How one pool, spa company turned making holidays bright into their business

It used to be decorating the outside of your house for Christmas was simple.

You dug strings of lights out of the boxes in your garage and untangled them. Then you risked life and limb by climbing a ladder, likely on a cold and/or snowy day, to attach them to the house. And then spent the next month replacing bulbs as they burned out.

But like many other home repair or maintenance jobs, people have taken to farming the job out to professionals.

Dennis Marunde, president of Arvidson Pools and Spas, joined the outdoor holiday decorations industry about 12 years ago, for two reasons.

One, as a way to grow his business by deepening the ties to his pool and spa customers; and two as a way to keep his workers employed after pool and spa season ends each fall.

“I did not count on the level of excitement it generates every year among our employees,” Marunde said. “They take a lot of pride in it.”

Christmas Decor By Arvidson does installations in towns in the west and northwestern suburbs — generally within a 20-minute drive of Arvidson’s stores in Crystal Lake, St. Charles and Palatine, Marunde said.

One advantage to having his workers do it: The company carries liability insurance, should one of them be injured on the job. “There is a lot of safety and security that comes into play,” Marunde said.

In fact, that’s the reason they hear most often when customers call. “The wife no longer wants the husband going up on a ladder,” Marunde said.

Another top reason is time: People are busy with work and other activities, he said.

His company offers five types of decor, and of course, the cost depends on how elaborate the project is. A designer will interview the client.

The types are stake lighting; lighting of shrubs and trees; lighting of windows; lighting on roof lines; and “daytime decor,” meaning wreaths and garlands.

The company supplies the materials. The lights are all low-voltage LED products.

“It is very energy efficient,” he said. They store the lights after the season, in bins marked with the customer’s name. Marunde said about 85% of customers use the service year after year.

He notifies customers in August that reservations are open, on a first-come, first-served basis. The company typically starts installing displays in October. They have installed decorations in December, if slots are available. The company has installed jobs as late as Dec. 23.

Marunde’s company has done other decor projects, such as a giant pumpkin light on a silo on a farm near Harvard, and the occasional summertime wedding.

Holiday lighting for a house averages about $1,750. The low end is about $750, but he has had house jobs as high as $5,000.

“It depends on how elaborate you want to get,” Marunde said. “What you are buying is the convenience, the service and the support.”