Where Are The Best Places For Holiday Light Tours? Glad You Asked

Fear not this holiday season. One tradition is built to survive and thrive this year — drive-through neighborhood light tours.

Throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, neighborhoods are promoting their holiday light tours. Visitors can check out the displays from safe distances in their vehicles as they snake through neighborhoods.

Dallas radio personality Corby Davidson, who grew up around holiday lights tours in the Lake Interlochen neighborhood, recognizes that cruising neighborhoods for holiday lights makes more sense this season, considering COVID-19 restrictions on physical distancing.

“I would assume that might get MORE families to see the lights,” he says. “Would give them something to do.”

In the listing below, we’ve found a few neighborhoods promoting their light displays. By no means is this a complete list or scratches the surface of neighborhood light displays, but it’s a start.

Arlington

Interlochen Holiday Lights
Where: Enter off Randol Mill Road at Westwood Drive.
What: Interlochen sustains a 40-year holiday tradition with more than 200 holiday light displays that attract thousands of families who cruise through this Lake Interlochen neighborhood every December. It’s even been named among Redfin’s best neighborhood Christmas light displays in the country.
When: 7 to 11 nightly, Dec. 18-25
Read more here | Facebook page

Downtown Dallas

Where: Downtown Dallas
What: You can’t miss with a tour of downtown Dallas. Start on Young Street and check out the oversized decorates on the Omni Dallas Hotel lawn on Young Street. Up the street is the 35-foot-tall holiday free at City Hall Plaza. Decorated trees are also at Klyde Warren Park, the AT&T Discovery District, Main Street Garden, and in the Adolphus, Fairmont, and Hyatt Regency hotel lobbies.
Read more here

Dallas

Electric Lizzyland
Where: Newell Avenue between Santa Monica Drive and Lindsley Avenue in Hollywood Heights
What: After a hiatus, Liz Simmons has brought the magic of Electric Lizzyland back to her Hollywood Heights front yard. Known for its fabulous displays of glittery excess, Electric Lizzyland dazzles most nights (weather permitting) from 6 to 10 p.m.
Read more here

Swiss Avenue Historic District
Where: Swiss Avenue Historic District Swiss Avenue, La Vista Drive, Bryan Parkway, and Bryan and Beacon streets
What: This historic neighborhood in Old East Dallas features decorations on early 20th-century houses that line Swiss Avenue. Streets in the district include Swiss Avenue, La Vista Drive, Bryan Parkway, and Bryan and Beacon streets.
Read more here

Moss Haven Drive at Timberhollow Circle, Lake Highlands
Where: From Abrams Road, just south of Royal Lane, turn west onto Moss Trail, left on Moss Haven Drive, then right on Timberhollow Circle.
What: Residents in the Oak Highlands Estates subdivision cul-de-sac in Lake Highlands coordinate their holiday decor to bring “The 12 Days of Christmas” to life on their lawns. Each of the 14 homes lining the cul-de-sac feature elaborate lighting displays, a tradition that started nearly 30 years.
When: Lights are on nightly until 9 through December.

Fort Worth

Fairmount Festivus’ Holiday Lights Tour
Where: Here’s the map
What: Visitors who appreciate classic neighborhoods can enjoy the lights in the Fairmount National Historic District, which was developed between 1890 and 1938. The tree-lined neighborhood is representative of the early 20th-century streetcar suburb with diverse house forms, most wood-frame bungalows. As you might have noticed in the event title, Fairmount is being into the faux Seinfeld holiday, so be sure to check out the Festivus pole.
Read more here

Lights on Trail Creek
Where: 4941 Trail Creek Drive
What: This North Fort Worth residence boasts more than 20,000 LED lights synced to Christmas music. Tune into 99.9 FM to hear the show.
When: 5:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
Read more here

Frisco

Burkman Holiday Home
Where: 3809 Hazelhurst Drive
What: The Burkman family has made a tradition of decorating their home for over 20 years. This year, the family has gone all Clark Griswald with 70,000 lights. You can get out of the car and walk through a lighted wonderland where you’ll see a 400-piece train village in the garage.
When: Times and dates: 6 to 11 p.m. through Dec. 31.
Read more here | Burkman family on Facebook

Park Cities

Highland Park Lights
Where: Armstrong Parkway at Preston
What: Lights at these upscale homes throughout Highland Park are hard to beat. The best viewing area are considered to lie between the North Dallas Tollway, Preston Road, Mockingbird Lane, and Armstrong Boulevard. But many other entry points are available, including Highland Park Village at Preston and Mockingbird. Be prepared for an abundance of wrapped trees and lawn decorations. Horse-drawn carriage rides are available.

University Park Santa House
Where: 3629 Southwestern Blvd.
What: Homeowner Wayne Smith has an army of Santas, snowmen, Nutcracker toy soldiers, and other characters at his home. What really gets attention is the head of the original Big Texas, which is positioned from a perch on his roof. In 2019, Smith told KTVT: “During the day it looks like a plastic factory exploded, but at night it looks really nice.”

Plano

Deerfield Neighborhood
Where: 4549 Old Pond Drive or Preston and Coit roads
This northwest Plano neighborhood of 733 single-family homes started the tradition when the builders offered homeowners a $5,000 prize for the best-decorated house. Well, you know money powers competition, and the event took off. Entrances to the neighborhood are numerous. The lines of cars are forecast to be long, so the neighborhood suggests checking out the displays on weekdays. The HOA recommends using the back entrance from Quincy Lane. Horse-drawn carriage rides are available.
Times and dates: 7 to 10 p.m. weekdays and 7 to 11 p.m. weekends through Dec. 30.
Read more here

And there’s more …

Core Services presents its Holiday Nights: Lights, Sights 🎄 🎅