Loading the family into the car and driving around, looking at Christmas lights, is a cherished holiday tradition.
But, where to go?
Recent rains (especially on weekends) have given some homeowners a slower start in decking their halls. Still, point your car in any direction in the Fort Worth area, and you'll find individual homes and entire neighborhoods aglow with holiday spirit.
Below is a list of top local homes and neighborhoods for Christmas lights this season. Check back often as it'll grow and grow as the holidays draw near.
For a larger list of spectacular Christmas lights around Fort Worth, including drive-thrus and commercial displays, click here.
Homes with over-the-top displays and shows
Santa House, Grapevine
The Murillo family has filled their front yard in Grapevine with more than 1,000 lighted Santa decorations as a beacon of awareness for local nonprofit Grace Grapevine's Christmas Cottage program. The Grapevine Santa House is a "Where's Waldo?" maze of Santa statues, which visitors can walk among and snap photos with for free, then make an optional donation to Grace online. The lights go on every night from dusk-to-10:30 pm, Sundays through Thursdays, and dusk-to-11 pm, Saturdays and Sundays. The home is on a cul-de-sac in the Western Oaks neighborhood, and visitors can park along the street. The exact location is 3373 Spruce Lane, Grapevine. Follow the Grapevine Santa House Facebook page for updates; ends December 29.
Wisdom Way Lights, Haltom City
The Gonzalez family's 15,000-pixel, choreographed light show features two different presentations: Sonic the Hedgehog and Sing, featuring highlights from Sing 1 and Sing 2. Visitors can view both shows from from their cars and listen on radio channel 89.7 FM. Wisdom Way Lights runs nightly from 6-11:30 pm. Find it at 4521 Wisdom Way, Haltom City, and follow Wisdom Way Lights on Facebook and YouTube for updates.
Black Family Lights, Keller
A computer-controlled Christmas light show syncs to music. The family uses about 45,000 channels of control to make over 1 million possible colors. This year they're playing their favorite songs from shows over the past five years, with a fresh update. The show lasts about 20 minutes and plays on a continuous loop. Showtimes are 6-10 pm nightly, through New Year's Eve. Find it in the Heritage subdivision, at 8944 Manana St. Keller, 76244.
Curry Christmas Chaos, North Richland Hills
Three houses annually collaborate to present a lights show synchronized to music that's anything but the "chaos" that the name implies. From start to finish, it's typically over an hour long, and features a mix of pixels and standard LED lights "dancing" to music. Visitors can tune in to 89.9 FM to listen as lots of Christmas trees light up on the lawn. The show runs every night (unless Mother Nature decides differently), 6-11 pm. Find it at 3506 Reeves St., NRH. Follow the Facebook page for more information and updates.
Tell Family Lights, far north Fort Worth
The family home near Keller Central High School has gotten a later start with its annual synchronized Christmas lights show, but for good reason: they've also opened a brand new drive-thru event called Sugar Lane Lights in Haslet. Find the home at 5016 Keating St., Fort Worth, 76244. The lights typically are on 5:30-9 pm Sunday through Thursday and 5:30-10 pm Friday and Saturday. (Make sure to not block anyone’s driveway and be careful driving down the street, they advise.) Follow their website or Facebook page for more information and updates.
Kulesz Light Display, Dalworthington Gardens
Homeowner Dave Kulesz started a neighborhood tradition when he lit up his property with hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights. Surrounding homes got into the fun and now attract visitors from miles around. Kulesz uses the exposure to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease, to which he lost his mother. A sign in his front yard encourages people to make gifts to the Alzheimer's Association. See the lights every night from 5:45-11 pm. Find it on Rushing Meadow Court in Dalworthington Gardens.
Neighborhoods filled with holiday spirit
Fairmount Festivus, Fort Worth (including Festivus on December 10)
You can pick any night to drive around Fairmount and see historic bungalows lit festively for the season. But the best night of all is Festivus, the annual celebration and holiday lights tour. It takes place 6-9 pm Saturday, December 10. Maps of participating homes will be handed out on arrival. Donations of $10 or a toy for One Safe Place are being requested. Watch the historic district's Facebook page for more information as plans develop.
Ryan Place, Fort Worth
The gorgeous historic homes in this grand Fort Worth neighborhood get illuminated in spectacular fashion, as do the long walks that lead up to them. The beloved annual Candlelight Christmas in Ryan Place home tour took place December 3-4, but these stately homes will stay illuminated through the holidays.
Glenbrook Christmas, Bedford, through December 31
The Bedford neighborhood will once again light up to tell the story of “The Night Before Christmas in Texas That Is” — along with other festive displays. The entrance to Glenbrook is on Brookside Drive located between Cummings and Forest Ridge. The displays will be on nightly 6-10 pm. Follow the Facebook page for updates.
Diamond Loch, North Richland Hills, through December 25
This North Richland Hills neighborhood has dressed up for the holidays for decades. Drive through the cul-de-sac slowly to check out adjacent houses that join forces to present a massive computerized show. The rest of the street decorates nicely to make an enchanted "Whoville" Christmas experience. They grow the show every year, and The Grinch himself may actually pop in occasionally; follow their Facebook page (and search #nrhgrinchlights) to keep up. It's open daily, 5:30-10 pm Monday-Thursday and 5:30-11 pm weekends. To find it, navigate to the address 6217 Windsor Ct., NRH, 76180.
Interlochen Lights, Arlington, December 16-25
The Interlochen neighborhood will present Interlochen Lights for just one week and weekend during the holiday season. Known as the best neighborhood light show in Texas, the event allows guests to drive through the neighborhood and pick out favorite displays while they tune into holiday music on radio stations 102.1 FM or 98.7 FM. This is one of the busiest spots in Dallas-Fort Worth during the holiday season, and it's free. The route will be the same as previous years; find the map here. Watch for updates on their website and Facebook page.
Morrisdale Estates, Euless
Morrisdale Estates neighborhood in Euless is known for great light displays. The Morrisdale tradition is for everyone in the neighborhood to put up the same red lights on their curbs to create a sea of red as you drive through the neighborhood. Bonus that it's still a bit of an undiscovered gem, so there's not as much traffic as other neighborhoods. Find the neighborhood between Pipeline Road and Hurst Blvd., 76040.
Montego Road, Ridgmar neighborhood, west Fort Worth
The Montego Road Christmas Show project, more than 15 years strong, takes an entire street to pull off. Two residences (mirror images of each other) comprise the main program, with two more "support homes" flanking them and curb lights of 12 other homes leading the way to the main event. The show of more than 125,000 lights is fully choreographed to Christmas music (heard on an FM radio station in the car or via outdoor speakers) and lasts about 30 minutes. It begins at 6 pm and runs until midnight each night. To find it, exit Interstate 30 at Ridglea/Ridgmar Blvd. and go north. The streets are in alphabetical order until you reach Montego Road. The display begins there, at Ridgmar Blvd., and continues west on the 1100 block of Montego Road.
Ridglea Hills
Folks who take walks and visit the ducks along Luther Lake in this westside Fort Worth neighborhood eagerly anticipate the arrival of the holiday lights on about 30 surrounding homes. The lights reflect in the water of the 10-acre lake, making for some pretty spectacular photo and video opps on clear nights. The best place to see them is along the bridge at Clayton Road. (It's also an easy drive over to the Montego Road display, above.)
Cultural District
Make the marvelous Modern Lights around the Modern Art Museum your starting point, but drive through the museum district, then through some of the old neighborhoods across the bricks of Camp Bowie, and you'll see grand homes dressed and ready to dazzle for the holidays. Don't miss the "Giganta Santa," a 40-foot-tall inflatable Santa Claus that looks as though it's looming over its owner's home. Find it on 6th Street between Belle Place and Virginia Place. View and follow #gigantasanta on its own Instagram page.
Other recommendations:
- 8301 Greylock Dr., far north Fort Worth: The Foley family home in the Park Glen neighborhood plays a lights show each night from 6-10 pm. It features over 20,000 LED lights and approximately 30 songs. Listeners can tune to 100.1 FM to hear the music from their car.
- Red Brangus Trail in Fort Worth, 76131: The whole street has a synchronized music show.
- The Bailey House in Bedford, 76022: Aka, The Parthenon House, 20 years strong this year. Over-the-top lights display at 1200 Circle Ln., Bedford.
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Know of another spectacular lights display in DFW? Email stephanie@culturemap.com. Please include a website or link to social media page with your recommendation.
