#Answered: Where to see holiday lights this month.
I don’t know about y’all, but we’re in full holiday mode over here. If the day after Thanksgiving was still too soon to blast Mariah Carey’s Christmas album while decorating the entire house inside and out with holiday lights, then the first week of December is most definitely socially acceptable to go all holly jolly on y’all.
Here’s a list of places around the Midlands slaying (or should I say sleigh-ing) holiday lights this year.
✨ Special events
Holiday Lights on the River | Nov. 22-Dec. 31; 6-10 p.m. | 6071 St. Andrews Rd. (Saluda Shoals Park East Entrance) | $15 per car | 2.5 miles of over 400 light displays + activities to follow
Photo by @youngbucksc08
Lights Before Christmas | Nov. 18-Dec. 30; 5-9 p.m. | Riverbanks Zoo, 500 Wildlife Pkwy. | $11 adults, $9 ages 2-12, free for children under 2 | one million lights, visits with Santa, parade + more
Photo by @misaeller99
Holiday Parade of Lights | Dec. 9; 5:30 p.m. | begins at Cayce Municipal Complex; 1800 12th St., Cayce | free | 100 floats with a combined one million lights
Elgin Lights | Dec. 15-24; 6-9 p.m. | 2433 Charlie Horse Cir., Elgin | free | antique tractors + trains; all donations go toward Camp Kemo charity
🏡 Neighborhood lights
📍 Forest Hills | Sheffield Rd. | tune your radio to 97.1 to listen to music that goes along with the lights; “the original Christmas Tree Lane”
📍 Cross Hill | Arbutus Dr. | house with a lights show | “There’s a sign when you pull up that lets you know which radio station to turn on to listen to the holiday tunes sync’ed with the lights, and there’s a donation box for a local charity”
📍 Forest Acres
Shalimar Rd. | lights set to music
Pinestraw Rd. | “There’s a house on Pinestraw that’s pretty epic”
Sylvan Dr. + Shannon Springs Rd. | inflatables – “including one on the roof”
Clemson Ave. | giant (“larger than most”) inflatable Santa
Linbrook Dr.
Stratford St. | “A.k.a. Christmas tree lane!”
Brentwood Dr. | lighted trees along the street | most neighbors participate and have extras “including Frosty and a Minion driving a sleigh!”
3425 Willow Ridge Rd. (Sandwood Hills subdivision) | Sun.-Thurs. 6-9:30p.m. + Fri.-Sat. 6-10:30 p.m. | small, animated Christmas light show set to radio station 101.9 FM
📍 Forest Acres/Arcadia Lakes | “the leg lamp house”
📍 Lake Katherine | Portobello Dr. | holiday blowups
📍 Hollywood/Rosehill | along Saluda Ave.
📍 Five Points | Blossom St. | “driving down Blossom Street there are usually some nice houses”
📍 Earlewood | Earlewood Dr. | “There’s a house you can’t miss between Makeway Dr. + Sunset Dr.”
📍 Old Woodlands (behind the VA hospital on Garners Ferry) | the neighborhood’s Garden Club coordinates the sale of Christmas trees for people’s yards for Christmas tree lanes
📍 Cayce Avenues | "most homes on The Avenues have Christmas Trees with white lights in the front yards”
📍 The Woodlands Subdivision (NE Cola) | Valhalla Dr. | moving figures, inflatables + more in the yard | “they don’t get everything set up and turned on until about two weeks before Christmas. It’s well worth the wait though.”
📍 Wildewood (NE Cola) | Oakbrook Village Rd. | lights set to a radio station
📍 Spring Valley subdivision (NE Cola) | Kinlock Ct. | lots of blow-ups and lots + lots of lights and music; you can walk-through to view the display
See more •lit• neighborhoods in Lexington, West Columbia, NE Columbia + Irmo.
Does your neighborhood/street go all out? Send the area name to us + what type of lights/decor they have goin’ on so we can add it to our running list.
Every year on Christmas Eve, it’s a family tradition that we drive around and look at Christmas lights after dinner. We always go to Saluda Shoals first, but end up driving around forever afterwards before discovering a good neighborhood, so this year I’m thankful it’s already all planned out.
– Sam
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