I’m going to have to do this sometime, I haven’t driven around this town to look at the decorations yet. There is something comforting about it, to see all the christmas decorations.
This was a family tradition when I was growing up. About two nights before Christmas, the whole family would pile into the car (including grandma) and we would drive around town and look at all the decorations.
I have been carrying on that tradition since moving out of my parent’s house - Hal and I go look at the decorations every year. I also plan on continuing the tradition when we have children.
Isn’t it wonderful to see the world all lit up and beautiful??
Yes, we did that when I was a kid. There was this street in my hometown of Glendale, CA, called Mountain, that had lovely houses and they would be decorated up so beautifully during Christmastime. It was really fun just driving around and admiring all the houses.
There’s an area here in Hooterville particularly that has some lovely decorated houses. I hope I don’t forget to drive through there before the holidays are over.
It’s been a family tradition since my daughter was tiny. In fact, in the beginning she was too young to understand “left” and “right,” so we’d go around saying “mommy’s side” or “daddy’s side” to indicate which way to look. We actually catch ourselves doing that now. 
Yes, we do. Several times before Christmas, in fact. I don’t drive, however, because I’m too busy ooh-ing and ah-ing along with the kids.
Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me. I like to drive through the more expensive neighborhoods and see the houses where the owners hire professionals to put up the lights… Then, we drive through the regular neighborhoods and see how crazy/tacky/whimsical people get.
Which reminds me of a house a couple blocks from Mom’s house: The Crazy Christmas Light House. These people decorate their house, lawn, sidewalk and every other possible space with bulbs, statues, and ornaments of all varieties. It’s shocking. It’s trashy. It’s horrid. And I love it! They do the same for Halloween, too.
We have a pretty ritzy shopping district of Kansas City called the Plaza. No, not plaza… the plahhhza. :rolleyes: Anyway, this area is traditionally decked out in lights and ornaments for the season. Quite beautiful. Here’s a tiny pic.
Yep. Kids in pajamas, food from Super Dawg, and driving around trying to find the most wonderfully overdone decorations.
Every year.
Haven’t done that in a few years, I look at them, but not because that’s specifically what I’m out for. Will be doing it this year, since my son is old enough to get something out of it.
There’s one house on 1st street, me and my friends used to laugh at it, but not any more. He keeps his decorations up ( a whole yard full) all year round. After a couple years of wondering what was wrong with him, we found out it was a sort of memorial for his wife, who passed away on Christmas day years ago. So looking at his yard is more touching than funny now. But there’s still plenty of houses to laugh at around here…geez some people are tacky.
Me too! They’re so pretty. Gunslinger’s family has a dinner party on Christmas Eve, and we ride around looking at lights on our way home from it.
I’ll take the long way home from work to look at Xmas lights and Drachillix will drive me down the local Christmas Tree Lane with a cup of Starbucks in my mittened hands to see the pretty houses all decked out.
Sure, all the time. Love it.
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- Around where I live, there used to be a few prosperous neighborhoods that made a concerted effort to decorate heavily with lights. These places were free to see–they were on public streets, although there was usually a line you had to wait in to drive through. Over the years the tradition seemed to have died off. I don’t think any more do it now the way they used to. You still see the occasional house covered in lights, but not any entire neighborhoods.
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- Around where I live, there used to be a few prosperous neighborhoods that made a concerted effort to decorate heavily with lights. These places were free to see–they were on public streets, although there was usually a line you had to wait in to drive through. Over the years the tradition seemed to have died off. I don’t think any more do it now the way they used to. You still see the occasional house covered in lights, but not any entire neighborhoods.
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When I was a kid we’d drive around to admire the decorations on Christmas eve, but my parents stopped doing that a while ago. So lately I just go out there myself and enjoy the pretty lights.
Don’t need to this year. Clark W. Griswold moved in across the street and he’s put up so much Christmas schlock that we just stand in the window with our mouths hanging open.
I take the kids out every year, about a week before Christmas. Then we come home, have Christmas cookies and hot cocoa.
Hell yeah I do that, but only in my hometown of Johnstown, PA, not here in Tejas.
MaxBabe loves doing this! I was never much into it, myself, but I do get a kick out of driving her around from house to house so she can see the light show. It puts a big grin on her face 
Max.
Yep. In fact, some streets with good decorations collect food donations for the needy from the drivers, so everyone benefits.
I walk my dog different routes to look at decorations in December, including one house with several display cases of animated animals, elves and Santas.
I do it, but I like to try and find the ugliest decorations possible.
When I was a small child, my parents would drive us around on Christmas Eve as a way to settle us down so we’d actually sleep when we went to bed. Back then, there was no tradition here of putting up lights outside the houses, but we used to look for the Christmas trees in people’s windows. These days my security-obsessed DH doesn’t like to have the curtains open at night for fear that people can see in, but I love to have the Christmas tree in a darkened room with it’s lights on in front of an open window so that passers by can see it. It’s probably a waste of time anyway, these days people are looking for the decorated houses not just some twinkling lights visible through a window.
I try to get out to see the lights every year. I love them, some people put so much effort in. Some of the efforts are weird - like that guy who dresses as Santa and sits on his roof on Christmas Eve every year - and some are cool like those people who set up a minature train track around their whole yard and give the kids free rides on the “Santa Express”.