Taking the Kids: And checking out holiday lights before they are gone

Big or small? No, not the size of your Christmas tree. We’re talking about holiday light installations around the country, from ones that light up neighborhood streets like Dyker Heights in Brooklyn, New York, to snow resorts to big, splashy ones in theme parks, Las Vegas and New York.

The light displays in the Dyker Heights neighborhood of southwest Brooklyn are so popular that tour operators like Dyker Heights Christmas Lights and A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours offer guided trips through Dyker Heights at specific times for a fee.

Some span several cities. The Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights spans several cities, each slightly different. You'll find the cities mostly in northern Louisiana, off of state highways 49 or 20. Locals and visitors alike love the Natchitoches lights, including the decorations of historic homes.

We’ve put together some of our favorites with our partners at Family Travel Forum. They are an especially good bet when the kids need something to distract them after too many days out of school and you need a break. (Think hot cider, candy canes and artisan markets to pick up those last gifts.)

A little history, courtesy of US News: In 1880, Thomas Edison strung together a set of electric lights and hung them outside of his laboratory during Christmastime. Two years later, Edison's friend, Edward H. Johnson, wound a strand of red, white and blue electric lights around his Christmas tree.

According to US News, 150 million sets of lights are sold each year in this country.

When you visit, you are giving back to the local community and local economy., Asheville goes all out with an amazing National Gingerbread House Competition (free public viewings Sunday night through Thursday at Omni Grove Park Inn). The displays at the Biltmore estate in Asheville, North Carolina, are especially important and poignant this year as the region recovers from Hurricane Helene and hopes tourists will return.

There are many drive-through experiences typically themed to the region. In Virginia Beach, Virginia, Holidays Lights at the Beach illuminates the boardwalk in separate nautical, holiday and adventure themes while a soundtrack plays on your car radio.

In Las Vegas, Glittering Lights at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a drive-through experience with free nights for those who serve the community, including teachers, first-responders, veterans and military personnel. There are more than 5 million LED lights that intertwine throughout a 2.5-mile course through the speedway.

In Syracuse, New York, Wegman’s Lights on the Lake, the two-mile, drive-through show, includes a larger-than-life Land of Oz, a twinkling Fantasy Forest, colorful arches, and more.

Celebration in the Oaks, a time-honored New Orleans tradition, covers more than 25 acres of City Park’s famous moss-covered oaks with a million twinkling light displays that stretch for 2.5 miles.

There are plenty of walk-through displays too. Albuquerque, New Mexico, for example, boasts New Mexico’s largest walk-through holiday lights display at Biopark Botanic Garden River of Lights. Making its grand return to Seattle, Washington, Enchant comes to T-Mobile Park until Dec. 29. It’s set in a magical world with an ice-skating trail, marketplace and the “world’s largest Christmas light maze.”

Also in Seattle, the 30th annual Gingerbread Village at the Sheraton Grand Seattle is a free public event which aims to raise funds to support BreakthroughT1D Pacific Northwest Chapter (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). Over the past 30 years, visiting Gingerbread Village has become a local holiday tradition for local families, blending festive holiday fun with a spirit of generosity. This year’s theme, ‘Iconic Destinations’, is inspired by the power of travel and its ability to encourage people to experience new and diverse cultures, perspectives and landscapes.

Many zoos and botanical gardens holiday displays bring families back year after year, as well as visitors to those cities. One of our favorites is “Las Noches de Las Luminarias,” when 50,000 cacti at Desert Botanical Garden glow with 8,000 hand-lit paper lanterns.

Some displays last well into the new year. We love San Francisco’s free outdoor Illuminate SF Festival of Light with more than 40 installations in 17 neighborhoods created by more than 40 artists. And it lasts until the end of January!

In Philadelphia, Winter in Franklin Square, featuring the Electrical Spectacle Light Show with hundreds of lights choreographed to seasonal music, lasts until Feb. 23, 2025. Try street curling and warm up with hot beverages around the fire pit. There’s a kids’ New Year’s Eve countdown, and more.

Some light displays are a truly unique experience. Drive through Lights Under Louisville with more than 6.5 million lights arranged in themed displays, very cool mapping projections and 900 illuminated characters in a vast complex of caves.

Some draw people to historic hotels from the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs not only famous for its light displays but also for its life-sized gingerbread creation, each different every year. Riverside, California’s the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, a historic AAA-Four Diamond hotel, has ignited its annual Festival of Lights. USA Today named the hotel’s free holiday extravaganza of lights and animated characters the “Best Public Lights Display in the Nation.”

Let’s not forget festivals. The entire town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, becomes a winter wonderland during the city’s annual Pigeon Forge Winterfest. The Wonders of the Light Walking Trail and separate WinterFest Driving Tour of Lights welcome pets and wheelchairs.

Be wowed by the largest on-the-water holiday light display in the United States. The lakefront Coeur d’Alene Resort runs four nightly “Journey to the North Pole Cruises” for a spectacular view of the holiday celebration. Meet reindeer on the lawn!

In San Antonio, Texas, opt for a Holiday Lights Cruise along San Antonio’s River Walk to enjoy more than 100,000 lights artfully adorning the bald cypress trees. Don’t miss the Ford Fiesta de las Luminarias, which features more than 2,000 of the traditional Mexican Christmas lanterns lining the riverbank.

Aren’t you glad you got everyone out of the house? Happy holidays!

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The fourth edition of The Kid’s Guide to New York City and the third edition of The Kid’s Guide to Washington D.C. are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)