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Christmas Lights
Gas prices have dropped and I can't get enough of my three-year-old screaming "Santa!!!" every time we drive by a house all decorated for Christmas.
I know of a handful of great places to see Christmas lights, but I'm sure you all know of many, many more. I'll start the list. Please add your favorites!
Big, organized displays
Lights on the Neuse, 1620 Loop Rd., Clayton
More than 1 million Christmas lights. It's a kind of one-stop shop for all your Christmas needs: lots of lights, visits with Santa, a hayride, a sweet shop. It's open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Dec. 19 through Dec. 23 and Dec. 26. It's open from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Admission is $8 for adults ages 13 and up and $5 for kids ages 3 to 12.
Meadow Lights, 4546 Godwin Lake Rd., Benson
This long-time tradition in Meadow about seven miles from Benson features 20 acres of lights along with a train ride and carousel. It's free to see the lights. It's $2 per person to ride the train and carousel. There's a candy store too. It's open through Dec. 31 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday.
Lake Myra Christmas, 6601 - 6605 Lake Myra Rd., Wendell
More than 180,000 lights synchronized to Christmas music. It's free, though donations accepted, and open through Dec. 31. Show times are 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Dec. 20. In case of rain, the show is cancelled.
Listen to the Lights 2008, 511 Lafayette Dr., Cornwallis Hills, Hillsborough
Tune your FM radio to 106.5 FM to hear the music (within about one block) and drive by to see the light sequences. It runs through Dec. 31 and is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday. More than 18,000 lights, 48 computer channels and 14 songs make this exhibit happen. Canned good donations for Meals on Wheels are accepted.
Watts Hospital-Hillandale Neighborhood Association's Night of Lights, Durham
At dusk on Dec. 21, luminaria will light up the streets of the historic neighborhood just west of downtown.
Quail Hollow Luminarias, generally bounded by Millbrook to the north and between Falls of Neuse and Ortega
The North Raleigh neighborhood lights up luminarias in front of about 800 homes at dusk on Christmas Eve night. Here's a link to the neighborhood's swim club just so you can get your bearings.
Brentwood Luminarias, Brentwood Road is off Capital Boulevard, Raleigh
As many as 12,000 luminarias will flicker along the neighborhood's streets beginning at dusk on Christmas Eve.
Stonehenge Luminarias, a main street is Howard Street through the North Raleigh neighborhood
Luminarias will dot the curbs in front of many of the neighborhoods 1,300 homes at dusk on Christmas Eve.
Summerfield North Luminarias, Mourning Dove Road is a main street through the North Raleigh neighborhood.
Most of the 300 homes in the neighborhood will light luminarias at dusk on Christmas Eve.
And individual displays ...
Raleigh
1413 Whittington Dr. in North Raleigh's Woodspring neighborhood off Falls of Neuse Road.
Anderson Drive, Raleigh (inside the Beltline), there are several homes with small displays, including one of a corner with a yard full of inflatables, lights an decorations.
Two houses on Latimer Road in the Lakemont neighborhood in North Raleigh at the intersection with Compton Drive.
2628 Falls River Avenue at about the point it meets Oakboro in North Raleigh's Falls River neighborhood. I'm told this is a tasteful, yet blinding display.
And there's a giant Frosty the Snowman nearby in Bedford at 2509 Brunetti Ct.
You'll see about a dozen or so lighted trees along Homewood Banks Drive in Raleigh, which each represent a grandchild in the Kerr family. It's been a family tradition for at least two dozen years and while not a massive display, a really sweet one when you know what it's all about. It's easy to see the trees on your way out of the back of Crabtree Valley Mall.
And a reader tells me there are two great ones on Ravel off of Kaplan inside the Beltline near Athens Drive High School. There's another on Eakley in that same neighborhood (off of Merwin).
Cary
Penny Road just east of Holly Springs Road in Cary. I'm told if you're going south on Holly Springs Road, take a left on Penny. Pass Swift Creek Baptist on your left the go about a mile (maybe not that far). The house is on your left and you won't miss it.
Hawks Nest Court in Cary in a neighborhood that you can access off High House and Old Apex roads. I wrote about this house a few years ago when it had dozens of strings of lights and more than 200 plastic, wire and inflatable pieces. My guess it's bigger this year.
And in the same neighborhood as Hawks Nest (a main road in the neighborhood is Castalia), a reader tells me that a lot of neighbors on Fawn Court have some impressive displays.
A block or so off Cary Parkway on Tarbert and Suterland. Dozens of decorations strung up in the trees.
Several houses along Green Level Road in the Cary area. The first and biggest is about an acre of lights about 1.5 miles on the left heading west from Highway 55.
Durham
3601 Carpenter Pond Rd., Durham County. Not as ambitious as years past, but still worth a look.
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Or you can e-mail them to me.
Comments
Garner:
225 Muirfield Ridge Drive and Creek Commons has a house with lights hooked up to music. They are usually on between 5pm and 8ish.
One of the best light shows in the area can be found in Clayton. They have over 50000 lights. Many of which are controlled by light controllers and synchronized to music. They have a web site as well: http://www.valleycreeklights.com. Their address is 213 Valley Creek Drive.
Come see lights in Durham set to music! 3518 Donnigale Ave Durham NC
I'd heard about this one but not seen it and am so glad one of the homeowners gave me the specifics.
Melanie Lane, off Walnut midway between Cary Town Center and Cary Elementary in the Coronado Village subdivision.
Everyone in the cul-de-sac lights up their house plus they outline the street with candy canes and lights. On Christmas Eve, residents outline it all with luminarias. She tells me they have lines of cars coming through the neighborhood every night.
Here's a link to YouTube video. Wow ...
Got a couple more e-mails this morning about displays in Raleigh:
12317 Schoolhouse Street, Raleigh, is the talk of that street in the Wakefield neighborhood. New decorations added every year.
Corner of Alpine and Springfield drives in the Fairfax Hills neighborhood of North Raleigh.
Crestview Drive (off Six Forks Road just south of Millbrook Road - across from the Dunkin Donuts) there is a display where the lights flash in time to music. Tune your radio to 107.7. (Edited to add: A warning if you've got Santa Claus believers. Somehow they've got video of Santa that makes it appear as though he's in a room of the house. He waves and everything. Had some pretty tricky questions to answer from my daughter.)
And if you're checking out the luminarias in Quail Hollow on Christmas Eve, swing by the North Glen neighborhood too. North Glen Drive intersects Six Forks just north of Capital Towers.
And here's one in Fuquay-Varina:
9932 Lake Wheeler Rd, Fuquay-Varina. 42,000 lights plus ornaments moving in sequence to music that you can hear from your radio at 88.5 FM.
One in North Raleigh's Byrum Woods neighborhood:
A family at the corner of Mattlyn Court and Byrum Woods Drive off Creedmoor Road north of the Outer Loop in far North Raleigh has about two dozen lighted inflatables of all kinds, from the usual to a football player.
In Wilson ...
White's Tires does a display every year at 1106 Forest Hills Rd. that supports three local non-profits. All proceeds from the $10 donation per car charge goes to Imagination Station, WilMed Hospice and Greenfield School.
Here's a link for the details and a bunch of pictures: http://www.imaginationstationnc.blogspot.com/
There's a large Hanukkah light display at a home at 8732 Deerland Grove Dr., Raleigh.
Here's a story about it: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1341575.html
From an e-mail:
4705 Pamlico Dr., Raleigh, off Six Forks and Northbrook. In fact, there are several houses on both sides of the street between Lassiter Mill and across Northbrook. 4705 has many inflatables, wood cut outs, Santa on his sleigh and Snoopy poised to take off on a runway. There is a gingerbread houses and large candy cane lolly pops. The display is up usually by dark and through about 11 p.m. and all day Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
From an e-mail about more in North Raleigh
Stonehenge between Creedmoor and Ray roads, wind back into the neighborhood to find some awesome displays.
In NW Raleigh, Craddock Road has two houses with arches, a Santa landing zone and various other lights.
In a neighborhood north of 540 off Leesville, many houses with arches and lights in one cul-de-sac. And in a neighborhood off of Sandy Forks between Six Forks and Falls of Neuse, second road on back and another on the left, there are a few houses with lights set to music.
I wanted to add directions to the lights mentioned above between Creedmoor and Ray Roads. There is a WONDERFUL display on Abbey Road off of Morgan's Way (Creedmoor Road north from Crabtree Valley Mall; take a left onto Morgan's Way). Tune your radio into 90.3 to sit back and enjoy! There is another great display just down the road as well on Sleepy Creek, although it is not animated. It will be up until December 31st.
Thank you for those directions ... what I had wasn't very detailed.
From another e-mail:
Fairground Road in Holly Springs has a "Listen to the Lights" display. My 5-year-old and my mom alike LOVED it!