Looking for a fun way to get in the holiday mood this weekend as you prepare for Christmas with your family and friends? One of the things that is reasonably priced (if not free), family-friendly and fun to do is to go on a tour of holiday lights found all around Nashville!
Listed below are some of the best Holiday Lights and Wondrous Displays that Nashville and the Middle Tennessee have to offer during the holiday season. These annual sparkling, twinkling displays, all in celebration of the Christmas Holidays, are enough to keep you coming back for more and year after year.
1. Barnard’s Winter Wonderland
For 30 years, Chad Barnard has been putting up one of the nation’s largest Christmas light
displays. Known as Chad’s Winter Wonderland, visitors can take in more than 2 million lights at this incredible eight acre drive through holiday light display. For $10 a carload, visitors can enjoy the wonderment of the lights as well as drive through Santa’s house, featuring Santa himself giving away candy canes and taking Christmas lists from eager boys and girls. Chad’s lights are available for tours from 5 – 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 – 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and will be available to see until Dec. 31st. For more information, visit Chad’s website here.
2. Dancing Lights of Christmas
As explained by Forbes Magazine, “With four shows in three states, the Shadrack Christmas Wonderland shows have gotten national media attention, and won a series of awards for their inventiveness and elaborate choreography.” This lights display is one of the nation’s largest and most well-known holiday lights shows, with shows in 4 locations (2 in Tennessee, Nashville and Sevierville; one in Maryland and another in South Carolina). Come with your family and friends to ooh and ahh over the display of millions of lights, carefully orchestrated along with the beautiful sounds of Christmas music favorites. The festivities don’t stop at the end of the drive-through route, though. Guests can stay and visit the 13,000 square foot Santa’s Village to meet and have a photo taken with Santa himself (through the 23rd only… then he has to get ready for his flight around the world!) There are also refreshments available, a ferris wheel, spider jump, Santa train and inflatables for kids to enjoy. Prices for the show varies based on the vehicle type, so visit its Nashville location website here to see specific price information and learn more about this fun Christmas event in Nashville at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park. This event runs until January 4th and is open daily from 5 to 10 p.m. with extended weekend hours. For more information, visit the website here.
3. Lights on Old Charlotte
Nearly a decade old, Lights on Old Charlotte is located in Franklin and offers a computerized Christmas display with, at last count, over 65,000 lights, 144 channels of Light-O-Rama Computer Control, and 21 channels of DMX Control! The show is broadcasted over a Low-Power FM Transmitter that can be heard on 89.9FM. The show is free to enjoy, however donations are accepted that are donated to Franklin’s GraceWorks Ministries. Last year, $3,017.59 was raised in total for GraceWorks! The Old Charlotte show runs daily through Christmas day from 4:30 to 10:30 p.m., however it may be disabled in the event of inclement weather. For more information about this event, visit its website here. (There is even a scanable QR code that will send directions right to your mobile phone!) A second location was opened for the 2013 season in Spring Hill, TN in the Whispering Woods subdivision. Visit the website here for more information.
4. Lipton Lights
Located at a residential address in Franklin, the Lipton Lights show started in 2008 as an animated Christmas lights display. In 2009, a donation box was started to raise funds for a local charity. In 2012, the show was converted to LED color-changing lights. Today, the show is displayed from a playback system and an FM transmitter. Music is broadcast on local FM radio 107.7 so attendees can listen to the show from the comfort and warmth of their vehicles. The Lipton Lights show is located at 213 Lipton Ct. in Franklin, TN.