Yes, well aware of this issue at Christmas time ;-) I have to load balance all of my decorations between different circuits. So, to help me understand, because I am not sure what you mean by "move the gfci protection to ahead of the outlet" -- if I keep the gfci outlet as is and use the neutral switch instead of the dimmer, the only issue I will have is being limited to 6 amps?. I won't start any fires in this scenario, correct? I will then look into switching the breaker for this circuit to a gfci breaker before Christmas. I just want to be able to control my outside lights when I am out of town in the next couple of weeks.