Deck the Halls, Walls, and Awnings in Brilliant Holiday Light

by

Michael Richman

The holiday season is fast approaching and businesses all across the country are beginning to prepare. Often, the first step to ensure that preparation begins with the proper lighting and decorations. Doing so will maximize sales, increase foot traffic, and ring in the holiday cheer.

Christmas may be on December 25, but for the thousands of mom-and-pop merchants that line America s Main Streets and fill its downtowns, November is the true start to the holiday season. Whatever your faith or your background, the seasonal lighting, its glowing twinkle, evokes a sense of simpler times and family togetherness. Maybe it s the twinkling of lights reminiscent of candles, or their brilliant lively glow against the backdrop of a dormant, barren landscape. But for whatever the reason, the Holiday Season wouldn t be complete without them.

And that s why most commercial businesses use them both inside and out. Awnings, with their natural fabric, metal or mesh overhang, all but lend themselves to be decorated. Multicolored lights of red, green, blue and white, turn an already great awning into an illuminated spectacular, making sure that customers who walk by your store and under its awning feel their warmth and take in their glow. The goal of course, is to bring a festive feel to your set up and this can be done quite easily once you know what needs to be done and how. In fact, when you put up Christmas decorations and lights, not only will your customers better embrace the holiday cheer, your employees and staff will feel happy and liberated too. Besides, it isn t the called the season to be jolly for nothing!

By putting up stunning holiday lights and decorations, you can get more customers to try out your merchandise and even spread the word about your store. Especially during cold weather months, foot traffic is vital to prove your storefront retains the same level of community appeal that it does in summer. The right atmosphere inside a store or around on the outside is what probably encourages people to shop there in the first place. Restaurant owners will see more diners coming in after they have decorated it to the hilt with plenty of Christmas cheer and holiday spirit. Decorated canopies combined with propane space heaters can still make for an inviting outdoor dining environment even in some of the country s chillier winter locations.

You can begin decorations by firstly assessing the holiday decorations and lights you already have. Do they look a tad outdated? Are you using primary color lights in a neighborhood that features white lights or the blue-white snow-like LEDs? Do they match with the color/design/d cor and branding style of your store or restaurant? Do they look cheap or commonplace and after years of use are the wires tangled and is that wiring safe for another season? If you have answered all these questions in a yes, you probably need a whole new set of holiday decorations. Now is a great time to buy lights and decorations in bulk. As neighbor businesses may be also getting into the season, perhaps mutual assistance between commercial neighbors will further inspire a community gathering?

Before you start putting up decorations and lights, clean your facility and awning thoroughly. Although newer bulbs don t get very hot, older ones can dry out fabrics and dead leaves which might increase the risk of small fires and electric short circuits. There s also no reason why a dirty awning must complement clean, new lights. When it comes to decoration, every inside surface from the tabletops to chair handles to window glasses to display areas must be squeaky clean and sparkling. Clean the walls and ceilings as well and make them completely spot free. To do all this it is recommended that you make a list of cleaning tasks and assign them to the members of your staff or cleaning crew.

When decorating, don t just put up every beautiful piece you found in the colors matching the color of your logo. Try to make a statement by selecting a theme for your decorations. Sure, red color decorations are ideal for Christmas but the red lights and stars may clash inappropriately with the pink cushions on your restaurant chairs or the purple colored walls of your store. That is why it is ideal for you to pick a theme matching your brand and decorate accordingly.

You have to keep the purse strings in control when shopping for your decorations and lights. Don t spend huge amounts on fancy decorations. You can buy nominally priced decorations and add on to them using other natural elements like candles and colored glasses or evergreen branches. Many of which can be hung from an awning with standard S clips or can even be stitched into the awing fabric, or again wrapped around an awnings poles and structural connecting beams. Buy a Christmas tree but make proper space for it and if you can manage, buy a real tree so that the patrons coming in will be greeted with the tree s natural fragrance and will be instantly drawn in the holiday cheer.

Another great idea for holiday decorations is to install

commercial shades

. These shades can look beautiful during the day and sparkle at night once they are laden with beautiful decorative lights.

Whether it s lighting the Rockefeller Christmas tree in Manhattan, turning on the holiday lights of Bethlehem, PA, or making it (fake) snow on Las Olas Blvd in Fort Lauderdale, the Holiday Season brings out the festive nature in all of us no matter your faith. Like an electric candle, modern awning illumination takes that indoor sparkle and brings it outdoors, complementing the decorated tress and reflecting off real or artificial snowflakes.

Light up your awning today and brighten the hearts and minds of those who walk through your doors!

The writer is associated with Academy Inc., the leading provider of

commercial shade structures

such as awnings, canopies, and cabanas to business across the United States and abroad.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com