Deer

The Idea

In 2020, after not being able to do our traditional Halloween Build due to COVID, we decided to start going big for Christmas, which we historically have not done.

Last year, we had this awesome deer in our front yard, and that started the concept of having a bunch of them arranged like reindeer pulling a sled in mid-take off.

Phase I - Sizing the Project Up

I started by considering how many deer, how they would be arranged, and how much yard space would be needed, and what kinds of options could I find in stores...

Phase II - Proof of Concept

As I purchased deer and assembled them, I began to space them out in the yard to get a feel for what they would look like and how much space would be needed...

...and what they would look like at night...

Phase III - Ramping It Up

I knew I wanted to create the illusion that the reindeer were caught in mid-takeoff. So I knew I needed to create a ramp of some sort, and I would need to attach the deer to the ramp somehow. I also knew that I wanted be able to take it apart, store it, and assembled each year.

I decided to start by mounting each deer to a base. I cut a 4x8 sheet of plywood into six 16x48 panels and affixed each deer to a "base". Then I needed to test if the base would support the deer at an angle, so I found an old bin laying around and propped one up. So far so good.

My idea at this point was to build a ramp frame. More accurately, I was going to build four ramp frames, so instead of having a straight, even ramp, each deer would have its own ramp, and each ramp could be adjusted to create more of an arch shape to the take-off. I was going to sketch it out on paper, go buy the lumber and start constructing it over the next few days...

But after having built the bases and seeing the concept, I wanted to very quickly see what the deer would look like "ramped up"... I also wanted to get a feel for how high the ramp needed to go. So I started to look around to see what I had on hand that might work temporarily, as a proof of concept, and I ended up using a couple of old shelves that I had laying around...

Phase IV - Sleigh Bells Ring

Not bad, not bad, not bad. This "temporary proof of concept" shelf actually works pretty good! But my vision is to still build the "real" ramp frames, and I would like it to go about 3 feet higher (so the lead deer is completely over the hedges), but for just scrapping something together in an afternoon with what I had laying around, not bad...

We are going to re-string the sleigh with "cool" white LEDs to match the deer...

Phase V - Let It Snow

As the snow falls, we will be able to hide the ramp with snow....

Packages — Once I know we are truly out of the rainy season, I will add the packages to the sleigh, and I have a 12-foot multi-colored tree on order, which will go by the sleigh.

Phase VI - Deck the Halls

We restrung the sleight with new lights, installed our 12-foot animated Christmas tree, and added some lighted packages to the sleigh.

The deer installation is 10 feet hight by 37 feet long.

Google Sites

Report abuse