Best Private Lights Display (2014)

Hunter and his father Buck pull out all the stops to decorate their Midlothian, Va. home during the holidays. The display, which the pair start assembling in September for a Thanksgiving launch, features more than 178,000 lights (15,000 added in 2014), 34 inflatables, 42 blow molds, 50 strobe lights, three snow machines and a fog machine. A large part of the yard is synchronized to music with a radio station.
Photo courtesy of Hunter Bottoms

The Mazoch Family Christmas Display is a labor of love – one James began building more than 10 years ago with a custom-built moving nativity scene. Since then, the family has added over four other themed displays to the collection, each hand built. James's son Daniel estimates the display includes 40,000 lights and requires roughly three quarters of a mile of extension cords. The family's greatest joy is watching the first cars line up as the lights turn on each evening.
Photo courtesy of James Mazoch

Hayden and his family set out to provide a free and family-oriented holiday event to enrich the community of Madison, Miss. The Richardson Light Show features more than 200 inflatables, 100,000 Christmas lights and a 20-foot animated tree to bring joy and entertainment to guests while reminding them of the meaning behind the holiday.
Photo courtesy of Hayden Richardson

James and his wife Karrie painted and cut out some 55 Disney characters to complement the 9,000 lights on their Spokane, Wash. home. The couple, both Disney lovers who met in the fourth grade, spend over 40 hours on their display in an effort to give a Disneyland-like experience to those who many never get to visit the California theme park.
Photo courtesy of James King

The Billings North Pole, Chris's holiday display in Billings, Mont., invites guests to stroll paths amid the lights and visit Santa's house for a photo op with the bearded man himself, who stands on the front porch dancing and waving. There are plenty of animated displays and Christmas houses filled with magic to be seen, as well as candy canes, chocolate and gifts for the little ones.
Photo courtesy of Chris Troop

The Crazy Christmas Extravaganza, a holiday collaboration between Joey and Tyler of Coventry, R.I., comprises more than 100,000 lights, 300 blow molds and a 30-foot castle. It takes the pair about two months to get the display in shape for visitors, and each year for the past 10 years, the two have collected donations for charity and non-perishables for a local food pantry.
Photo courtesy of Carl Horrocks

Jack (of Ambler, Penn.) stopped counting the number of lights in his Light up a Life display several years ago when he reached 150,000. The annual display, which features a 12-foot Ferris wheel, photo op area and a walking path winding through the lights, takes Jack more than six weeks to assemble - and that's with plenty of help from his friends. In 2014, Jack hopes to raise $20,000 in donations for Big Brothers Big Sisters and The Villa, two charitable organizations servicing Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Photo courtesy of Jack Yoast

Snow doesn't often fall in Scottsdale, but it does at Chris's house as part of his holiday light show featuring 250,000 lights. Visitors can roast marshmallows on an open fire, sip hot chocolate, see the Island of Misfit Toys and walk through the Christmas Mine Shaft with Santa's Toy Shop and Gift Lift Station. Santa visits on the display on Christmas Eve.
Photo courtesy of Chris Birkett

Kimberlee and her husband Daniel started decorating when their daughter Chrissie was little, adding a little each year since. This year, Chrissie is 19 and the decorations are bigger than ever, including nightly holiday movies projected on the garage that people can tune their radio to and watch and a Santa mailbox for kids to drop off their letters. Visitor donations go toward coats and canned goods benefiting area churches.



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Photo courtesy of Kimberlee Dvorak

Several years ago, Sharon's 87-year-old father built her a 1927 Ford Model TT from parts, and each year, the Dexter, Maine resident decorates it for different seasons. For the winter holidays, the antique car gets adorned with a tree covered in 300 twinkling white lights and a wreath on the front bumper, lit with a flood light.
Photo courtesy of Sharon Mulcahy