Tag: Christmas Lights

The Best Holiday Lights in the US

Regardless of your location in the States, watching the twinkle of the Christmas lights is sure to spark joy and get you in the holiday mood. With a long and dated history, Christmas lights have become a symbol for an exciting and giving season.

Finding the best Christmas lights display within driving distance is a fun activity for the whole family, where you can watch the flickering of green and red dance to the best Christmas music. A few weeks ago, Travel + Leisure shared an updated list of the best Christmas lights in every state. Here are a few of our favorites!

Arkansas

Originally, the best Christmas Lights display belonged to the Osbourne Family Spectacle. Now that Disney laid their claim and moved it to Florida, you can get your Christmas fix at the Arkansas State Capitol Building.

Connecticut

Head to Hartford for the Holiday Light Fantasia, a drive-through animated Christmas display with larger-than-life scenes for Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Eve. Make sure to look out for Flurry, a puppy wearing a Santa hat, hidden amongst all the lights.

Georgia

Whether you want a self-guided walking tour or a Christmas-themed getaway, Barnsley Resort in Adairsville is the place to go. Here, you’ll find millions of bulbs illuminating the manor house ruins.

Hawaii

Are you ready for a multi-house, synchronized holiday experience? Then head to the Waikele neighborhoodto see the grand Christmas lights show lead by the Yoshida family. There are shows daily from 7pm to 9:30pm, and the lights are usually up till early January.

Iowa

Make sure to swing by the Jolly Holiday Lights, a 2.5 mile ride through over 100 light displays. All proceeds from the Jolly Holiday Lights are donated to Make-A-Wish Iowa.

Louisiana

Head to New Orlean’s to see the lights at Celebration in the Oaks. With over 165,000 visitors each year, there are hundreds of thousands of lights dancing throughout the oak groves in City Park. You’ll also have the opportunity to ride on the antique wooden carousel, so make sure you get a great look at “The Cajun Night Before Christmas” display.

Maryland

Prefer your Christmas celebrations to be on the extreme side? Check out Baltimore’s 34th Street. Each house on the block dresses up in light displays ranging from candy canes and Christmas trees to Mr. Boh, Poe the Raven, and Chesapeake crabs.

New York

Nope, we aren’t talking Rockefeller Center. The hidden Christmas lights gem is actually in Dyker Heights, where homeowners in this Brooklyn neighborhood have an unspoken competition to see who has the best over-the-top lights, professionally crafted displays, and inflatable lawn ornaments.

Ohio

For a unique experience, head to Ohio’s famousClifton Mill, where 3.5 million lights decorate  the building, the gorge, and nearby trees. Make sure to take in the 100-foot “waterfall” of lights, and be good, because there’s a good chance Santa is checking his list in Santa’s Workshop.

Tennessee

The Opryland Hotel in Nashville morphs into a literal winter wonderland over the holidays. You’ll see over 2 million twinkling lights, acres of holiday decor, and indoor winter wonderland (made with over 2 million pounds of ice), and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical.

For more travel related news and information, click here.

A Guide to Louisiana’s Holiday Trail of Lights

Louisiana is known for its originality, so it only makes sense that the state would find ways to stand out even more during the holidays. Louisiana’s Holiday Trail of Lights is nothing short of a festive way for everyone to get into the holiday spirit.

The Holiday Trail of Lights spans across eight cities, where you can find parades, visits from Santa, theatre performances, and live music from November to January. Embarking on this journey is sure to find you plenty of Christmas cheer and is filled with holiday fun for the whole family.

Follow Louisiana Travel’s guide to making the most of the Holiday Trail of Lights by following the guide below!

First, you’ll start in Alexandria and Pineville. Located in the “Heart of Louisiana”, you can get into the Christmas Spirit during the three day long Alex Winterfete, which is a winter festival filled with local choirs, performance groups, the arrival of Santa, cookie-decorating, ice-skating, music, food, and so much more! Then, head to the Alexandria Zoo for the Holiday Light safari to see thousands of twinkling lights in a winter wonderland. Alexandria and Pineville both have parade extravaganzas in early December, so make sure to keep that in mind!

Next, head to the sweet town of Minden and join the celebration at the Minden Christmas Parade. This parade features the lighting of the Christmas tree, life-size Nutcrackers, and fireworks. For some holiday shopping, make sure to head downtown for their Downtown Takeover, where their historic shops offer amazing holiday deals (and get that Christmas shopping out of the way!)

Then, make your way to Monroe and West Monroe. Once you’re here, make sure to check out Santa’s Christmas Village at the Northeast Louisiana Children’s Museum, where there is make-and-take Christmas decorations, ice skating, and the Peppermint Post Office. Afterwards, drive through the mile-long lights display at Candy Cane Lane in Calhoun, and keep on driving to Christmas Evenings at the Biedenharn Museum, where you can see gorgeous Christmas decor, take a photo with Santa, and listen to local musicians.

Natchitoches is the second to last stop on the Holiday Trail of Lights. Here, you can take a Christmas Tour of Homes to see the deckedhalls of the historic homes and then head to the Annual Christmas Festival. There, you’ll be mesmerized by 300,000 lights that illuminate the town and 100 lighter set pieces on the Cane River. Natchitoches makes the perfect background for awe inducing fireworks, live music, arts, crafts, delicious southern food, and so much more. Love Christmas music? Head to the Northwestern Christmas Gala to hear carols and other performances by the NSU students.

And for your last stop, visit Shreveport-Bossier. You’ll find Christmas cheer a-plenty at the Christmas on Caddo Lake Fireworks Festival with pictures with Santa, fireworks, and awesome rock music. Christmas in Roseland has a lights display that transforms the gardens into a winter wonderland, complete with Santa’s Candy Shop. Afterwards, you can visit the KCS Holiday Express train!

For more Louisiana related articles, click here.