As much as I love Christmastime, it comes with own set of tiny annoyances. Relatives keep pinching your cheeks as a greeting. The mall is completely packed. And you know those tiny lights on a string? Well, I swear I put them back nice and neat last Christmas, but now they're all tangled and putting up decorative lights feels like an impossible task. Nathan Shaffer from Henderson, Nev., came up with a way to take the tangle out of this process with the EVE DROP, a Christmas light hanger that keeps them up all year round. Wait, don't people actually get mocked for keeping their lights up long after the holiday season? This is different, I promise, and Shaffer will pitch his product on Shark Tank on Friday night.
The EVE DROP is a handy dandy light hanger that simply drops the lights down when it's holiday time, and then slides them up under the house's open eave. There, they'll be hidden (so your neighbors won't make fun of you for having Christmas lights up in March) and your house will have super cool mood lighting (so your neighbors will be jealous). "EVE DROP began almost one year ago while I stared at my roof wishing I didn't have to get up on a ladder again and take down the lights I had put up three weeks prior just to do it all over again the next year," Shaffer wrote on his successful Kickstarter page.
Here's what else you should know before the EVE DROP takes on the sharks.
You Need a Certain Kind of House
EVE DROP works best with houses that have overhanging roofs, with create open eaves underneath. And that's where your lights hide out for backlighting, then slide down to be jolly Christmas lights with the product. It's a fairly common type of construction in the United States.
If you don't have open eaves, don't worry — you can get the EVE DROP Light Mount system, which promises to aide the eave-less. "You should always consult with your local municipality before leaving your lights in the on position throughout the year for the backlighting," Shaffer notes on his Kickstarter. "There are certain agencies that may prefer that holiday lighting not used as a method for permanent lighting as mentioned in the national electrical code."
Current Success
This light-hanging system has already seen some success. Last month, Ace Hardware started selling the EVE DROP in stores. Earlier this year, Shaffer's Kickstarter to fund the initial production order achieved full funding at $4,431.
Where to Buy
In addition to Ace Hardware, the EVE DROP hangers are available for purchase on Amazon and on the product's website, ranging in price from $9.99 to $62.95. The sets come in kits of 16, 24, and 32. If you just want to try it out with a few lights, you can get a four pack and see if the lighting fits both your regular and holiday moods.
Images: Michael Desmond/ABC; EVE-DROP/Facebook
