New 35 light count colored mini lights!

We finally received our shipment which had all our specialized Christmas Mini Light strings on it, so our stock is replenished and we have some new products for sale.

Our 20 count and 35 count have been our best selling sets all summer! We're happy to say we're adding 2 new color sets to the 35 light count White Wire sets, Blue and Red! Sure, white wire strings with colors is nothing new, but it is for our 35 light strings. These sets will surely make their way into countless craft projects, parties, weddings, and holiday displays.

More information on our 35 light count sets:
Approx. 3 Inch Spaced 35 Red Mini Lights on White Wire - Stackable (Male) plug with No End Connector - 12" Distance from the male plug to the first bulb - Approx. 9 ft in length

Click here to check out the new mini light strings we have in stock.

The elusive colored 20 count Mini Light string!

A customer of ours was in need of something that we at All American Christmas Company consider an oddity, a 20 count light string with colored lights. Not Multi colored mind you, just a string of one consistent color. Now one might think, "Hey, I can just take this old 100 count set, jerk the bulbs out, and put in this 20 set!" and you would assume that it would work...well, it will not work. We hate to be the bearer of bad news but there is a very simple explanation for this, bulb voltages. Most all 50 count and 100 lights strings use a very standard 2.5 volt mini lights bulb, however mini light strings with smaller bulb counts use bulbs with higher voltage. 35 count sets use 3.5 volts and 20 lights use 6 volt.

This is why one just can swap bulbs for sets, you can't go mixing or changing the bulb voltages. If you are curious as to what your light sets have check any documentation or labels that come with the sets. If you have any sort of paper work in the box or poly bag then it should have some indication of bulb voltages.

Back to colored sets, none of our distributors have 20 count minis that come in anything beside clear and multi. Sure there may be someone out there that has them, but the big names in the game that we go through sadly do not. There is one "work around" but it takes extra sets and some patience, our multi colored have Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, and Pink. Normally our 20 count multi sets have 4 bulbs of the 5 colors on one string, so you can take 5 sets you can mix and match the bulbs to make 5 sets of complete colored sets. And before the wheels start turning, no we don't do this. It's about as simple as stacking Lego bricks, so you shouldn't worry.

Another question that we get asked is if you can clip the wires on a set to shorten it. No, it'll screw with the voltage of the set itself, and it's better to work around it than kill the string and have to buy another!

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Zach

Banner Programs

On our commercial site, www.allamericanchristmas.com, we have just completely revamped our banner sections. The new categories are Spring/Summer, Autumn, Winter/Holiday, All Season, Patriotic, and Junior Size. These 6 different sections mean that you can get the prefect banner for your city, town, business, or where ever it may be you want to hang banners. These new high quality come in Screen Print (up to 4 colors) and Full Color Digital Prints. On the Digital Prints everything can be customized, you change the font, the colors, sizes of images, and so on. The ability to customize means that banners can be perfect matched to your needs! All banners are made on high quality fabrics that will hold up season after season.

We can also create custom banners from customer artwork or ideas so that logos and images can faithfully be represented. We can help you design and actualize your ideas.

There is a new line of hardware for these banners, these high quality mounting kits will securely hold your banners season after season.


Please visit our other site to see all the banners we have to offer. Click Here

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Zach

The different types of plugs for Christmas lights

There are quite a few different types of plugs that you'll find at the end of different light sets. Some are just manufacturer preferences, some are specific for types of lights, and some are designed to meet electrical standards of the sets themselves.

For most mini lights you'll find fused male plugs, fused plugs have a small electrical fuse inside the plug (usually protected by a sliding door) so that if there is an overload in the wire or problem the fuse takes the hit, not the bulbs. Fused plugs are also found on low bulb count C7 and C9 stringers sometimes. You can usually spot if a plug is fused because the plug itself is rather large and will have some sort of door for opening the fuse compartment.

For small bulb count mini lights you can sometimes find stack plugs. Usually mini light strings with 35 or less bulbs come with this style of plug so you can stack the plugs for craft projects. The male plug has a female connection on the back so you can stack the plug with other plugs.

Some style of Christmas lights have detachable or specialized plug that allow you screw multiple sets together. Some rice lights (ultra rice sets) have this type of separate power plug and all the Commercial quality LED sets have specialized removable power plugs.

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Zach

Lighting Glass Blocks and Bottles

One trend that is going strong and looks to continue to do so is Lighting Glass blocks and Wine/Champagne bottles. How you go about making these is really only limited to budget and/or tools available. You'll need to have some sort of drill bit or hole saw designed to cut glass, diamond bits are a good choice.

You'll clean the bottle or block and be sure to remove any labels (if you so choose), tape off the area you're wanting to drill with some duct tape and mark where you're going to want to drill.

Now, you can use a hand drill, but you've got to keep the object steady, it's better to go with something like a Drill press and have some sort of jig made up to hold your bottle or block perfectly still. You may want to use some sort of lubricant (WD-40 oil or something similar) to keep the glass from shattering.

Once you've drilled the hole that you're going to fish the lights through, remove the tape and rinse the bottle to remove any tiny bits of glass.

Once you've done all that your bottle is ready for lights! We carry 3 different styles of lights at this moment are perfect for this style of craft! Click here to go to our Mini Light page Our 15, 20, and 35 count light strings are great for this stuff because they have a small bulb count and don't have a end connector. That means lower heat and no clipping off plugs! We have a variety of wire and bulb options that will work for any style of craft and any color glass, not just white/clear or green glass! We also have LED battery lights which would work well for these Glass projects and would not limit you to placing these items by a power outlet. Click here for Battery Operated LED sets and Here for Cases

Plug up your light string when you're inserting them, why? The biggest reason is so that you don't loosen the bulbs and kill the string and saves you from having to redo it. The smallest bit of preparation saves you from giving yourself a headache.

Once your lights are in and working, decorate any way you see fit. Some people light to put on rub on transfers, or bows, or paint. Just be sure to take your time and have fun with it!

We have a large selection of lights perfect for this and will soon be carrying small count LEDs strings that would work great for this style of project. They should be in in the next few months.

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Zach
All American Christmas Co.