One popular tradition for many families is piling into the car and driving around looking at holiday lights and displays. If you’re looking for the best local areas to see holiday lights this year, check out our list below.
Did we miss something? Email ashlee.coffey@owh.com at The World-Herald with your holiday light display.
Omaha
» Omaha’s Holiday Lights Festival, which is celebrating its 20th year. The downtown lighting display moved from Gene Leahy Mall, which is under construction, to the Old Market and continues along 24th Street through North and South Omaha.
» Season of Lights in Turner Park, located near Midtown Crossing at 31st Avenue and Farnam Street. The Turner Park trees are lit for the season through Feb. 14.
» Lights of Aksarben at Aksarben Village, 67th and Center Streets. In addition to lights and a tree, the area also has a heated tent, carriage rides, music, activities and more.
» Village Pointe Shopping Center, 168th Street and West Dodge Road. The outdoor shopping mall is decorated with lots of lights, including a brightly-lit Christmas tree.
» Linden Estates neighborhood and the area by Champions Golf Course, off Blondo Street between 132nd and 144th Streets. Several homes have light displays.
» 113 N 54th St. Decorations are synced to hip-hop music. Before 9:30 p.m., there’s no bad language in any of the songs, and there’s an interactive keyboard so people can press the keys and control five colored lighted trees.
» 8406 N. 47th St. Phillips Family Christmas display. Show hours are 5 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. On display through New Year’s Eve. For a preview, click here.
» 4934 S. 106th Circle. More than 75 Christmas inflatables, more than 20,000 individual lights and two laser projectors.
» 15055 Meredith Ave. Vanek Christmas is a huge computerized musical lights show featuring yard lights, a Nativity scene and more. For a preview, click here.
» 2524 N. 133rd St. Lammers Family Christmas display features music and lights. Location boasts a “mega-tree” with 10,000 lights in the front yard. For a preview, click here.
» 134th and Larimore. Take Fort Street to North 138th Street, turn right onto Larimore. Several homeowners have light displays set to music.
» 304 to 340 N. 153rd Ave. Circle. Wycliffe subdivision. Three blocks east of 156th and Wycliffe Drive at the east end of the Lifegate Church parking lot.
» 2741 N. 129th Circle. Jay Family Lights includes 48 channels of Christmas lights, as well as multiple figurines. The lights can be seen Monday through Thursday from 5:30 to 9 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 5:30 to 10 p.m.
» 14752 Mormon St. in Bennington. The house contains nearly 6,000 lights.
» 8420 S. 169th St. Santa also hands out candy canes to children that pass by a couple nights per week at this display.
» 15245 Davenport Circle. There are more than 2,000 lights programmed to songs from Rudolph that you can listen along with on 99.3 FM.
» 13468 Larimore Ave. The Steinauer Family Lights have a Charlie Brown theme.
» Barrington Park, north of West Dodge Road between 156th and 168th streets.
» Silverleaf Estates, in west Omaha between 185th and 1982nd streets.
» 14206 Drexel Circle. The backyard is a dancing wonderland of snow globes synchronized to music, while the front has a life-sized nativity scene.
» 10362 Redick Ave. The display runs through New Year’s Day.
» 2884 Newport Ave. The house includes lights and several festive inflatables.
» 10334 Newport Ave. The house has lights and dozens of holiday inflatables.
» 5607 S. 159th St. The lights run through New Year’s Day. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
» 521 N. 52nd St. Many other houses along Happy Hollow Boulevard in Dundee, as well as those along Underwood Avenue are decorated uniquely for the holidays.
Bellevue
» 48th Street and Red Rock Avenue to 52nd Street and Wood River Drive. Located behind Family Fare on 50th and Harrison Streets. Wood River Drive’s “City of Lights” features several homes decorated with light and inflatable displays. For a preview, click here.
» 1006 West 31st Ave. in Olde Towne Bellevue. Watch more than 30,000 lights dance to music. Featuring a 6-by-5-foot video screen. Show runs 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday; 6 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tune car radio to 90.3 FM to listen to the music. For a preview, click here.
» 1309 Childs Road East. Christmas in Bellevue. This synchronized light show includes 18 different songs (tune in to 101.1 FM) and takes more than an hour to view. Shows run 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
» Washington Park, 20th Avenue and Franklin Street in Bellevue. The lights here are synced to the music of 91.9 every night through Jan. 6. Hours are 6 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
» 2402 Robin Dr. The display includes lights, inflatables and figures.
» 2700 Arboretum Dr. The Lied Activity Center has a 30-foot Christmas tree.
» 1602 and 1604 Randall Drive. One includes more than 25,000 lights alone.
» 2813 Sandra St. Lights and inflatable figures all set to music.
» 4564 Suburban Dr.
» 15025 Wirt Circle. The house is festively decorated with a Husker theme.
» 3639 S. 51st Ave. This walk-through display contains hundreds of blow molds and thousands of lights.
» 209 Westridge Ave. The display includes lights, inflatables and Santa, who is there from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. several nights a week.
Waterloo
» 25011 Capitol Circle. The Bortol Family Christmas Display includes old-school decorations, hand-made wooden displays and lights synced to music. The family has been decorating for 37 years.
Elkhorn
» North 212th Street and Appaloosa Drive.
» 18102 Dewey Circle. The huge display includes lights, a nativity and holiday inflatables.
Papillion and La Vista
» Shadow Lake Towne Center, 7775 Olson Dr. in Papillion, is decorated for the season and includes a spectacularly lit tree.
» 10407 Elm Hurst Drive in La Vista. Computerized light show with 70,000 lights on display, with music on FM 103.5. Lights run 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. For a preview, click here.
» 1009 Edgewater Dr. in Papillion.
» 819 Cedardale Road.
» 7823 Leaf Plum Dr.
» South 80th Street between Shadow Lake Drive and Capehart Road. Several houses here are decorated for the holiday.
Dodge County
» Hull Holiday Lights. The house, located at 502 9th St. in Scribner, Nebraska, is programmed to holiday music.
Council Bluffs
» 3425 Sixth Ave. The house is well-known for festive, musical displays. Lights go on at 5:30 p.m. For a preview, click here.
» 421 Grace St. The T & J’s Holiday Lights display includes lights, inflatables and music, and will run through New Year’s Day. To see a preview, click here.
» Ninth Avenue and Ash Street. The display includes lots of lights and inflatables.
» 2218 4th Ave. The lights are synchronized to music. It runs from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
» 3554 8th Ave in Council Bluffs. This house’s theme is “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” It also includes real dead deer, 30-feet inflatables and disco lights.
Pottawattamie County
» 21020 and 21406 Cougar Ave., Honey Creek, Iowa. The display is called “Animated Lights on Cougar Avenue.”
Montgomery County
» 1233 E Ave., Red Oak, Iowa. Lights will be available the second week of December.
Mills County
» 212 North Myrtle St., Glenwood, Iowa. On weekends in December, Santa will be on hand to hand out candy canes. To see a preview, click here.
» 1604 Timber Lane, Glenwood, Iowa. The house has lots of lights, as well as a light up 65’ Ford and a special guy behind the wheel.