Calculating the power...

It's a pain planning your lighting project and not knowing how much juice you're going to need. Well, bust out the calculators, here are some tips.

Standard C7 Bulbs are 5 watts
25 Bulbs = 1.14 approx Amps
50 Bulbs = 2.3 approx Amps
100 Bulbs = 4.5 approx Amps

Standard C9 Bulbs are 7 watts
25 Bulbs = 1.6 approx Amps
50 Bulbs = 3.2 approx Amps
100 Bulbs = 6.4 approx Amps

Mini lights vary in voltages but many we carry are 2.5 volt
300 Mini lights = 1 Amp

Total Number of Bulbs X Bulb Wattage ÷ 110 = Amps Needed

These are the rules we run with, we hope they help you when planning your lighting project.
--
Zach Broyles
All American Christmas Co.

Minimum phone order?!

No one likes minimum orders, but for some businesses it's crucial to keep the operation running smoothly. Our minimum phone order is 150 dollars, now for some people this may seem outlandish but it really does help our office run better which in turn makes everyone happier.

During our busy seasons we get calls constantly, A third of them are just obvious questions that are answered on the site, another third is questions that can't be answered on the site, and the last third is orders. We have the minimum because if we take many small orders for 1 or 2 items it's very easy to screw those kind of orders up by miscommunication. Any sort of miscommunication over the phone means a wrong product is shipped and the little mistakes like that usually cost the most to fix. We implemented the minimum phone order after dealing with many people saying they received an order with an item they didn't want but told us they wanted. This is frustrating for everyone.

This is just a little view into the minds here at aachristmas.com, we want to make the best shopping experience available for the customers and be able to provide the best services available.

--
Zach Broyles
All American Christmas Co.

Oh, the holidays....

We hope everyone had a great Easter, full of way to much running around hunting eggs with quarters and candy in them and one to many chocolate bunnies. I know that when any holiday that traditionally involves candy is going to end up with me being sick for the following week because I overload my system with sugar and lack of real food.

If you are wondering when some of our Mini lights are going to be back in stock the answer is...not soon. We are still waiting on the our major orders and our 20s and 35s should be in around June. It takes a while to get everything during this time of the year.

--
Zach Broyles
All American Christmas Co.

LED light burnout

A common concern with LED lights is if they have a lot of issues with burning out. LEDs generally last longer than any other bulbs on the market, on average our standard bulb sets last 200,000 hours! So if theres 365 days in a year, and each day lasts 24 hours, then a year is only 8,760 hours. So, in theory LED bulbs should last 22.83 years...That's a long time. If a LED does happen to burn out on a string the rest of the lights stay lit.

We often tell customers about the LED lights we have in our warehouse that light up the building in the dark. We're not a high tech operation, but that doesn't mean we aren't crafty. In the rear half of our building we strung up 4 or 5 sets of blue C6 led light strings along the ceiling to give a little light when its dark. These lights were put up whenever we first starting getting LED lights (maybe around 4 years ago), they only turn off when the power goes out, and they are still burning. These early LED Christmas strings are not half as good as these new sets, the technology is better and the bulbs just plain look better.

If you are thinking of making the switch to LED the benefits definitely trump the up front cost. Less electricity costs, longer bulbs life, more vibrant bulb colors.

Click here to check our LED lights

--
Zach Broyles
All American Christmas Co.

Lighting Glass blocks

It seems like every day we get calls about people looking for lights to go inside Glass blocks, like the one shown above (image from www.homedepot.com). These glass blocks are usually used to make a wall or some sort of divider in a bathroom and can be found at places like The Home Depot. The way people put lights in these is really simple.

1. Get a pack of Glass Blocks
2. Get a Drill bit for drilling glass (1/2 inch is a good size)
3. Get some mini lights that DO NOT have a end plug. 35 light count is what we recommend.
   
4. Drill a hole into the block where you would like to insert the lights.
5. Carefully push the lights into the block through the hole.
6. Plug them up to make sure you didn't loosen any bulbs during the install
7. If the lights work, you're done. Unless you want to wrap the block in ribbon , which is also popular.

These have been a very popular craft lately, we get a lot of calls and email asking about it. People use them for center pieces, gifts, and whatever else strikes their fancy.

Click here to see our selection of mini lights

--
Zach Broyles
All American Christmas Co.