Take The Patch 2022 Tour o' Holiday Lights

Feb 18, 2024

ILLINOIS — They’re hauling out the holly, the plastic blow molds, LED lights and synchronized music from Cary to Oswego to Glencoe and all the way out to Peotone. Why? Because we all need a little Christmas.

We've rounded up the best reader-submitted residential (and one golf course) holiday light displays in Chicagoland. From towering reindeer and illuminated pigs to the most outlandish Clark W. Griswold displays that can be seen from space, these spectacular light displays are definitely worth a drive-by.

A few of you got so excited that you forgot to include your address, so check your email. Send us some photos and/or links to videos of your Christmas light display. We prefer that the homeowner submit his or her own yard, or an immediate neighbor or close relative.

We’ll be updating the list with new displays every Friday through Dec. 24, so keep an eye on your daily morning newletters and your favorite Patch Facebook pages. Email your photos and a description to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include your address and enjoy the 2022 Tour o’ Holiday Lights.

Set your GPS and explore displays near your town, or go completely nuts and visit all of them.

Alsip

Camping Wonderland, 4505 W. 129th St., Alsip – All the little woodland creatures have assembled in Joe and Terri Sparks’ holiday campground, which includes a camper, tent and animals making s’mores as they wait for Santa.

3821 W 116th Place, Garden Homes (Alsip) – Gail and Richard Mayo answer the call for a light fight with their impressive display, complete with Santa skeleton. With so many decorations, your eyes will have a hard time choosing where to look.

Bridgeview

NEW! Mr. Griswold of Bridgeview, 7416 S Octavia Ave, Bridgeview – Mr. Griswold of Bridgeview, aka as Jim Pavel, has moved back to his childhood home. His family has hung holiday lights for over 70 years, helping his grandfather set up lights as a kid. Mr. Griswold’s light display is a combination of store-brought and homemade decorations. A computerized light show is synchronized to several Christmas songs, broadcast on a radio station so you can enjoy it from the warmth of your car. Over the years, he's added a quartet of singing Christmas trees. The display runs nightly from 4 to 10 p.m.

NEW! 7130 Sholer Ave., Bridgeview — Tiffany Hicks puts up a fabulous light display in Bridgeview. She does Halloween too.

Chicago Ridge

6108 Washington St., Chicago Ridge — Danielle Valenti and her family use the Patch list every year to visit decorated houses. They have their own magical, whimsical display made with love, featuring archways, white and red lights, toy soldiers, a Christmas tree farm, and elves and bows galore. There's also a Frozen Castle with Minnie and Mickey for little believers. Don't forget to drop your letters in the express North Pole mailbox. We love Santa dashing away over the roof.

Crestwood

Giant Sleigh, 5457 137th Place, Crestwood – Lovebirds Debbie and Dino Pavoni have built a life-size sleigh – big enough to carry Santa, and maybe Hardrock, Coco and Joe – in their front yard. Families are welcome to take pictures in front of it. We love Debbie and Dino’s Christmas joy!

Christmas In Crestwood Houses, 4951 and 4945 W. 135th Place, Crestwood – They just go nuts for Christmas in Crestwood. These neighbors have teamed up to create two dazzling holiday displays.

Flossmoor

NEW! Klugar Furs Christmas, 3303 Vollmer Road, Flossmoor – Another business addition on the tour o’ lights. This giant, classic Rankin/Bass Frosty looks like he’s getting ready to mail a letter to Santa, or maybe a package to Professor Hinkle. We love the retro Klugar Furs neon sign, too.

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, 2327 Hutchison Road, Flossmoor – Take a drive to this Willy Wonka-themed display features several iconic scenes from the movie, including Violet turning Violet, Charlie finding the golden ticket, Veruca meeting her fate as a "bad egg," Mike being shrunk in the Wonka Vision, Augustus' unfortunate gluttonous dip in the chocolate river and of course—the beloved Oompa Loompas. Even the Fizzy Lifting Drink makes an appearance. Read the full story.

Glencoe

World’s Most Amazing Hanukkah Display, 714 Valley Road, Glencoe – We don’t like Gary Hazan’s holiday light show – WE LOVE IT. Check out this amazing Hanukkah display on the North Shore.

Glenwood

624 N. Cherry Drive, Glenwood – Cindi and Dave Hall have been decorating their home for over 30 years. All the wooden pieces are homemade and hand painted. The front yard is the North Pole and the side yard has a Nativity. This year, they are dedicating their display in memory of their daughter, Kimberly, who passed away in March while waiting for a heart and liver transplant. They just hope they can bring a smile to someone who may also be experiencing their first holidays without a loved one. We wish Cindi and Dave the very best.

Hazel Crest

2403 Crescent Dr, Hazel Crest – Merry Grinch-mas! Come visit Whoville in Dan Porter's charming display.

LaGrange/LaGrange Park

The Nightmare Before Christmas on Homestead, 836 Homestead Road, La Grange Park — "Jack Skellington came here from Halloween Town. You'll notice his handiwork scattered around, This year he's decided to play Sandy Claws, but when Halloween create Christmas, you may see a few flaws." The winner of the Patch Scary Yard Tour, Don Coglianese and family set their sights on carefully crafting “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

A Very Colossal Inflatable Christmas, 1201 Alima Terrace, LaGrange Park – If you’re headed to see Brookfield Zoo’s Holiday Magic, be sure to stop by the Foushi family’s Very Colossal Inflatable Christmas. To get the full effect, check out the YouTube video. We love the Andy Williams’ soundtrack.

Lemont

Chuchla Family Lights, 12032 Center Drive, Lemont — A fun Christmas light show synchronized to music. The show runs through Jan. 6: from 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The show runs until at least to 2 a.m. on Christmas Eve, so you can enjoy it after midnight church services. Tune your car radio to 95.1 FM to hear the music. The show runs continuously in a 70-minute loop with an eight-minute intermission between each loop.

Northfield

635 Happ Road, Northfield – Brendan Endre is using his display as a fundraising tool to raise money and awareness for Angelman syndrome. This Northfield wonderland features a 20-foot-tall mega tree, a talking Santa on the Chimney, and four reindeer on the roof. Check out the GoFundMe. Lights twinkle 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Dec. 1 through Jan. 1.

Oak Forest

Winter Wonderland, 4436 Lisa Lane, Oak Forest — This is the Tade family’s 17th year of turning their yard into a winter wonderland. Parker Tade, 15, put up most of his family's Christmas display. We think he has the makings of greatness. The lights are synchronized to a variety of Christmas songs. Lights are on 4:30 to 11 p.m.

Magical Ornaments, 6825 W. 156th St., Oak Forest - Our favorite ghost hunting couple, Don and Laynee from Spectrewaves Paranormal, have conjured up some magical ornaments that were once normal size until someone made a Christmas wish near them. The bigger the wish, the bigger the ornaments became. Lights twinkle from 5 to 11:45 p.m. through Jan. 4.

Oak Lawn

Mayo Festival of Lights, 9704 S. Tripp Ave., Oak Lawn — Hurry over to Brian Mayo's wonderful display in Oak Lawn featuring thousands of twinkling lights. He challenges everyone to a light war.

Inflatable Wonderland, 8917 S 49th Ave., Oak Lawn – Time to call an inflatable war! Kelly Meehan’s display features 20 inflatables, dancing lights, music, blow molds and other fun yard decor. Lights twinkle from 4 to 10:30 p.m.

9612 S. Natoma Avenue, Oak Lawn — Pat and Linda Pulver have turned their front yard into a candy cane forest, boasting over 90 blow mold decorations, with some inflatables drizzled in amongst the lights and illuminated trees. The lights are illuminated daily from dusk to 11 p.m. Mentioning his wife's name should keep Pat off the naughty list.

Christmas Corner, 94th Street and Mobile Avenue, Oak Lawn – Need an instant shot of holiday spirit? Hurry over to Christmas Corner in Oak Lawn, now in its 21st year. You’ll find inflatables of every shape and size, a talking snowball, Star Wars area, Rudolph section, traditional Christmas, Marshall Field Christmas windows and Disney, all lit up by tens of thousands of LED lights. Rick and Care Herpich have been setting up their display since moving to their corner house at 94th Street and Mobile Avenue in 2001. Rick is the designer behind the lavish display. He uses pictures from the year before, so he knows where to put stuff the next year.

Snowman House, 9929 Harnew Road West, Oak Lawn — Burl Ives would love the Lionberg family's "Snowman House." Over 80 snowmen cover the Lionbergs' yard and their neighbor’s yard. We’re sure they accumulated a few more since last year. People can stop by from 6 to 10 p.m. and even take pictures with snowmen.

NEW! Schorle’s Spectacular Show, 10111 S. Kildare Ave., Oak Lawn — John and Tracy Schorle's display features a towering light tree. The lights are all RGB computer controlled lights set to music. Tune to 88.1 FM to listen. Check out the pair of 10-foot tall trees that talk to each other. Three songs are featured in a 10-minute light show.

NEW! Plude Lane, 9602 S 54th Ave., Oak Lawn – Tune your radio to 88.7 FM and listen to the music as you watch the videos.

Orland Hills

16551 Brigitte Court, Orland Hills — Welcome to the Krueger Christmas Light Show where the trees talk and sing. Tune into 90.3FM on your car radio and enjoy the show. The lights start twinkling from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 10 p.m. Friday.

Orland Park

14955 West Ave., Orland Park – Mark Pastrnak has some serious inflatables going on in his colorful display, including Santa on a ship, riding a chopper, going down a slide as well as riding an elephant, plus the Blessed Mother and an amazing array of lights. The lights twinkle from 5 to 10:30 p.m.

14601 Poplar Court, Orland Park — No inch of the Harske family’s lawn is left bare in this shiny display, which is covered by over 300 vintage and new blow molds, ruled by a 10-foot-tall snowman and Christmas tree. The newest addition is an 8-person choir. Lights are on every day from dusk to 11:30 p.m. The family has added some new ones. We think the Harkes should call a blow mold war with Patrick Coyne’s "Blow Mold Nation" in Tinley Park.

13850 Spring Lane, Orland Park – Carol and Christopher Baker have motion LEDs on the house and windows with matrix displays on the lower level windows set off by color LED landscaping lights. The color scheme varies through the season. There are several inflatable yard art displays. “The pictures don’t capture how bright the display is.” We believe them.

17404 Deer Creek Drive, Orland Park – Ralph and Yvonne Shurley are a popular stop on the Patch scary yard tour. Their Christmas display is equally stupendous, featuring a giant dancing, singing snowman, gingerbread house, a huge nutcracker and custom Christmas arch.

Palos Heights

Palos Heights Lights, 6739 West Golfview Lane, Palos Heights – Joe Young’s Christmas light show synchronized to 30 minutes of popular Christmas songs, including some fun remixes. The light show features over 10,000 lights, 10 leaping arches, 1 Matrix, a 20-foot-tall mega tree, six mini trees and a pixel forest with 50 stakes.

Posen

14846 Whipple St, Posen – Dean and Natalie Sortarican’s goal and what better way to express the Christmas spirit that going full Griswold. “We try to add lights every year and this year is the best so far.”

Tinley Park

NEW! O’Connor Christmas Lights, 7414 W. 162nd Place, Tinley Park — Scott O’Connor was the winner of the 2021 ABC Chicago Lights War. He again has landed among the finalists in 2022. He invites visitors to tune into 105.7 FM in their car and get out and look around. He's collection donations for Together We Cope.

Blow Mold Nation, 17037 Creekside Ave, Tinley Park – Omg! We love Patrick Coyne’s “Blow Mold Nation” in Tinley Park. His display features over 125 vintage blow mold figurines in his yard, presided over by a 20-foot tall inflatable Santa. He turns his kids’ play houses into display pieces. Patrick is still adding blow molds to his 2022 display, and keeps adding new pieces every year.

16409 Surrey Drive, Tinley Park – Timothy Bartz has gone full-Griswold covering his house in blue, purple and pink lights in his dazzling display.

Hirsch Christmas Lights, 7805 Nottingham Drive,Tinley Park – The Hirsch family has music synced to lights. Tune into 89.9 to listen. Get out a talk a walk through the sidewalk arches. Take a photo with some movie character blow ups. Enjoy a candy cane from the bucket, and take a necklace, too. Lights twinkle 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

NEW! 8706 Kathleen Lane,Tinley Park — This is a walk-through display, so get out of the car and prepare to be Griswold-ed.

Carol Stream

NEW! 785 Medford Drive, Carol Stream – Sean Barrett offers a beautiful blending of colors in his elegant holiday display.

Darien

NEW! 7809 Farmingdale, Darien – Brent Walker works hard decking the yard, adding many new lights to his Christmas display. He hopes it brings Christmas cheer to all.

Downers Grove

Winter Wonderland, 2308 College Road, Downers Grove – Diane Duncan’s whimsical holiday display has everything from inflatables and music for the family to enjoy to trees draped in white and blue lights. The yard twinkles from 5 to 9 p.m. daily through New Year’s Day, weather permitting for the inflatables.

Elmhurst

413 East Huntington Lane, Elmhurst – Dr. Seuss himself would love Glenn McCarthy’s Grinch-y display, comprised of wooden cutouts and an authentic thirty-nine-and-a-foot pole! There is a nice light display too. “The first year all I put out was the pole and with the sign. Only 1 in 10 got it. The second year, I added Grinch and Max. This year I added the presents and ornament to Grinch and Max, the growing heart Xray and the roast beast feast.” Lights twinkle from 7 to 9 p.m. daily. We’re still laughing about the pole.

NEW! Mele Kalikimaka, 312 N Walnut St, Elmhurst – Gerry Ryan is going for a Hawaiian theme, with Santa in a Hawaiian shirt and flamingos pulling his sleigh and palm trees. This year he’s added some minions as well.

Glen Ellyn

Reserve 22, 485 Winchell Way, Glen Ellyn – This isn’t a house, but a restaurant. Reserve 22 has tens of thousands of lights indoors and out, including a tee covered entirely with twinkly green lights. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, and Tuesday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Naperville

NEW! Epic Winter Wonderland, 1222 Oakton Lane, Naperville – For many years the Kobleski brothers and young Paul Kobleski have been creating an epic winter wonderland. The display encompasses all things of Christmas past. Tens of thousands of lights are on display with over 100 lit lawn decorations and dozens of vintage and antique animatronics that fill the exterior cases, garage and front room. The display is abuzz every night until the new year as it pulls in over 160 Amps of electricity, more than most homes electrical capacity. Yikes! Santa and friends make live appearances on weekends, weather permitting.

Westchester

1800 block of Portsmouth Ave., Westchester – The Marzano family lights up the night sky over Westchester.

Woodridge

2516 Mitchell Drive, Woodridge – Every year, people ask Dave Oldham why he takes the time to do such a grand Christmas display on his front lawn. “It reminds me of what I was a child and my parents would drive us kids around looking at light displays,” Dave says. “I remember back to being a kid and seeing that one house that was all lit up, there was so much to look at.” Dave wants to be that house for the little kid riding in his parents’ car. He’s going for the “classic” look with a touch of modern lights dancing to music. There is also a glowing red mailbox for letters to Santa. Kids of all ages are encouraged to drop a line to the Big Man (no stamp required) to let Santa know you still believe in the spirit of Christmas.

NEW! 2924 Brentwood Court, Woodridge – Katie Boone and her family have been decking their front lawn for years. They have tons of vintage blow molds, a flying Santa and dancing lights to music on 89.9 FM.

Aurora

Aurora Symphony of Lights, 1293 Yellowpine Drive, Aurora – Woo whoo! Bobbie Seaberg’s fun dancing light show is back, featuring extremely upbeat, traditional music, and some just for the kids or kids at heart. Two shows are set up to play on alternating days through New Year’s Day. Twinkles from 5 to 10ish. Check out their shows on Facebook.

St. Charles

NEW! Enchanted Balcony--Ho Ho Oh Deer, 350 S 1st Street, Saint Charles – If you are looking for Santa and his reindeer, just look a little higher at the Jakubowski family’s balcony. These enchanted travelers might stop by on this twinkling downtown Saint Charles balcony. Swirling snowflakes, glistening sparkles, oh what fun. Make sure to listen to your favorite holiday tunes while enjoying this jolly display. Lights twinkle from 5 to 9 p.m. daily through New Year’s Day, weather permitting, for the inflatables.

1223 Taus Circle in Yorkville – Joe Potrawski has created his display in memory of his dad, who passed away 11 years ago and was always a Christmas enthusiast. His yard offers numerous inflatables, including a singing snowman and a musical projector. The lights twinkle from dusk to 9 p.m. weekdays, and later on weekends.

Oswego Lights, 701 N. Sparkle Court, Oswego — More than 45,000 lights are synchronized to Scott and Emily Bialas’ 2-hour music show, featuring a pair of mega trees, candy canes, snowflakes and more. Very sparkly! They are fundraising for the Kiwanis Club.

Montgomery

1951 Windette Drive, Montgomery – Come see how bright Mary Davis’s house is in the Fairfield Way subdivision. It’s amazing. Tune your radio to 88.1.

Mundelein

Lights on Tahoe Court, 25910 Tahoe Ct, Mundelein – Patrick Fitzgibbons’ stunning display features a 15-minute light show display set to four songs with a few “extras” mixed in. Highlights include an 8 X 20-fiit 4,000 pixel matrix, two evergreens wrapped with 10,000 lights each, 2 homemade RGB paw prints (dog lovers love!), for a total of 55,000 lights.

Algonquin

1851 Broadsmore Drive, Algonquin – Over 200 candy canes line Jennifer and Kevin Christian’s magnificent Snoopy-themed light display.

Cary

Santa and Flamingos, 637 Rawson Bridge Road, Cary – Santa is giving his reindeer a break this year in Jennifer Thompson’s delightful display. “Since we live on the Fox River, we thought Santa and flamingos would be fun.”

Lakewood

5840 Highland Lane, Village of Lakewood — Jen and Tom Allen's stunning Currier and Ives display features a life-size nativity, Santa, and his reindeer. Lights twinkle from 4 p.m. to midnight.

Lake In The Hills

2880 Hillsboro Lane, Lake In The Hills – Mark Swiatly has revamped his display with lights and Santa Claus archway.

Bolingbrook

Candy Cane Lane, 252 Laurie Circle, Bolingbrook – We love Susan’s whimsical display. Also includes a nice Nativity. The lights twinkle from 5 to 10 p.m.

Channahon

24314 W. Hummingbird Drive, Channahon — Dean and Marian Rapp have decked their house with classic white lights.

Frankfort

Rudolph’s Winter Wonderland, 22177 Somerset Court, Frankfort — Lots of reindeer games going in Andy Pavlacka’s wonderful display, featuring inflatables and over 100 strings of lights, capped by a 15-foot inflatable Rudolph that may or may not be up, depending on weather conditions. The winter wonderland is lit from 4:30 to 10 p.m. through Jan. 1.

Homer Glen

Psychedelic Lights, 14635 Saddle Brooke Lane, Homer Glen — Robert Szajkovics’ hallucinogenic synchronized light show goes on at dusk and runs to 10:30 p.m. His display features singing trees, stuffed reindeer and live actors. Tune into 95.3 FM and enjoy the show.

NEW! Festive Fiskows, 13115 Sage Ct Homer Glen — It doesn't get anymore festive than the Fiskows house. The lawn is decked out with 200 blow molds and a tree with covered in 4,600 lights. They put on a terrific Halloween display as well, so you know it's going to be wild.

24361 Shawnee Lane, Manhattan — The Hessers have a charming 3-D projection display that gets a fair amount of traffic. (They were also on Patch's tour of scary yards.) The display is designed on a computer by hand. Runs nightly from 6 to 10:30 p.m., with audio broadcast on FM radio. This year, they will be showing the complete “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” story, as well as scenes based on “The Polar Express” and “What’s this?” from “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” and a Gingerbread House design. Clark Grisold will also make a cameo. The Hessers are collecting donations for misophonia research. Misophonia is a neurological disorder their daughter suffers from it, who has taken it upon herself to raise awareness and funding for research.

Mokena

NEW! 11508 Ashbury Ct. , Mokena —For 32 years Joe Smolinski has been adding something new to his Christmas display on his one acre-lot. Between 2017 and 2019 he converted everything to LED, so it's brighter and certainly more energy efficient. But this year his techie wife, Mary Ellen, got really involved. They've set this fabulous old-fashioned Christmas display to MUSIC! They started small with only five songs. This year, their play list has swelled to eight songs, starting with their theme song “Sharing Christmas,” by Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Ides of March. Stay for one, stay for them all. They’re sharing their Christmas Light and Music Show to benefit the Working On Wellness Foundation.

Monee

25658 S Kensington Lane, Monee — Eugene Reyna’s little patch of Christmas features lots of homemade decorations. Lights come on at dusk daily until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

New LenoxChristmas On The Corner, 731 Warbler Lane, New Lenox – Scott Holubek’s elegant display features a yard full of decorations with several themes, personalized paintings and a large Christmas tree on both front and back of house. The roof that can be seen from blocks away.

PeotonePeotone Holiday Projections, 7350 W North Peotone Road, Peotone – Probably one of the best new submissions we’ve added this year to the tour o’ holiday lights. Matt Ringhofer and family have turned their house into a work of cinematic art. Their holiday projects were created with Adobe After Effects and projected with five projectors. Projection is from three perspectives, where two perspectives use two projectors each stacked and optically/geometrically aligned. All projectors are sync'd with Falcon Pi Player. Shows run seven days a week, from 5:15 to 9 a.m., and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Due to the use of electronics, shows are weather permitting. The Ringhofers will do our best to update downtime on their Facebook page. For music, please tune to 87.9 FM. Here's a holiday ear worm for you.

Plainfield

Chestnut Hill Lights, 1907 Chestnut Hill Road, Plainfield — There’s nothing we love more (besides vintage blow molds) than dancing lights set to Bon Jovi music. Eric Voelz’s beautiful display is set to music. The lights change and move in sequence to five holiday songs, along with two singing trees and an 18-foot Christmas tree.

23833 W Dayfield Dr. Plainfield – Melissa sent us a photo of her dad’s display. Another Plainfield beauty.

Crissups Light Show, 7662 Pin Oak Court, Plainfield – The Crissups’ electrifying light show runs on a loop every evening from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tune in to 87.9 FM. Their Facebook page has several videos of their 2022 display. We also like the kids’ commentary. They ask that you not block their neighbors’ driveways. You know how upset some neighbors can be.

Lighten Up, It's the Holidays, 11734 Olympic Dr, Plainfield – Pass through the seven levels of the candy cane forest, through the sea of swirly-twirly gum drops. Follow the path to see Santa and his reindeer, a 15-foot Rudolph, listen to the singing Santas and so much more. On Friday and Saturday, Rob and Jill Leathers will be passing out candy canes.

1804 Great Ridge Drive, Plainfield – To give you an idea just how bright Pete and Sue Maher’s display is, they sent us a drone shot.

Shorewood

William’s Winter Wonderland, 1109 Butterfield Circle West, Shorewood – The Williamses have a new theme this year showcasing a Candyland Christmas. Watch our window to the North Pole to see the elves hard at work. Don’t forget to bring your letter to Santa for our North Pole Express mailbox. Lights twinkle 5 to midnight.