Merry and Bright: Outrageous Holiday Decorations You Have to See to Believe

A couple of luminaries, light up deer, icicle lights… if you get into the holiday spirit, you probably have a few lighted decorations on your home’s exterior. You may even have a pretty significant power bill for the holidays if you’ve really got the spirit.

But do you have your decorations timed to holiday rock songs? Do they literally light up your neighborhood? Do people travel just to see what you’ve come up with for this year?

It’s a rare but pretty magnificent sight when a house, building, or even a theme park is at the top of its festive game. Here are a few of the most outrageous holiday decorations (you might need your sunglasses for these!)

1. Oglebay Winter Festival of Lights

Located in Wheeling, West Virginia, this drive-through lighting show known as the Winter Festival of Lights boasts six miles of decorations, 90 lighted attractions, and over one million energy-efficient bulbs. It’s been around since 1985 and is one of the United States’ largest light shows. It also adapts with the times. This year, visitors can wear 3D glasses (they call them “Sleigh Bans”... get it?) and see every display in an extra dimension!

2. Busch Gardens Williamsburg Christmas Town

Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia boasts one of the biggest light shows in the nation with Christmas Town. They decorate the entire park with more than 10 million lights separated into themed villages, like Holiday Hills, Polar Pathway, or Big Ben--the park’s England village decorated like Victorian Christmas complete with carolers. Because it's a theme park, guests can see the lights from the tops of a few rides that stay open in the winter or ride the park’s train, seasonally renamed the Christmas Town Express.

3. WildLights at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

In Palm Desert, California, the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens has a unique take on holiday lights with their animal-themed WildLights. Guests enjoy life-size animal lanterns, like giraffes and cheetahs, as well as real animal encounters. They also have a 3,500 foot decorated model railroad and a tunnel of lights that blinks to holiday music.

4. Ryan-Musgrave Family Light Show

In 2016, the Ryan-Musgrave house won ABC’s The Great Christmas Light Fight, and it’s no surprise. The decorations are handmade, including a working carousel and Ferris wheel. They’ve been developing their outrageous display for over a decade, and each year it takes the family two months to completely deck-out the house with the lights. The home, nicknamed “The Christmas House in Boulder City,” is located just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.

5. Dyker Heights Christmas Lights

The entire Dyker Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York decorates for the holiday season with some truly over-the-top decorations, including inflatables, sleighs, carols blasting from speakers, and thousands of lights. It’s one of the top city attractions for the holidays. You can get to the neighborhood on your own to walk around and take in the sights, but it’s NYC, so you can book a tour, too.

Feeling inspired?

The holiday season is great for adding some merriment to the outside of your house, but don’t forget the interior! We don’t mean that it’s time to go crazy with a thousand lights in your living room. We mean it’s time to remember that the great feeling you get from the holiday lights outside could also be yours on the inside...with Brilli, the bulb that lights you up and winds you down when you need it!

Learn more about Brilli at bebrilli.com/pages/benefits-of-light