LIGHTSEEING

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

Lightseeing - the sightseeing of holiday lights

I heard about this term today and I like it! This is one of my favorite things to do. DH and I would take the kids, bundle up in the car with drinks, and drive around looking at lights. We still do between church services Christmas Eve.

Two of the neighborhoods around us do luminaires on Christmas Eve, and they still use real candles. I spent my teenage years and up doing this. We would line the streets and the banks of the water. My parents' neighborhood was a newer one. It was so exciting when we started! We would fix the sand and candle in the bag, and light them at the appointed time. Usually after dinner and/or early church we would walk around visiting everyone. I always got up in the middle of the night to see how many were still lit, and it added to the magic of Christmas Eve for me. I half expected to look up and see a sleigh! So when we started, EVERYONE participated. If someone was going to be away, he/she would make sure another neighbor would put the luminaires out at his/her house. By the time I was married to DH and we would go down Christmas Eve, it was more of a chore - we HAVE to do the luminaires. DH and my late brother, who was in college, would try to get out of doing it. My brother actually told DH one year, "I'll give you $25 if you do them"! The novelty had worn off. All three of us ended up doing them that year, and that was one of the last years. The original homeowners were retiring and moving away, and the new ones coming in didn't want to be bothered.

Some of the homes near us go all out, and there are a few who sync their lights to the music, usually for a charity. One very near us used to be known as "The Christmas House." Shortly after Thanksgiving they would start decorating the whole house and yard. People came from all over to see it. We would roll down our windows and listen to carols and songs. About 5 years ago the owner was injured and not able to do it any longer. Their neighbors all chipped in to help him. They did the front and sides, but not the back (which you could see from the road). We noticed after that the lights and decorations were still up, but not to the extent they used to be. Someone who lives in the neighborhood told me about 2 years ago the house was sold. The new owners do a little, but no music or anything else.

The kids enjoyed it so much when they were young. Now they will put up with it for a little while, but never as much as I like. I'd drive all around like we used to if I could. DH is on their side.

Oh well, I still have the week between Christmas and New Year's Day to enjoy looking at them!

So if you go LIGHTSEEING - Enjoy!

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

LOL!!! We go "light-lookin'" And we go almost every night. Our neighborhood goes in for a lot of lights and it is beautiful! Truly a winter wonderland and we are so happy to be part of it!

Snowpuppy · ‎03-09-2010

I'm into go big or go home.

https://oglebay.com/events/festival-of-lights/

Or

https://christmasliteshow.com/index.php

Lyttlewyng · ‎08-06-2012

I really love to go "Lightseeing" too. I find myself playing a little game, where I give imaginary stars to the houses....one star for simple but sweet Holiday Spirit, all the way to five stars for super fantastic, wowee! So much fun being a child at heart.

~ To Know, To Dare, To Will, To Remain Silent ~

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

@Lyttlewyng wrote:
I really love to go "Lightseeing" too. I find myself playing a little game, where I give imaginary stars to the houses....one star for simple but sweet Holiday Spirit, all the way to five stars for super fantastic, wowee! So much fun being a child at heart.

@Lyttlewyng - What a great idea! I'm going to try this. DS comes in from college tomorrow, and DD has a lot going on, but we will find a night to go and do this. I think this will perk them up some!

ValuSkr · ‎03-15-2014

The luminarias in paper bags always seemed like a fire hazard. Didn't they make you nervous?

Really good light displays are getting rarer around here. I'd give many homeowners an A for effort but the execution isn't very good - particularly the mix of light types and colors - anything and everything.

I've always lamented that our condo community doesn't have more lights but the reason for that is simple: the developer put outdoor electrical outlets only on the back side of units, none on the front. I put some lights in front but they're all battery-operated, so it's a rather limited display.

TaylorBrown · ‎02-19-2014

I've never heard of "lightseeing" but I do enjoy to look at Christmas lights. As a matter of fact we will be going out tomorrow night. I enjoy seeing both the simple and elaborate decorations. Talented folks that take the time to do all that light hanging.

SXMGirl · ‎07-07-2010

I enjoy lightseeing. We have one home in our area that is always written up in the newspapers and they usually have Santa in his house on the property. When I lived in the city, the entire neighborhood did luminaries. We did use real candles in white paper bags that were filled with sand or kitty litter. The street looked so beautiful.

The next time that I hear salt and ice together, it better be in a margarita!