Christmas is right around the corner and with that comes lights! Here’s the best places to see the best sparkly, bedazzling decorations
It seems like Christmas has its own feeling, like when it’s cold outside but everything in you feels warm, you feel surrounded by those surreal feelings of extreme joy and excitement. Sometimes the holidays can feel stressful and overwhelming, but that slips away when you come face to face with the twinkling lights signifying christmas time is here.
To hold on to that beautiful holiday spirit here’s a few suggestions to get your fill of holiday lights. The first being Astra Lumina, an immersive experience night walk where you can go through a pathway of stars. It opens November 8, and tickets go for around 30 dollars. Astra Lumina is at the Palos Verdes South Coast Botanical Gardens.
A very fun way to see Christmas lights if you’re an animal lover is by going to the Los Angeles Zoo. Annually, the Zoo combines lights and animals to create a display to entertain people of all ages. They combine Christmas and something they know very well, animals. This event is called “Animals Aglow.” It opens November 15, and runs till the 5th of January.
In every Hallmark movie, it seems every street name is something Holiday related–Gingerbread court or Christmas Tree lane. Oh wait, there’s a Christmas tree lane in Altadena neighborhood to see Christmas lights. This is a neighborhood in North Pasadena that has been going all out for Christmas for 95 years. It runs from the middle of December to the end of December and it’s mostly just for driving through. This is great for those of you who don’t love the cold.
If you don’t love the cold and don’t want to walk through the lights, head down to Griffith Park where you can hop aboard a train that will take you all around the lit up park. The train rides start November 29, and go through January 3, but Christmas eve, day and New Years Day, the rides are not offered.
It’s about a 10 minute ride around the park with thousands of lights to be seen by all ages. The price for these rides is not out as of now, but they’re on sale.
To keep on the theme of staying warm in your car, Holiday Road Drive-thru Experience is a pick for you. Out in Calabasas, you can drive through thousands of lights, elaborate decorations, dioramas and giant displays. Santa and Mrs. Claus might even make an appearance with their loyal elves.
Holiday Road starts November 29, and goes till the 28, of December, 5-9:30 P.M. Tickets are 25 dollars.
The Grove has had an annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony for the past 23 years. There has been and will be snow, live music, a drone show… and… Santa Claus is coming to town. After all of that, the tree will be lit up.
While on the topic of annual, the Union Station has been doing their lights for 7 years. This year they’re having live music from orchestra and jazz performers, as well as more music from an array of genres and decades. As well as art from different cultures, and live artists doing drawings and paintings.
This is a way to bring people together in a community from near or far to celebrate the Christmas spirit and bring together different forms of art to celebrate it.
As a kid, did you ever have pop up books that felt like you were being immersed in the story itself? Well Nortons Winter Wonderland is just like that, it’s like every childhood memory of Christmas comes to life. From nutcrackers, to lights, to gingerbread men, it’s all Christmas in this little neighborhood in Burbank. It’s definitely worth seeing, each house is decorated with lights and personalized, no house looks the same.
While some of these locations might light up joy in you for the holiday spirit and make you want to sing those merry tunes, enjoy the Christmas time with friends and family and make memories to last a lifetime.