Christmas at the McKinneys'
A Long-awaited Dream Come True
2006 Static Display
Here is what our house looked
like decorated for Christmas
before the animation bug took
hold.
Hoisting Santa and Reindeer
Santa used to sit on the roof at
our old house but now he is
being hung between the house
and the tree so he can fly.
Steve McKinney has always been an avid
Christmas lights fanatic.  He has had
great static displays for years, even
making sure that his various extended
family also had lights on their homes.  But
ever since he saw animated musical
Christmas displays featured on TV, he
dreamed of one day creating his own.  
He began to study the varied and
fascinating You Tube videos that showcase
amazing lighting extravaganzas and unique
displays done by those who have paved the
way for others who, like Steve, dreamed
of entertaining their friends, neighbors and
visitors with dancing Christmas lights.
2007 - The Year to Begin
In August of 2007, Steve finally succumbed
to the urge and bought a couple of
controllers from Animated Lighting in Kansas
City.  At that point he was told that he'd
better purchase stock shows, programs that
had already been created, because it was
too late in the season to start doing his own
programming.  August seemed early enough
to him but he bought stock shows anyway
and began to haunt local and online resources
for the lights he would use.  
Most of what he bought were LED strings of
red, blue, green and white with a few
incandescent strings and nets to go along
with what he already owned.  Target and
the local ACE Hardware stores were his
favorite neighborhood distributors, but even
the local grocery store proved a good spot
for picking up stray boxes of LEDs.  
And thus began the saga of a determined
holiday fanatic who managed to create an
exciting, colorful, musical Christmas show
right in his own front yard...and which
grew, that first year, to include that of his
next-door neighbor!
2007 Animated Display
This view shows a lot of the
changes.  It's hard to get the full
effect without actually seeing
the animation set to music.
2007  The Beginning