Yes, we had our little boy Collin on the 13th and all is well... All that does is make me have to do all the xmas light stuff late in the evening. As far as the freaking out, we run our opening night as a show, where 60 kids from a shelter come to see the show. Last year we had close to 400 people on opening night and I had a controller go down,,, nobody else noticed it but you know I did. This year we are going to have security come as we are expecting close to 600. We raised 2300.00 on opening night last year.
Opening night is cool because we do it in play format, where a little girl narrates the show and asks for different things. This year she will be asking for a white christmas and we will run that part like this
Little girl: Mr Brad, I really want a white christmas this year
Me: Ok here you go,,, I will light up the house and start the song white xmas
Little girl: stop the music, stop the music.... Mr Brad, I want a real white xmas
Me: OK, how about this,,, Key 5 500 gram white fireworks
Little Girl: Mr Brad, that was just loud and abnoxous, you know what I mean
Me: Not sure I do, but how about this... I than light up 5 surrounding houses thanks to the Lynx wireless and start white xmas
Little Girl: Stop the music again, stop the music... What on earth have you done, wasnt it enough to take over your house with lights, now you are taking over other peoples?
Me: Well my wife told me I couldnt put any more lights on my house, so I decided to expand my empire of lights and put them on others... not sure how she is going to take this, but I did follow instructions
Little Girl: Well there goes the neighborhood... But you are not getting off that easy... I really want a white christmas
Me: alright, let me try one more time... key the snow
The whole show has these little areas, and I think it is entertaining, and brings a new flare to a christmas show. The only problem with having an open night like this is that there is no room for error... So I think I bring on a little more stress than everyone else,,, but to see the smiles on those kids faces, makes it all worth it.
I hope that everyone uses there displays this year to help someone out. With the economy in the dumps, we are the Santa Clauses of our society,,, and we have the opportunity to change the way someone feels, even if it is for just one night... Merry Xmas to all.