Where to Light Up the Holidays

(We’ve updated information for 2021, with the most important reminder being to call ahead, recheck details and purchase tickets in advance. Due to Covid-19, many of these locations are limiting admissions and changing their visitation options. Where possible, we’ve added links to most current information — but check again before heading out!)

Once Thanksgiving leftovers are a memory, a new season starts at our house.  No, not Black Friday or shopping season.  Rather, it’s immediately the beginning of Christmas Light season for us, and that means putting up our own decorations, enjoying Griswold-inspired efforts in nearby neighborhoods and a few annual treks to some of our favorite Holiday Light displays.

We’re blessed here to have a wide variety of good options for Christmas and Holiday Light displays. Our annual explorations generally include multiple evenings of piling the extended family into the minivan, immediately breaking out sugary snacks for the drive, and doubling down with hot, chocolaty drinks when we arrive at any faux-North Pole, leaving parents to deal later with the sugar-high grandkids while we relax back at home.

Our explorations include sugary snacks for the drive, then doubling-down on hot chocolaty drinks at any faux-North Pole, leaving parents to deal later with sugar-high grand kids while we relax back at home as the best grandparents in the whole, wide world!

With a reminder that we don’t accept sponsorships, advertising or freebies for anything we post, here are a few of our favorite festive destinations for Christmas displays, holiday lights and an evening of good fun – plus some tips on how the best enjoy them:

Callaway Gardens, Fantasy in Lights

We put Fantasy in Lights first on our list because it is our most frequent and most favorite of our annual Holiday Lights outings. If you plan just to visit for an evening, the downside is the drive South through Atlanta rush hour traffic. So instead, leave early and spend the day enjoying the shops, restaurants and decorated downtown of neighboring Pine Mountain. Another option is to explore Callaway Gardens, as a free admission is included with each Fantasy in Lights ticket. Allow at least two hours on-site at the Festival of Lights, not including your local travel or parking time.

When purchasing your ticket, you can choose to ride through the display on their “Jolly Trolley,” an open-air wagon with recorded narratives pulled through the displays at a leisurely pace. Don’t forget your winter wear, including hats and gloves if you plan to take the trolley. Otherwise, you can drive your own vehicle through the displays. The trade-off is enjoying your heater in exchange for waiting in what can be a long vehicle queue. Afterwards, enjoy the animated lake-front displays of the Night Before Christmas and The Nativity Story while sipping hot chocolate or one of the more spirited adult beverages also available. There’s also an indoor Christmas Market which offers some unique regional decorations and gifts, plus features a nice children’s play area.

Six Flags Holiday in the Park

Following Halloween Fright Fest, Six Flags rids the park of monsters, mutants and zombies to transform it into a festive wonderland with lights, foods and shows celebrating the Holiday season. Of course, many of your favorite coaster rides are open and operating normally, while others are themed and decorated for the season – making Six Flags Holiday in the Park a great option for families with kids from one to 92, including those in the tween and teen years. One admission gets you into all the attractions, and Holiday in the Park is included for no extra charge for season pass holders. If you’re a season pass holder, check your e-mail and you’ll likely find some special discounts for friends and family. Otherwise, just bring a Coke can and you qualify for discounted admission. Once we’re in the park, we enjoy the decorations and lights on the walk over to the train station, then hop on for a ride to the North Pole.  On the way out, we usually enjoy making s’mores on the open pit fires, always a smokin’ hot way to end a cold evening.

Petit Creek Farms Christmas Light Show

Located in nearby Cartersville, Petit Creek Farms is a year-round best bet for affordable family fun. The Christmas Season is no exception, with approximately one mile of Holiday lights, a petting zoo, Georgia reindeer and Santa visits. Plus, the carload pricing scheme is family friendly, and we often find additional discounts using Groupon. It’s no wonder this local attraction consistently is rated in the Top 20 for family Christmas lighting by AtlantaParent.Com.

Rockin’ Christmas, at Whitewater in Marietta

This is billed as the world’s largest drive-thru animated light show. We won’t challenge that in court, but the claim seems dubious (or maybe, just legally-nuanced!) compared to, say, Callaway Gardens.

The 2021 show, Rockin’ Christmas, is one of three shows offered by World of Illumination, and they seem to travel annually to different locations.

The drive-through-only display is located in the parking lot of Six Flag’s White Water theme park off Barrett Parkway in Marietta. Cars are in continuous motion through the serpentine traffic pattern, winding through a computer controlled, music-synchronized LED light field featuring seasonal and whimsical characters and shapes. Using short-range FM broadcast, music plays through your vehicle speakers as you drive. While there is a smattering of seasonal Christmas and holiday music from Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and Trans Siberian Orchestra, the lights also dance to a rocking Queen medley, “Happy” by Pharrel Williams, and other non-seasonal tunes.

Rock City Enchanted Garden of Lights

If you’re counting steps, Rock City’s Enchanted Garden of Lights is the perfect choice, using much of the 4,100-ft walking trail at the year-round attraction to create four different Holiday-themed realms. And as an outdoor attraction, Rock City welcomes pets, but beware that your pets may not like the large crowds, other pets and the light displays. Our grandkids were as fascinated with the traditional nursery rhyme area as they were with the bright and blinking Holiday displays.  One planning note: there’s only one mountain road up to Rock City and thousands of people who want to visit. Part of the location opens at 4 pm, and it’s best to get there early – which means before the 6 pm full opening time. If you do, you can tour the displays, then enjoy the view seated with hot chocolate on one of the overlooks as hundreds of headlights form a twisting line up the mountain.

THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride

Note that I’ve used the TM to reflect the trademark with the Polar Express on the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad in Bryson City. That’s because while there are many holiday train rides that feature lights, treats, Santa and songs, only those that pay the proper licensing fee can officially use the Polar Express story, songs and characters from the movie. And that, in a nut shell, is why we drove all the way to Bryson City rather than opting for a more convenient Holiday train ride. We’re glad we did it, but we definitely wouldn’t make the 300-mile round trip drive again in one day for the 75-minute experience. Instead we’d make a weekend of it, spend some extra time in Bryson City and maybe even plan a visit to The Biltmore while “in the neighborhood.”

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

It’s impressive and beautiful. But it’s also ItP (Inside the Perimeter), which means a painful trek through Atlanta traffic, then more potential hassles to get to convenient parking. City crowds and manners also may be overwhelming compared to more laid-back locations. Prices tend to be higher, too, though value and regular nights do offer some relief compared to premium night pricing. How do you know what’s a premium night at Atlanta Botanical Gardens? Simple, if you want to go on a convenient weekend or holiday, you’ll pay more for that premium convenience. Beware, too, that tickets are good only for a specific date unless you upgrade to a “flex” ticket.

Neighborhood Lights

We do enjoy riding through nearby neighborhoods and enjoying the Holiday creativity. Sometimes we stop and gawk. Other times we point and laugh. And if we don’t have the grandkids with us, I might occasionally mutter, “WTF?”

Let me get something off my chest about neighborhood decorations and displays. I’m not a modernist. And while age and technology have convinced me that three laser projectors can pass for a whole-house lighting display, I’m just not a fan of blow-ups, especially those based on recent movies. At the theatre, I’ll tolerate yellow mumbling minions for 90 minutes because my grandkids enjoy them. But what they have to do with Christmas or the Holidays is beyond me.  The same goes for Disney mice, and random dinosaurs. Bah. Humbug.  Ok, I better stop on this deviation before I get my full Grinch on.

What Are Your Favorites?

We don’t have an exclusive on Holiday light rankings. We’d love to know about your favorites, especially since our extended family will be visiting around Christmas time and the idea of getting out of the house for a few hours will sound great.  That is, until we pack everyone into even tighter quarters of minivans and child seats and venture into the December darkness.