There are people who put up Christmas lights and then there are people who are a little more extreme when it comes to their displays. These people take Extreme Christmas to a whole new level. But where did the tradition of hanging lights for Christmas come from?
Antonia Felix tells us in her book “Christmas in America” by Antonia Felix that the custom evolved from an early German Christmas tradition. These families would decorate their Christmas tree with candles. The tree a symbol of the Christ child, this came from a pagan yule tradition where an evergreen tree would symbolize the return of the light of the sun during the winter solstice and the lengthening of days. It also symbolized renewal and life continuing after the darker days prior to the solstice.
The candles were symbolic of Christ being the light of the world and were later substituted for lights. The tradition of decorating your home with Christmas lights evolved from there. People all around their world deck out their homes in honor of the holiday season. They put in a lot of time and money just for the love of filling their family, friends, and neighbors with the Christmas spirit.
Here are 45 people who won Christmas with their epic decorations:
This is the Christmas display of all Christmas displays. There’s not a lot of lights and flashy decor, but it’s just perfect. This display couldn’t be any more awesome!
There a few houses that recreate the Griswold house and have their own versions of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. They are everything you’d hope they’d be. These are cool as hell!
Each year, Rolf’s German Restaurant in NYC goes ALL OUT. Their restaurant is decorated with thousands of lights and bulbs bringing Christmas cheer to all who enter their doors. Who doesn’t want to enjoy a nice meal and a few cocktails while admiring this exquisite display?
6) The Garabedian House a.k.a. The Bronx Christmas House
For four decades, the Garabedian family have created unspeakable joy for thousands of people who visit their pink house located in the Bronx, NY, known as The Garabedian House or The Bronx Christmas House.
Apparently, the Garabedian family decided to create this elaborate display in 1974 after a miracle occurred.
“Something special happened to the family on Christmas Eve in 1973… This is our way of showing thanks to the Lord for what he did for us,” Mr. Garabedian was reported to have said, according to The Gothamist.
The display has vastly changed over the years with the house starting out with smaller dolls which are seen in Mariah Carey’s video for “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Over the years, the Garadedian’s started installing incredible life-size dolls with characters from both Heaven and Hollywood. The house went dark for the first time in 2019 for health reasons. There’s no word that I could find on whether or not it will return for the 2020 holiday season.
Yes! Miracle on 9th Street really is as fun and festive as it looks. This NYC pop up car features lights galore, animatronic dolls, and Christmas cocktails served in festive cups.
8) Bellingrath Gardens and Home
The Bellingrath Gardens and Home in Alabama goes all out for Christmas. The 65-acre estate boasts more than 1,100 set pieces and 3 million lights. That’s a lot of lights!
You can actually hang out with Santa at one of the most Christmassy places on Earth. Here you can hitch a ride on Santa’s sleigh or read some letters that were sent to Santa. It’s called the official home of Santa Clause in Rovaniemi, Lapland in Finland.
10) Santa Claus House – North Pole, Alaska
Santa Claus actually has a place in the North Pole. And it is as epic as you think it would be. There are gorgeous ice sculptures that you can play on, reindeer, an ice maze, and much more. Get details here.
11) A Whole Lot of Christmas
There’s a whole lot going on here. A whole lot of Christmas. And I love it.
This entire Torrance, CA neighborhood goes ALL out. It’s referred to as Candy Cane Lane. All of the neighbors have similar displays to create a cohesive look with their trees. What great neighborhood spirit!
This is another bunch of neighbors that got together to fill their space in town with the holiday spirit. It’s three houses with synchronized lights that were spearheaded by the Yoshida family. Their display was featured on The Great Christmas Light Show. Donations that are collected go back into their community. In addition to lights you could even catch performaces from Halau Hula ʻO Hokulani at this holiday hot spot.
Halau Hula ʻO Hokulani will be performing this coming Thursday 19th Dec 2019 6:30-7pm HST. We welcome them as they spread the ALOHA & Christmas Spirit each year!
Every house on the block on 34th Street in Baltimore goes all out to create an incredible holiday experience. Hundreds, or maybe even thousands of people, flood the street to walk through this magical winter wonderland. They were even featured on NBC Nightly News.
15) Missouri Christmas Light Map
Wouldn’t it be awesome if you had a map of all of the elaborately decorated houses in your town? Billings, Montana thought so and they made one. There are 35+ locations on their list and they even have a scavenger hunt lint so you can mark off specific things you see, like a penguin or The Grinch. As you can see, 4516 Stone St. has a lot to look for.
16) Dyker Heights, Brooklyn
Dyker Heights, Brooklyn is another neighborhood that truly loves Christmas. About 300,000 people flock to the neighborhood each year to walk through or drive by during the holiday season. It’s basically house after house that’s elaborately decorated like the one you see here.
"The famous Dyker Heights Xmas Lights.✨✨What's your plan for Christmas this year????? ••••••#newyorkchristmas…
You don’t need a lot of decorations to put on an epic Christmas light display. Just some LED magic and good tunes. Trista Lights were featured on The Christmas Light Fight. I’m so on board with dubstep Christmas.
In 2016, Tom BetGeorge created an incredible light display to the music of Harry Potter. It also included a massive replica of Hogwarts and a 19-foot illuminated piano. The singing Christmas trees are my favorite.
19) Peacock Lane, Portland
People on Peacock Lane in Portland have been decorating since 1928 (or whatever that sign says). Vistors walk that street night after night during the holiday season. They’ve got Star Wars-themed decor, trees that come to life, and a beautiful nativity.
20) Johnson’s Full Dubstep House
This house is cool as hell. The music is so dope. And the effects are just freaking awesome.
21) The Miracle on South 13th Street in PA
The Grinch, The Christmas Story leg lamp, and Santa Yoda can be found in this Philly neighborhood. There are about 42 houses on South 13th Street and most of them decorate for Christmas. And it gets bigger and brighter each year.
A Big Thank You to 6ABC Localish for the video. We appreciate all the Love!! We hope that everyone are getting things…
The best way to check out the Christmas on Comstock lights is from above. This way you can see all 13 homes in the neighborhood that decorate their homes with an in-sync display. Their Christmas show was featured on The Great Christmas Light Fight.
23) Tacky Lights Tour of Virginia
While elegant Christmas decor can be beautiful, louder, bigger, and brighter is better for me when it comes to Christmas light displays. The folks who put on the Tacky Lights Tour of Virginia think so too. Bigger is much better in this part of Richmond, VA.
24) Daystar’s Reason For the Season
Daystar, a Christian TV network, wants to make sure you remember the reason for the season. That’s why their Nativity scene is larger than life. Well, it’s life-size. They also have some pretty awesome lights that you can drive through to checkout. They call it Christmas Town!
The Martorana’s of Wayne, NJ work their butts off each year to make sure their house is decorated from top to bottom, left to right. And they do an incredible job. They also decorate for Halloween. Check out their Facebook page here.
26) The Rosewood Christmas House
The Rosewood Christmas House is a delight of inflatables and lights. It’s located on Rosewood Ct in Wyomissing, PA. They put on a show for neighbors and passersby all the way through New Year’s Day.
27) The Peckville Christmas House
The Peckville Christmas House is another proud display of Christmas love. They’ve been decorating their home in Peckville, PA for years. Visiting this place makes you feel like you’ve been transported to a Christmas wonderland!
This NJ mansion is decorated on the inside. And in the most elaborate fashion. It’s located in Colts, Neck NJ and recently went up for sale for $2.19 million.
29) Santa Face House
I don’t know where this is but I freaking love it. So clever to make eyes from wreaths and a nose from a tree. Super freaking cute!
You’ll find all of your favorite traditional Christmas characters featured in this Defiance, OH home’s Christmas Display. You’ll even find The Flintstones. Are they even considered Christmas characters? I guess they are now!
We're convinced this is the only house in America where you can celebrate Christmas with Charlie Brown AND the…
The Ludy Christmas House makes quite the spectacle every year. The home in Columbus, GA had music AND lights. And a whole lot of Christmas spirit.
35) The Contractor’s House
This house is super extra and located in Deerwoods, NJ. Apparently, a contractor lives there. Whoever lives there, knows what they’re doing when it comes to making things merry and bright.
(There were no changes made to this photo. License can be found here.)
41) Henrico, VA
This is a real fun home in Henrico, VA. I feel like the “Merry Christmas” sign really pulls everything together. But what is that green guy on the bottom right? A frog?
(There were no changes made to this photo. License can be found here.)
42) Seattle, WA
There’s barely a single space on this lawn that isn’t filled with some kind of decoration. And that’s pretty cool. This home is located in Seattle, WA.
(There were no changes made to this photo. License can be found here.)
43) Fye’s Crazy Christmas House
The Fye’s Crazy Christmas House is in Florida. They have their very own Facebook page with way better pictures. But even by this photo you can tell that there is lots to look at!
Visited the Fye’s Crazy Christmas House this evening. What a wonderful display of Christmas spirit! Thanks to these great folks for sharing with the neighborhood. Worth a drive-by. 407 Eagle Circle.
It looks like Santa also has a workshop in Burbank, CA. Because there sure are a lot of elves and snowmen there. Looks like Buzz Lightyear is helping out too.
45 homes that were the talk of the neighborhood with their crazy Christmas decorations
D.G. Sciortino
12.01.20
There are people who put up Christmas lights and then there are people who are a little more extreme when it comes to their displays. These people take Extreme Christmas to a whole new level. But where did the tradition of hanging lights for Christmas come from?
Antonia Felix tells us in her book “Christmas in America” by Antonia Felix that the custom evolved from an early German Christmas tradition. These families would decorate their Christmas tree with candles. The tree a symbol of the Christ child, this came from a pagan yule tradition where an evergreen tree would symbolize the return of the light of the sun during the winter solstice and the lengthening of days. It also symbolized renewal and life continuing after the darker days prior to the solstice.
The candles were symbolic of Christ being the light of the world and were later substituted for lights. The tradition of decorating your home with Christmas lights evolved from there. People all around their world deck out their homes in honor of the holiday season. They put in a lot of time and money just for the love of filling their family, friends, and neighbors with the Christmas spirit.
Here are 45 people who won Christmas with their epic decorations:
