Friday, December 19, 2008
We have successfully completed another year of Christmas Lighting installs in Maryland and the greater D.C. area. Believe it or not, we just did another one today, 6 days before Christmas. We are happy to install up to the 24th of December for those of you who are reading this blog and have not installed lights yet! However, we guessing that we are just about done installing and now just move into servicing the lights and removing them after Christmas and the New Year has passed.
Many of you do not know that we do not just install Christmas Lights! We are also professional painting contractors servicing Frederick, Howard, and Montgomery County. Our goal is to provide the best painting services you can find for your home with a friendly staff of painters and very competitive prices. When you contact our company for painting services, we'll show up on time to give you a written estimate, give you a scheduled date and finish your painting project as promised.
If you have not hired us for painting, consider getting to know us by hiring us for a day. We started what we are calling a "Painter For a Day" where you can get touch-ups or small painting projects done by one of our master painters. The cost is only $570 for the entire day including 1 gallon of paint!
Whether it is Christmas lights, painting or remodeling, please let Hallco Enterprises because your service company for life! We love what we do, and we hope you can experience the way we do business.
Hallco Painting / 1-301-831-3679
Thursday, December 18, 2008
We can't remember the last time we had so much rain in December. Rain and water is a good thing, most of the time. However, Christmas Lights do not like them, or better yet, Electricity does not like them. We have had quite a bit of service calls for lights going out during the raining nights and wanted to bring to your attention why this is happening.
Most newer homes have a GFI box, which is the small outlet with the reset and test buttons on them. These boxes are installed on the exterior of homes by law. A GFI protects against fires and other electrical problems by shutting off if moisture gets near the electrical outlet. If too much rain gets the box wet, the Christmas lights will go out. Sometimes a homeowner will get lucky and the GFI boxes will not shut off.
We wish there was an easy or inexpensive solution to this problem, but there is not. The best way to prevent lights from going out is to have a dedicated circuit installed on your home that is just for Christmas lights. This can typically be done for around $250 in most cases. The new circuit can hopefully be installed where it is protected from rain and help avoid the GFI boxes "tripping."
If your lights go out during the Christmas season and we have installed the lights, please email or call us. We typically will come the next business day to fix the lights. To save time, you can also push the reset button on your electrical outlet and that should do the trick!
888-95-DECOR
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Having a professional Christmas lighting service company hang your lights might be something new for many of you. Maybe you just love untangling last years lights or installing all of the lights only to find out that the middle strand does not work. If you are tired of checking to see if lights still work or trying to locate where the end of the light strand is amongst the tangled web of lights, you may be interested in Christmas Decor by Hallco.
Christmas Decor of Maryland provides and services the lights for your home, and you don't have to do a thing. You don't need to own the lights! Why would you want to anyways? Do you really want to stand in line at Walmart to purchase 2 strands of new lights? The lights we provide are leased to you during the Christmas season. We take care of burned out bulbs and make sure your lights don't get tangled up when we take them down and store them at our secure facility for next season. Each season, we take your lights out of their box, change light bulbs, replace damaged strands and make sure your lighting display is in top-knotch working order!
I just recently signed up a new FLH (frustrated light hanger) in Ellicott City this week after he shared with me a very funny story. Mr. Robinson is responsible for doing a lighting display at his home each year. How did he start? He went to Target, purchased a few netting lights and other strands and threw them on his shrubs and trees as quickly as possible. The one thing he hates the most? Taking those lights down and storing them. So, after Christmas, he yanks the lights off his bushes, rolls them up in a ball, stuffs them in a storage box and throws them in storage for the next Christmas season. The next season, he pulls the tangled web of lights out of storage and says, "No way am I untangling those lights!" He tosses the lights and starts all over each season! Mr. Robinson, like so many others, said this year, "No more! I'm hiring professionals to hang their own lights! I'm done!"
888-95-DECOR
Monday, December 08, 2008
As a designer for Christmas Decor, I am always trying to find ways to encourage local businesses and homeowners to have Christmas lights installed by professionals. Even if one does not hire a professional, he or she should still put some types of lights and decorations up! Christmas brings so many smiles to people's faces, especially children.
Last Friday evening, I took my family out for dinner to a small family restaurant in New Market, MD. I have 3 small children, two of which are old enough to get very excited about Christmas. As we walked in the front entrance of Mallards Restaurant, my kids noticed the well-lit Christmas tree and all the beautiful decorations. They were so excited the entire evening we were at the restaurant, and I think the Christmas tree and other lights had a lot to do with their happiness, as we had a very late dinner (close to their bedtime). They somehow got a second wind to stay up and enjoy the time!
Last night, on our way home from a church fellowship, my oldest all the way home kept saying "Look Daddy! Look! Christmas Lights! I see them, Daddy! I see them!!!! Ohhhhh!!!"
If you are a local business owner or a homeowner, please put up lights, not just a wreath or some garland. Almost every commercial center I've been to this year decided not to do lights and only a few wreaths. Wreaths do not cause kids to get excited. It is the lights that come alive and get everyone excited about Christmas! If you need help installing, we'd love to help! We've got everything you need for the perfect display.
Here are two quotes from 2008 customers that mentioned children:
"The lights look great and have had fabulous reviews from our neighbors. All the neighborhood kids love them and we do too. Thanks for taking our small order!" -The Salem Residence, Silver Spring, MD
"Very pretty. The little boy across the street said "your house looks awesome !" – Brandes, NW D.C.
888-95-DECOR
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Believe it or not, this week and next are some of the best times to install Christmas lights! It is not too late. We still have a date to install your custom lighting display! Please email or call as soon as possible to make sure you have the opportunity to experience our service. We do everything from designing the perfect display, install the lights professional, takedown and will even store them for you!
We look forward to your call!
888-95-DECOR
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
We just finished our third season lighting the Woodmoor Community Christmas Tree in Silver Spring Maryland.
The tree stands 82′ Tall and has over 3,200 LED C-9 (large) bulbs installed.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Have you ever driven by a home that had animated lighting that was powered by Christmas songs? If not, you need to take a look at this sample: VIEW NOW
Christmas Decor by Hallco can not only install Christmas lights but can help you come up with a Christmas Lighting Display that will blow you away with excitement this Christmas season! We've teamed up with Paul Smith, owner of Animated Lighting! We'll install the lights and Paul Smith will create the show that will cause your entire town to nominate you for the House of the Year award!
Want to be like the Griswall Family for Christmas? Contact us to find out how you can have the most exciting Christmas lighting displays on the east coast!
888-95-DECOR
Monday, November 17, 2008
Christmas Decor by Hallco just wrapped up their 3rd year lighting the Woodmoor Christmas Tree in Silver Spring. This tree is 82 feet tall and has over 3,200 LED C-9 bulbs. C-9 lights are quite a bit larger than mini lights but give the tree a very full look. Christmas Decor by Hallco recommended to the community of Four Corners to use LED bulbs instead of incandescent thereby saving over 80% on electricity and getting a longer life out of the bulbs. Stop by and take a look! MAP IT
Top View: http://wikimapia.org/380095/Woodmoor-Circle-Christmas-Tree
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Just a quick reminder that it is okay to hang Christmas lights before Thanksgiving. In fact, you'll save money if you schedule your work before the big day! Most of our clients want their lights installed the week of or right after Thanksgiving which makes our schedule very tight for that week/week and a half. We have already installed a few lighting displays around Maryland for customers planning ahead and you can be part of this group!
If you do not wish to be all festive before Thanksgiving, you can still save big, have us do the install and then decide to turn on the lights when you are ready! All of our displays are on digital timers: so you don't have to do a thing once you plug them in for the season! Or if you wish, we can install the lights first and the Christmas decorations: Santas, Reindeer, Wreaths, Bows and Garland after Thanksgiving. It is completely up to you!
Call today for your free design plan with one of our expert holiday designers.
888-95-DECOR
Friday, November 07, 2008
Here is a good overview of the types of displays our company can design and install for you. Please take a moment to view our slideshow: View Now
888-95-DECOR
Monday, November 03, 2008
Does your husband really LIKE hanging Christmas lights every year? Does he enjoy replacing burned out bulbs and untangling wires and using up a month of Saturdays to decorate your home? Does he love repelling off the roof top to center your wreath just right? So the question really is, "Does he like hanging lights or does he just think it is the manly thing to do?" One of the main reasons a family will decide not to hire a professional Christmas lighting company is because the man of the house does not like paying someone to do something he thinks he should be doing. It is hard for them to visualize the benefits of having a company spend one day or less decorating their home for the holidays.
This is a common problem with an easy solution. If there is NO way to change your husband's mind about hiring out your holiday lights this year, consider a little compromise. See if your husband is willing to let us do the hard stuff for one season: rooftops, fascia, stake lighting, and garland. We have the right products, training, and safety features to be very efficient with these difficult lighting options. I think he will be impressed with the way the lights look and glad he will NOT have to change a single light bulb the whole Christmas season or service anything! Your spouse will sit back drinking his cup of coffee while we do all the work and have nothing to worry about all season long! I can almost guarantee he will decide never to hang Christmas lights again once he sees how easy it is paying a professional to do it.
Here's to your merry Christmas! We look forward to hearing from you soon.
888-95-DECOR
Thursday, October 30, 2008
When you request an estimate from Christmas Decor, you will receive a free design consultation from one of our professional lighting designers. Our designers are trained to come up with a full display that will make heads turn and cause traffic jambs! What is unique about our services is that we price everything a la carte. This means that you are the one that ultimately decides what you want to spend and how you want your property to look. When you meet with our designer, you will explain what you are hoping to achieve and any ideas you may have. Our designer will give you a complete plan with even a few ideas to consider. If your budget is not ready to do a complete design package, no problem! You check off the items you want! It is that easy! There is always next year to add to your plan!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Christmas Decor by Hallco offers an early discount of 15% off our services during the month of October. Believe it or not, we do get quite a few calls during this month for those planning ahead for Christmas. We also know that many of you are preparing for Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas has not entered your mind yet! Our call volume and requested installation dates tend to get quite busy the 1st to 2nd week of November. Therefore, if you are reading this blog and are interested in Christmas light hanging services, please give us a call ASAP! You'll save the most by contacting us early.
888-95-DECOR
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
If you own or manage a business center, shopping mall, office complex or other commercial property, you should consider the benefits of both holiday lights and daytime decor.
Highlighting your center with lights at night will cause increase awareness of your location. It is a given fact that Christmas lighting attracts shoppers and causes people to slow down when they are driving by to have a closer look. It makes people happy to know you spent the time to decorate for the holidays. Lighting enhances your property and provides a finishing touch to your Christmas and holiday decorating. We recently priced a number of commercial property jobs for one client who decided against all the lighting options we presented and wanted only daytime decor. The reason was because of cost mainly but they also did not see the point of lights! Don't get me wrong, daytime decor is gorgeous and is necessary for both commercial and residential properties, but if that is all you decide on, it will NOT have the same effect as Christmas lights. During the day, people are busy and may not always notice a property with a few wreaths or bows unless they physically stop at your place of business. Having a balance of daytime and nighttime decor will keep both your customers, tenants, the community and those potential clients happy! So, consider a perfect lighting display when planning for this years decorations.
Friday, October 24, 2008
If you have never had a professional Christmas Lighting company decorator your home for the holidays, you probably are wondering what it cost to have lights and decorations hung. The answer depends on who you hire! If you hire your landscaper (who's never hung lights before) or a few local hungry college students, you could probably get away with spending a few hundred dollars but will most likely leave you with a headache and a little stressed. If you do not mind making several trips to Walmart and Home Depot, spending 1-2 Saturdays supervising and crossing your fingers hoping that your lights don't blow a fuse, hiring people who have never decorated a home is just fine!
Ah! But what does it cost to have a professional hang my lights is the question you should be asking yourself! If you'd rather be drinking a hot cup of cocoa inside and have the convenience of just watching us do all the work, I think you'll find our pricing very charming! Christmas Decor by Hallco prices each job a la carte! You will have a brief meeting with one of our Christmas designers who will discuss all the endless possibilities. Our designers are very creative and will guide you through the process of selecting a beautiful display of lights and daytime decor that will cause jealousy to be aroused in your neighbor's hearts when they see your home!
The cost depends completely on you! Most of our clients spend a minimum of $2,800 the first year, but if that is not in the budget, you can get a beautiful lit wreath and a few lights hung for $500-800. We have some customers who enjoy lighting up their roof, fascia, trees, ground and finishing it off with daytime decor. These clients will typically spend over $4,500.
So keep in mind what you would like to spend but with an open mind. We think you'll find our service, quality, products and creativity to be well worth the cost!
© 2010 Hallco Enterprises (301) 831-3679
