Along with an increase in multi-color holiday lighting installations with the advent of LED bulbs, holiday decorators say clients are becoming more playful with the displays they’re requesting, too. “I’m seeing some funky displays,” says Paul Sessel, owner of Creative Displays, an Overland Park, Kan.-based holiday lighting distributor. “Before, you would see Santa waving. And now you might see Santa golfing, riding a motorcycle or getting stuck in a chimney.”
Three-dimensional products, too, are growing in popularity, says Scott Heese, president and founder of Holiday Bright Lights, an Omaha, Neb.-based holiday lighting membership system. “There are still the flat toy soldiers that you can mount against a house, but we’re seeing 3-D angels and stars becoming popular.”
Shape, too, is changing the look of the standard icicle lights, which have become popular among homeowners over the last several years, Sessel says. “These used to just be icicle light bulbs hanging down, but now they’re shapes like snowflakes – that’s the most popular – and stars and packages.”