By now, Mariah Carey has been hitting that high note for weeks, the decorations are fully committed, and subtlety left the group chat sometime around Thanksgiving. We’re deep into the season of jolly, merry, and absolutely blindingly bright—and naturally, the gays are all over it. Still chasing sparkle, drama, and Over-the-Top Holiday Happenings? You’re exactly where you should be.
Whether you’re feeding your inner drama queen this winter or plotting a festive escape from whatever’s happening at home, we’ve curated the ultimate list of places that truly did the most. From drag-worthy light shows to neighborhoods that are clearly compensating for something, here’s where to get your festive fix before the lights come down.
East Coast Extravaganza
Dyker Heights (Brooklyn, NY)
Forget the Met Gala; the real fashion happens between 11th and 13th Avenues. Residents deck their halls with life-size characters and enough wattage to be seen from space. It’s tacky, it’s loud, and it’s perfect.
Radio City Christmas Spectacular (New York, NY)
Yes, it’s touristy. Yes, you need to go. The Rockettes kicking eye-high is a cultural institution. It’s essentially a high-budget drag show with better precision.
Miracle on 34th Street (Baltimore, MD)
Head to Hampden for 75 years of kitsch. Expect less “Silent Night” and more “Hun,” with hubcap Christmas trees and flamingos. It’s camp personified.
Koziar’s Christmas Village (Bernville, PA)
Since 1948, this family has been turning a valley into a literal sea of light (one million bulbs, to be exact). It’s rural, it’s retro, and it’s one of the most Over-the-Top Holiday Happenings in the country.
Gardens Aglow (Boothbay, ME)
Maine’s biggest light display features 750,000 lights across 14 acres. It’s giving “botanical garden realness” and makes for a stunning, if freezing, date night.
Winterlights at Naumkeag (Stockbridge, MA)
Historic estates lit up like Christmas trees? Groundbreaking. But actually, it is. The Trustees of Reservations put on a classy, sparkling show that feels very “old money” holiday.
Arthur Street (Danvers, MA)
On a quiet Danvers street, one family turned Christmas into a charitable spectacle, spending 100 hours decorating and collecting donations for Boston Children’s Hospital. Extra, festive, and for a very good cause.
ZooLights at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo (Washington, DC)
This isn’t just a zoo with lights—it’s a full holiday production, with glowing paths, live music, a holiday market, and enough snack stands to count as dinner.
Midwest & Southern Spectacles
Silver Dollar City (Branson, MO)
If you think you’ve seen lights, you haven’t been to Branson. We’re talking 6.5 million lights and an eight-story tree. It’s loud, proud, and undeniably one of the best Over-the-Top Holiday Happenings out there.
Clifton Mill (Clifton, OH)
A historic grist mill covered in 4 million lights. The “waterfall of lights” is exactly the kind of dramatic backdrop your Instagram feed needs.
Celebration in the Oaks (New Orleans, LA)
NOLA never does anything halfway. Drive or walk through 2.25 miles of lights and amusement park rides. It’s a party in a park, and you’re invited.
St. Augustine Nights of Lights (St. Augustine, FL)
Spanish Colonial architecture meets millions of white lights. It’s elegant, romantic, and runs through January—perfect for extending the season.
Austin Trail of Lights (Austin, TX)
Everything is bigger in Texas, including this 2-million-light display in Zilker Park. There’s a fun run, but we recommend just walking and judging the displays with a hot cocoa in hand.
Glow Holiday Festival (St. Paul, MN)
Downtown St. Paul turns into a full winter playground with over a million lights, a 150-foot snow tube slide, endless snacks, and Santa sightings. It runs from mid-November through New Year’s Eve and feels like someone asked, “What if holiday lights, but make it a theme park?”
West Coast Wonders
Great Dickens Christmas Fair (San Francisco, CA)
Never made it to the stage? Now’s your chance. Interact with costumed players in a Victorian London reconstruction. It’s immersive theater meets holiday shopping, and it’s fabulous.
Mission Inn Festival of Lights (Riverside, CA)
This historic hotel gets draped in millions of lights and animatronics. It’s a Southern California icon and totally free to walk around.
Candy Cane Lane (Woodland Hills, CA)
Since 1952, these homeowners have been competing for the title of “Most Extra.” Drive through for Star Wars references and enough artificial snow to fool no one.
Glittering Lights (Las Vegas, NV)
Vegas doesn’t do subtle. Drive through the Motor Speedway to see 5 million LED lights. It’s flashy, fast, and one of those Over-the-Top Holiday Happenings only Sin City could pull off.
Holiday Cactus Garden (Las Vegas, NV)
Ethel M Chocolates decorates three acres of cacti with half a million lights. It’s prickly, pretty, and there’s chocolate. What else do you need?
Blossoms of Light (Denver Botanic Gardens, CO)
Thirteen months of planning power this 24-acre glow-up, running since 1988. Expect twinkling tunnels, themed gardens, and prime strolling energy from mid-November through early January.
Christmas on Temple Square (Salt Lake City, UT)
One million lights, nativity scenes, daily concerts, and guided tours from the day after Thanksgiving. Serene, spectacular, and deeply committed, whether you’re religious or just here for the glow.
Christmas on Knob Hill (San Marcos, CA)
For decades, Bill Gilfillen—aka “Mr. Christmas”—has lit up San Diego County with 80,000+ lights, dozens of figures, and pure holiday excess. It’s free, legendary, and proof one man can absolutely carry Christmas.
Thoroughbred & Jennet Streets (Rancho Cucamonga, CA)
Every December, this normally quiet neighborhood erupts into a festive free-for-all, complete with over-the-top decorations, crowds, and pop-up snack stands. It’s nearly 40 years strong and runs entirely on extension cords and holiday spirit.
Enchanted Forest of Light (Descanso Gardens, CA)
A timed-ticket, immersive mile-long trail with themed sections—stained-glass villages, geometric installations, glowing forests—built for maximum awe and minimal crowd chaos.
Pacific Northwest Glow-ups
Peacock Lane (Portland, OR)
This Tudor-lined street has been decorating together since 1932, which frankly feels illegal because no group project should work this well for this long. From December 15–31, the street glows nightly, sometimes closing to cars so pedestrians can wander with cocoa and cider like they’re in a very earnest holiday movie.
ZooLights (Portland, OR)
1.5 million lights transform the zoo into a glowing wonderland. The animals are asleep, but the spiked cocoa is wide awake.
Village of Lights (Leavenworth, WA)
A fake Bavarian village in Washington State covered in 500,000 lights. As a result, it feels like a Hallmark movie set, and honestly, we’re not mad about it.
Winter Wonderland Festival (Caldwell, ID)
Indian Creek Plaza goes all in with over a million lights, and it’s completely free. In addition, visitors can enjoy ice skating, shopping, Santa meet-and-greets, and nightly sparkle from mid-November through early January. As a result, it feels charming, cheerful, and shockingly ambitious for a small Idaho city.
Plan Your Holiday Slay
Whether you’re into historic charm or blinding LEDs, these Over-the-Top Holiday Happenings are calling your name. Don’t be a Scrooge—book that flight, pack your most festive scarf, and celebrate the season with Pride. Not sure where to start? If you’re looking to pair your Over-the-Top Holiday Happenings with nightlife, culture, and community, use our gay city guides to discover the gayest city near you.