For some families, it may be cutting down their own tree; For others, their holiday tradition is oohing and aahing over the light display in a favorite city, botanic garden, zoo or theme park. You’ll find memorable displays wherever you live or wherever you visit this holiday season. Some families opt to see the holiday lights in far flung destinations with the grandparents (Check out what Tauck offers these multigenerational groups with their special Bridges trips, for example.) See what I wrote about the holidays in Hong Kong last year!
To help make holiday lights part of your tradition, here are 55 places to light up the holidays. If you have a favorite not mentioned here, please leave a comment.
1. ALBUQUERQUE, NM – The Rio Grande Botanic Garden hosts New Mexico’s largest walk-through holiday light show, “The River of Lights” featuring giant sculptures of plants, animals and seasonal themes created by millions of lights in over 150 displays. Visit between November 24 and December 28 (closed on December 24 and 25).
2. ANNAPOLIS, MD – “Lights on the Bay” is a drive-through holiday light show at Sandy Point State Park along Chesapeake Bay, where there are stationery and animated displays including a glowing lighthouse, Navy midshipmen, oysters and blue crabs. Visit between November 19 and January 2.
3. AUSTIN, TX – Zilker Park’s “Trail of Lights,” a mile long stretch with seasonal scenes composed of multi-colored twinkling lights, will be on display from December 16-23.
4. BOSTON, MA features the largest Christmas Tree in New England, and the 70th annual lighting ceremony will take place on December 1. Take a Freedom Trail Holiday Stroll with a costumed guide, learn how Christmas and holiday traditions evolved in Boston and end your tour with hot chocolate or tea with Boston Cream Pie at the Omni Parker House Hotel. This tour is offered at 3:30pm, Thursday to Sunday from November 17 to January 20.
5. BRANSON, MO – Silver Dollar City celebrates “Old Time Christmas” with a 5-story special effects Christmas Tree and millions of lights from November 3 to December 30.
6. BROOKLYN, NY twinkles with the “Lights of Dyker Heights,” a neighborhood (between 83d and 86th streets from 11th to 13th Avenue between Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst) that attracts 100,000 visitors to view amazing decorations. Visit between 5 and 9 p.m. for the most intense lighting
7. CHARLESTON, SC celebrates the “Holiday Festival of Lights” in James Island County Park where you will drive (or take a train ride) three miles through over two million lights and hundreds of displays. Visit from November 9 to December 31. And also enjoy Santa’s Village and Winter Wonderland which have attractions and activities including marshmallow Roasts, festival train rides, carnival rides, Santa’s Sweet Shoppe and more.
8. CHARLOTTE, NC – Charlotte Motor Speedway is excited to bring the holidays to life this winter season with the return of “Carolina Christmas,” a spectacular drive-through Christmas light park and village located at the legendary superspeedway. Featuring more than 600 light displays boasting 3 million lights, the event also offers a Christmas Village with a realistic Bethlehem-themed village, a Festival of Trees, photos with Santa and areas with food and music. This year, the route of twinkling lights is extended, giving visitors extra miles of Christmas cheer! Come experience it from November 23 to December 31, excluding Christmas day.
9. CHATANOOGA, TN – Rock City Garden’s “Enchanted Garden of Lights” celebrates its 17th year with more than 30 holiday scenes and over a million lights. Visit from November 18 to December 31 (closed Christmas eve). Enjoy hot cocoa, gingerbread cookie decorating, face painting and costume dress up with Sugar Plum Fairy Makeovers and nightly entertainment.
10. CHICAGO, IL boasts “The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival” with a Mickey and Minnie Mouse Parade on November 17 and more than one million lights along Michigan Avenue. The Museum of Science and Industry illuminates “Christmas Around the World” and “Holidays of Light” with more than 50 trees and displays to reflect worldwide holiday traditions from November 15 to January 6. “Christkindlmarket,” a German-American Holiday Market is celebrating its 16th year in Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago from November 21 to December 24.
11. CLEVELAND, OH – Head to Nela Park, home of GE’s Lighting Division in East Cleveland to see thousands of lights illuminate buildings along Noble Road. Visit between early December and New Years Day the annual holiday tradition, adored by celebrators since 1925.
12. COEUR d’ALENE, IDAHO — The Coeur d”Alene Resort launches the largest water holiday show in America Friday, Nov 23 with more than 1.5 million lights, 250 displays and a 160-foot tall living Christmas tree decorated with 40,000 LED lights and lighted tours on the lake to Santa’s Workshop where Santa and his elves are waiting.
13. COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG, Jamestown and Yorktown in Virginia offer the chance to time travel back at the Historic Triangle to see how the holidays were celebrated at Revolutionary Times and before while at nearby Busch Gardens, Christmas Town: A Busch Gardens Celebration you can enjoy special holiday entertainment, more than five million twinkling lights and the park’s signature peppermint fudge hot chocolate.. Come to Colonial Williamsburg Dec.2 to usher in the season with the Grand Luminations celebration with other special holiday programs (have you ever seen a holiday shadow puppet show?) scheduled throughout December. At Jamestown Settlement holiday film and guided tours – with periodic appearances by the “Lord of Misrule” – compare and contrast English Christmas customs of the period with how the season may have been observed in the difficult early years of the Jamestown colony. At the Yorktown Victory Center, visitors hear accounts of Christmas and winter in Revolutionary War encampments and glimpse holiday preparations on a 1780s farm.
14. COLORADO SPRINGS — At America’s only mountain zoo, take in the nearly one million sparkling lights illuminating the crisp winter night, warm up at one of the fires throughout the Zoo, then stop in and see Santa. More than 260,000 Strands of Lights decorate the historic Broadmoor nearby—the biggest display in the city where the Annual White Lights Cermemony kicks off the season Nov. 24with music and more. Ride the Santa Express Train as kids in their pj’s sip cocoa and listen to stories read by Elves on their way to the North Pole, decorated like a a true Christmas town, bedecked with holiday lights and decor for its most famous resident – Santa Claus.
15. CRUISE AWAY — You won’t skip holiday festivities if you are onboard ship in sunny climes this holiday season. Garland, wreaths, twinkling lights and glitter transform Disney Cruise Line ships into a winter wonderland during the holidays with King Triton’s Tree Lighting in the atrium lobby with a three-deck-tall tree, with holiday storytellers sharing tales of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa as well as family holiday crafts (want to help decorate a stocking. Celebrity Cruises has fanciful gingerbread houses, Santa himself give the kids gifts—even to the teens on board, carolers and a special “Tree Trimmers Buffet” on Christmas eve while Holland America Line has holiday-themed culinary demonstrations, sing-alongs and of course, plenty of holiday decorations throughout. Carnival ships not only are decorated with Christmas trees, wreaths and mistletoe, but kids help put on a special holiday show, while everyone can join in the caroling on deck.
16. DESTIN, FL For the month of December, enjoy a festive light show in the Events Plaza at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort set to holiday music every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday leading up to Christmas at 6 & 7 p.m. You can also arrange for Santa to come to your room or condo to read the kids a holiday story.
17. FRISCO, TX – More than 175,000 lights sparkle and shine as visitors walk or drive through “Christmas in the Square.” from November 23 to January 6, with the exception Christmas Day. This is the largest holiday lights and music show in North Texas, and includes hot air balloons, a trackless train, visits with Santa, snow machine creating a winter wonderland and a Christmas marketplace. Visit from November 25 through the first weekend in January.
18. GALVESTON ISLAND, TX – The largest holiday lighting festival on the Gulf Coast, “Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens” features a mile-long trail of more than 100 lighted holiday scenes, shows, visits from Santa and a “Snow Zone” for kids from November 12 to January 1. Visitors enjoy nightly entertainment, watch a variety of holiday-themed films in three separate theaters, the area’s only outdoor skating rink and new this year, snow tubing!
19. GATLINBURG, TN is where the 22nd annual “Winter Magic” light displays will feature animals indigenous to Great Smoky Mountains National Park while the city’s guided trolley tour lights entertain visitors of all ages. Visit from November 7 to February 28.
20. GREENSBORO, NC – Head to the Sunset Hill neighborhood to see hundreds of Lighted Christmas Balls, made by the community, that float through the trees. Those touring are invited to bring non-perishable food items to donate – last year over 4,000 lbs. of food was collected.
21. HALLANDALE, FL’s Village at Gulfstream Park will present “Symphony in Lights,” a spectacular dancing light display choreographed to the holiday music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The event features more than 250,000 lights affixed to buildings and three trees that are choreographed to strobe, twinkle, fade, sparkle and burst by renowned light artist Carson Williams. It also requires 2,000 watts of sound, 47,000 feet of cable and 2 tons of holiday décor! Shows are on the hour, every hour from 6 – 11 p.m. from November 19 through December 31.
22. HERSHEY, PA lights up with two million twinkling lights. The centerpiece is Hersheypark’s “Christmas Candylane” through which the park is transformed with rides, Hershey characters, Santa and reindeer. Hershey’s “Sweet Lights” is a 2.3 mile drive-thru spectacle with nearly 600 animated, illuminated displays. Visit from November 16 to December 30.
23. INDIANAPOLIS, IN celebrates the 50th anniversary of the “Circle of Lights” by illuminating the embellish the Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Monument with 26 gigantic toy soldiers and sailors, 26 giant peppermint sticks and nearly 5,000 lights. Enjoy the beauty of thousands of lights setting the trees ago. The opening ceremony is November 25, and it runs through early January. Many Indianapolis attractions are offering free admission on one of the 12 days leading to Christmas. Experience an 1830s Christmas at Conner Prairie just out of Indianapolis where you can view all the amazing gingerbread entries from their famous Gingerbread House Competition. The day after Thanksgiving, the annual Jolly Days Winter Wonderland exhibit will open at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the largest in the country, where among other things, the kids can clib and slide on the Snow Castle.
24. KANSAS CITY, MO – The “Season of Lights” at Country Club Plaza is an 82-year tradition with 80 miles of lights decorating 15 blocks of the city featuring 150 shops and restaurants. The Mayor’s Christmas Tree at Hallmark’s Crown Center, meanwhile, is 100 feet – taller than those on display at the White House and Rockefeller Center. The lighting ceremony will take place on November 22, Thanksgiving night.
25. LOS ANGELES – Look for fake snow and holiday scenes as everywhere as neighborhoods go all out to celebrate. One of the best places to go is: Candy Cane Lane (Dec. 8 – 31): Woodland Hills’ Candy Cane Lane where the eight-square-block neighborhood near Lubao Avenue and Oxnard Street where the all-out decorating has been a Valley tradition for 60 years.
26. MARSHALL, TX welcomes families to the 26th annual “Wonderland of Lights.” Featuring more than a million lights in hundreds of displays in the historic town square, the festival also features outdoor ice skating, carriage rides pulled by Clydesdale horses, a polar challenge obstacle course, Santa’s Workshop and Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen and the chance to take a family portrait inside a “life-size” 16 foot giant snow globe! Enjoy these and other family-oriented activities from November 21 through December 31.
27. MILWAUKEE, WI – The “Holiday Lights Festival” includes some 500,000 lights, animated sculptures and Movavian Stars along Wisconsin Avenue. Visit November 15 to December 31. During December, check out “Candy Cane Lane,” a stretch of four blocks just north of Oklahoma Avenue in West Allis, one of Milwaukee’s neighborhoods. Each year, three downtown Milwaukee parks are set aglow by animated scenes, dancing luminaries and thousands of lights illuminating the trees. Visit Cathedral Square Park, Pere Marquette Park and Zeidler Union Square.
28. McADENVILLE, NC – Visit the town of McAdenville, where virtually every home is decorated, is famous throughout the state for its holiday lights between November 30 to December 26. The miraculous lights will glow nightly, Monday through Friday from 5:30 to 9:30 and on weekends from 5:30 to 11 p.m.
29. MYSTIC, CT – “Christmas by the Sea” at Mystic Seaport is where you can stroll through the decorated 19th century village, sing sea chanteys, and hear stories of holidays told aboard historic vessels. You can also print a Christmas Card or souvenir toy and build a creation at a Gingerbread Workshop. Visit from November 23 to December 31.
30. NEW ORLEANS, LA – “Celebration in the Oaks” takes place in City Park and has a walking tour with millions of lights throughout the Botanical Garden, Storyland, a children’s theme park and Carousel Gardens, an amusement ride area. Alive with holiday excitement, visitors enjoy a variety of nightly musical entertainment November 23, 24, 25 and nightly from December 2 to January 1, including Christmas night (closed Christmas Eve and New Years Eve).
31. NEW YORK, NY has not only the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree (Lighting Ceremony is on November 28) but, at 32 feet tall, the world’s largest menorah at Grand Army Plaza (5th Avenue and 59th Street) and the New York Botanical Garden’s “Holiday Train Show” with miniatures of NYC landmarks made entirely out of plants, and more from November 17 to January 13
32. NIAGARA FALLS, NY – where the Canadian side has a drive-through “Festival of Lights ” with over 3 million tree and ground lights featuring 125 animated displays, making it Canada’s largest illumination festival. Visit from November 3 to January 31. The Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Ontario puts up over 25,000 lights and like its sister resorts, hosts a huge Snowland celebration complete with indoor snow and a life-size gingerbread house.
33. OCEAN CITY, MD – “Winterfest of Lights” in Northside Park with a mile-long path of illuminated displays, Santa, caroling and more. Hop on the Winterfest Express to take a train ride through scenes of your child’s favorite fairy tales (and the Twelve Days of Christmas!) The Winterfest Village is another must see, located inside a heated pavilion decorated to holiday perfection. Visit from November 15 to January 1.
34. OCEANSIDE, CA – Oceanside Harbor is one of the best spots to view the “Parade of Lights” – decorated fishing boats, sail boats, yachts, kayaks and dingys, all lit up for a spectacular procession on December 8th. Holiday shopping just got easier. Visit the Holiday Sunset Market every Thursday evening in December from 5-9pm where you’ll find amazing gifts, and enjoy carolers, pony rides, face painters, and more.
35. ORLANDO, FL – Orlando has it all – glittering trees, fireworks and more from Disney World at “Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party”(on select nights between November 9 and December 21); Epcot’s “Holidays Around the World” with celebrity narrators and a candlelight processional (from November 23 to December 30); to Sea World’s ”Christmas Celebration” (from November 17 to December 31), and Macy’s Holiday Parade and “Grinchmas” at Universal Studios (from December 1 to January 1.) See what my family said about experiencing Ice! At the Gaylord Palms in Orlando where like at other Gaylord properties elsewhere, your family can explore 10 different holiday scenes created entirely of two-million pounds of ice, including ice slides that stand more than 2 stories tall.
36. PALM DESERT, CA where Living Desert, a 450 acre museum, zoo and botanical garden presents the “WildLights Festival” featuring over 750,000 of lights that turn the desert into an after dark wonderland. Come for games, rides and other activities, and a train ride through the display. Enjoy “Holidays Around the World,” featuring new light displays, international food, Camel and Carousel Rides, wildlife shows and more holiday fun. Presented on select evenings between November 21 and December 31.
37. PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC where Brook Green Gardens“Nights of a Thousand Candles” features 5,500 candles illuminating garden paths, festive holiday lights, handbell ringers and carolers on December 7-8, 14-15 and 20-22.
38. PHILADELPHIA, PA All December-long Franklin Square will be lit with thousands of festive holiday lights! Beginning December 1st with the Holiday Lighting Ceremony through New Year’s Eve, the park will be aglow, setting the perfect mood for the season. Philadelphia will be all aglow this holiday season—from the classic Holiday Light Show, Dickens Christmas Village and daily organ concerts at Macy’s in Center City; A Longwood Gardens Christmas, complete with half a million glowing lights; the Independence Seaport Museum’s third annual Parade of Lights; and two New Year’s Eve fireworks displays–one at 6:00 p.m. and one at midnight–along the Delaware River Waterfront. And that’s’ just the beginning.
39. PIGEON FORGE, TN puts up more than five million holiday lights in gigantic displays during “Winterfest” which you can enjoy guide from the comfort of your heated Pigeon Forge Trolley and tour guide from November 6 to February 28. Additionally, the Dollywood theme park adds another four million lights to illuminate the park and special entertainment during its Smoky Mountain Christmas including Dollywood Christmas on Ice from November 10 to December 30.
40. PINE MOUNTAIN, GA southwest of Atlanta is where, for the 20th season, Callaway Gardens Resort will present 8 million lights stretching more than five miles from November 16 to December 30. Be surrounded by giant glowing soldiers as you pass through the March of the Toy Soldiers, numbers of winter snowflakes in Snowflake Valley and watch dazzling lights as travel through the colorful Christmas Tree Lane.
41. PORTSMOUTH, NH hosts “Vintage Christmas” with sparking lights and a festival of strolls and shows on select nights in December. Visit Strawbery Banke Museum, a living history museum celebrating holiday traditions from around the world and join a Candlelight Stroll (December 1-2, 8-9 and 15-16), where you can experience the sights, sounds and smell of a traditional New England Christmas. Head into New Hampshire’s Mountains Nov 24 to Waterville Valley and see Santa arrive by dogsled—bringing gifts for all the kids—followed by the tree lighting and fireworks or travel with santa on the Santa Claus Express – North Conway, NH through the Mt. Washington Valley.
42. RICHMOND, VA- “Tacky Light Tour” is a local tradition where people dive, or even rent buses or limos to take the tour.
43. RIVERSIDE, CA is home to the 20th annual “Festival of Lights” at the historic Mission Inn Hotel and Spa. Free and open to the public, it features 3.6 million lights, more than 400 animated figures, horse-drawn carriage rides, Santa and reindeer sightings plus entertainment. The event runs from November 23 through January 5.
44. SAN ANTONIO, TX where 1.8 million lights sparkle along the San Antonio River Walk from November 23 to January 1. The Ford Holiday River and Lighting Ceremony will take place on the debut day at 7 p.m. and will feature illuminated floats with celebrities, bands and costumed participants. The whole family will enjoy this beautiful area and unique holiday experience.
45. SAN DIEGO, CA boasts “Garden of Lights” in San Diego’s Botanic Garden with over 100,000 lights illuminating all of the displays (from December 8-23 and 26-30) and the “Holiday of Lights” at the Del Mar Fairgrounds north of San Diego with more than 400 family-oriented light displays (from November 24 to January 1). Legoland also touts an annual “Holiday Block Party” with a 30-foot tall Christmas tree constructed of 245,000 green Legos displaying Lego ornaments.
46. SAN FRANCISCO touts 49 square miles of holiday cheer, whether you want to eat, see a holiday performance or holiday lights. Towering lighted trees are found outdoors from the waterfront (PIER 39′s Tree Lighting Celebration includes Disney Pals on Nov 18); to Nob Hill to Union Square to the Castro. All four towers of the Embarcadero Center are outlined with lights for six weeks, while the palm trees at Union Square are wrapped in lights and the historic Path of Gold streetlights on Market St. bear lighted snowflakes. The historic cable cars even wear festive decorations and motorized cable car tours are available to take in all the sights of the season.
47. SEATTLE Toyland Village on the Waterfront from Nov 26-Jan 2 Seattle’s Waterfront Park serves as host to the Toyland Village Lighted Holiday Displays with more than 50 larger-than-life toy-themed holiday displays. The holidaysinseattle.com site will be live on November 1. It will include a full listing of events, attractions and travel tips.Bring the entire family to Westlake Park in downtown Seattle for a ride on the annual holiday carousel while the 74-acre Seattle Center campus is covered in twinkling lights while you ice skate, listen to music and see a train roll through the turn-of-the-century miniature village decorated with lights and snow (Nov. 24 to Dec. 31). Woodland Park Zoo launches its first ever winter lights festival this 2012 holiday season featuring wild animals and wild places recreated in approximately 375,000 of sparkling LED lights inspired by nature while the 63rd Annual Argosy Christmas Ship festival sends parade of brightly-lit boats sails to over 45 different waterfront communities with a holiday choir on board.
48. SEDONA, AZ is celebrating the 22nd anniversary of its “Red Rock Fantasy” light show with over two dozen displays and a million lights from November 15 to January 5. The event benefits local charities and families each year and has a number of enticing activities for young people, including scavenger hunts within the displays and an illuminate undersea adventure.
49. SPRINGFIELD, MA hosts the 16th annual presentation of “Bright Nights,” New England’s premier holiday lighting exhibit. This 3-mile long driving route through historic Forest Park is filled with exhibits and displays such as Seuss Land (Dr. Seuss was from Springfield), North Pole Village and Jurassic World created with holiday lights. The event will run from November 21 through January 1.
50. STANWOOD, WA is hosting “The Lights of Christmas,” held annually at Warm Beach Camp. The grandest holiday event in the Pacific Northwest, it offers displays of more than one dazzling million lights, a life-size nativity scene, five entertainment stages (music ranges from Victorian caroling to country and bluegrass), pony rides, Polar Express train rides, Santa Claus, Bruce the Talking Spruce, Joyland Toy Shop, a petting farm, holiday gifts and crafts, plus affordable food and snacks for the family. The festival will run on November 29 and December 2, 6-9, 13-16, 18-23 and 26-29.
51. ST. PAUL, MN – IBEW presents “Holiday Lights in the Park” with more than 50 huge holiday light sculptures and animated displays in Phalen Park from November 20 to January 1. A fun and affordable holiday event for families, the event also serves a great cause, as proceeds will be donated to local non-profit organizations.
52. SYRACUSE, NY where “Lights on the Lake” is celebrating 23 years of two-mile long drive through one of the largest and colorful light shows in the Northeast. The light extravaganza features several themed scenes including Land of Oz, Fantasy Forest and a Fairytale Grand Finale that are sure to be favorites for your family. Visit between November 15 and January 6 (except on New Years Eve.)
53. THOMASVILLE, GA is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its “Victorian Christmas” with 22,500 twinkling lights, Victorian Museum, Victorian Craft Village, horse-drawn carriages, performances, Winter Wonderland for children, carolers singing holiday favorites and more. The festival, which will bring snow to southwest Georgia, will be held on December 13 and 14. Additionally, from November 25 through December 31, Flower Foods’ presents its annual “Christmas in Lights” on the company’s grounds. Features include a Victorian village, an animated train and thousands of lights and holiday music.
54. VIRGINIA BEACH, VA is one of six Virginia cities featuring “100 Miles of Lights” with displays from its capital city to the ocean, including Richmond, Williamsburg, Newport News, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach, from November 24 to January 1. “McDonalds’s Holiday Lights at the Beach” along Virginia Beach’s Ocean Front Boardwalk include a 40-foot tall tree on the beach and for over 30 blocks, people can drive or walk to see the nautical themed “Fanta-Sea” of Lights from November 16 to January 1.
55. WASHINGTON, DC is where you can see the 90th Annual National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony on December 6, feauturing recording artists OneRepublic, Ellie Goulding, Big Time Rush, Kernit the Frog and more! The National Menorah celebrates the First Night’s lighting “Zoolights” at the National Zoo is where the fun begins with thousands of eco-friendly lights, activities, musical performances, rides on Thomas the Train, and ice-skating weekends November 23-25 and 30 to December 1-2, 7-9, 14-23 and 27-30 (except Christmas Eve and Day, and New Year’s Eve). Experience a historic Christmas at Mt. Vernon with a candlelight tour and caroling on selected evenings from November 23 to January 6.
(Special thanks to our Taking The Kids intern, Becca Tash, a senior at the University of Miami, for helping us compile and fact-check this guide)
Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s natural environment.
