Dave Whitehurst knows that nothing fuels the holiday spirit like a well-decorated home. Some might say he pushes the envelope. His expansive Dunlap, Ill., residence is lit by white lights that run along the roof, edges of windows and along sidewalks like frosting on a gingerbread home.
Glowing bushes are scattered around the yard and the lighted limbs of a tall maple reach out in all directions. A single spruce in the front is dotted with colored bulbs.
Although it looks like Whitehurst spent many a weekend dragging out equipment, teetering on the edge of the roof and trying to detangle himself from multiple strings of lights, he, in fact, had nothing to do with it.
For a professional look, he called in a professional, Christmas Decor Inc., a holiday and event service based in Lubbock, Texas, that has 350 franchises throughout the United States and Canada.
Whitehurst has had his house decorated for five consecutive years. The company contacted him and asked if his could be one of their model homes, and he liked the idea of someone else taking on the chore.
Mostly, its the size of the home. Its not the easiest thing to decorate, Whitehurst said. I dont have that kind of time and I never would have decorated it to the extent that they have. I couldnt have made it look that good.
Charles McKeown owns three franchises in Peoria, Bloomington and Springfield, Ill. He offers customers a range of options to fit every budget.
Whats really nice about this program is that you can pick and choose whatever you want in your price range, he said. Its not all or nothing. Christmas Decor has charged anywhere from $200 to $6,000 for their decorating work.
After a customer selects what they want to decorate their home or business, Christmas Decor will put it up, take it down and store it throughout the year. Each following year, the customer pays only installation fees.
McKeowns 35 employees take on the bulk of their decorating workload after Thanksgiving, but start stringing up lights around Halloween.
Chris Brickner has been an employee with Christmas Decor for three years and says as a salesman, his job is to generate different ideas for decorating and give customers an overview of what the company can do.
Many customers agree that its nice to let someone else labor over their decorating chores, but safety also is an issue. According to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, about 12,500 people a year are treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to holiday decorating, such as cuts, shock or falls.
Whitehurst, his wife and two daughters do their own decorating for their homes interior. He said he would recommend hiring a professional and that one perk of the service is that he doesnt have to take down the decorations.
You put up decorations in halfway decent weather but then have to take it down in January when you dont know what the weathers going to be like, he said.
To find a Christmas Decor dealer near you, call (800) 687-9551 or use the dealer locator online at www.christmasdecor.net. n
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