Where to go for Christmas light shows in Austin
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A lit-up skeleton was part of a Christmas display on 37th Street in 2022. Photo: Asher Price/Axios
Pack into the station wagon, people, and don your nighttime sunglasses. It's time to catch some twinkles.
Why it matters: On these long, cold nights when you have to figure out something to do with your visiting in-laws — or how to keep the kids entertained — Christmas lights make for cheap and jolly entertainment.
The rub: Whether to head to gaudy displays — the bigger and more colorful, the merrier — or tasteful, more austere ones.
- Either way, we love driving and gawking at the wattage.
Old West Austin
Lots of classy displays. If you're looking for light-bedecked live oak trees, this is your spot. Make your way down Harris Boulevard.
The Drag
Time to see Bevo sparkle. This year marks the inaugural Longhorn Lights, a free community holiday light show, running nightly 5–10pm along Guadalupe between 21st and 24th streets.
Circle C
Bring your shades to this southwest Austin suburb — head to the corner of Escarpment Boulevard and La Crosse Avenue.
Oak Hill
For sheer single-property luminosity, head to the Maywald Christmas Light Display in Oak Hill, at 10505 Twilight Vista, where they've turned a sprawling spread into a wattage wonderland.
- Of note: The display is free, but the family asks for a donation for the Make-a-Wish Foundation — last year's event raised nearly $65,000.
37th Street
Just off Guadalupe, neighboring bungalows aim to outdo one another with whimsical Christmas setups that gesture to Austin's oddness — like a stuffed animal petting zoo.
- Pro tip: If you do park, avoid the Domino's — you could very well get towed.
Zilker Park
Few things are more classically Austin than the 155-foot tall Zilker Holiday Tree, composed of streams of multicolored lights arranged around a Moonlight Tower trunk.
Flashback: The tree, first lit in 1967, was not illuminated in 1973 because of the energy crisis.
Pro tip: We like positioning ourselves right beneath it and twirling about till we get dizzy and fall down.
- And then grabbing kettle corn from one of the food trucks stationed by the base.