.

I cannot tell you how much fun this is to produce 🙂

Check it out at the CRUSHING CHRISTMAS! Playlist on Youtube.

Or follow along on any of our social channels at The Christmas Light Emporium

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Guess Who Has Agreed to Write the Foreword for Twinkle!?

Guess Who Has Agreed to Write the Foreword for Twinkle!?

Published by darrenv on June 4, 2024

I could go on and on about the early days of being an Extreme decorator. Few people have been doing extreme Christmas decorating as long as I have. There was a time when all of the extreme light show decorators in the US knew each other. Because there were, like, 11 of us. All of those early extreme decorators are people you’ve probably heard if you’ve been around the Christmas decorating circles for a while.

But one man has been Christmas decorating longer than anyone I know. Chuck Smith. The founder of PlanetChristmas. PlanetChristmas is the foundation upon which every single ‘mini’ event in existence today was built. If you don’t know what a ‘mini’ is, read Chapter 2 when Twinkle! comes out 🙂

I am completely humbled that Chuck has agreed to write the foreword for Twinkle!

It’s another exciting piece of news as I work hard to bring this vision to life!

Stay tuned!

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Twinkle! The Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Christmas DecoratingTwinkle! The Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Christmas Decorating

Twinkle! The Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Christmas Decorating

Published by darrenv on May 23, 2024

I’ve been a Christmas fanatic since I was a kid. My love of Christmas turned me into an extreme decorator as an adult. Being an early adopter of Christmas lighting technology brought me opportunities to create extravagant displays for commercial projects. I founded the first company in the United States to specialize exclusively in the design and installation of synchronized Christmas light and music shows for the commercial market. Over the course of about 12 years we designed and installed huge light shows for folks like Cesar Millan, Six Flags, The Atlanta Braves, and NASA along with dozens and dozens of Zoos, parks, cities, shopping centers  and other commercial venues all over the world.

I sold that company (www.extremelightscapes.com) a couple of years ago so I could focus on growing my eCommerce business, The Christmas Light Emporium. Now I get to help tons of other folks create displays, both commercial and residential, that create memories, make people smile, and, ultimately, create more joy in the world!

I’ve always wanted to write this book! I have such a huge passion for Christmas decorating. And through decades of designing and building displays all over the world and providing products to other folks for building their dream displays – I have learned A LOT!

That’s what this book is all about – getting all the great information out of my head and into yours! I started writing it a few months ago and am *almost* finish with the draft. Then into editing and eventually (hopefully before the end of the summer!) it will go to print and be ready to share with you!

The first outline I wrote would have resulted in a book that was about 800-1,000 pages long. I didn’t think anybody would want to read all that (and it would never get finished!), so I decided to focus on the basics of outdoor decorating for the home decorators – and/or those of you who want to learn how to do your own Christmas decorating.

I can’t wait to share it with you!

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Christmas Celebrities are On Board for Twinkle!

Christmas Celebrities are On Board for Twinkle!

Published by darrenv on May 4, 2024

I realized as I started working on Twinkle! – that I know A LOT of people in the world of Christmas. So I started making a list of folks who I thought 1) would love to participate in some way and 2) who had a story to tell that readers of Twinkle! would enjoy.

I’m happy to say that almost everyone I’ve reached out to is super excited to contribute! We’ll have stories, quotes, tips & tricks from contestants and winners of The Great Christmas Light Fight, folks who produce some of the most famous displays in the world, tips & tricks from some of the largest and most experienced professional Christmas light installers in the United States, and a ton of stories from decorators just like you and me!

This is exciting!

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