Christmas Light Displays Worth Driving to See in Nashville

Every December people ask us the same thing: where are the good lights this year? It is a fair question, and the honest answer is that it changes. Houses change hands. Families who went all out for ten years decide to scale back. A new neighbor on a quiet street puts up something worth the trip. So rather than hand you a list of addresses that may be dark by the time you read this, here is how we would plan a night of looking at Nashville Christmas light displays, and what to look for once you are out there.

Public displays versus neighborhood drives

There are two kinds of outing, and they suit different nights.

Ticketed public displays are the big productions run by venues around Middle Tennessee. They are built for crowds, they usually run on set dates, and many sell timed entry. Formats, dates and ticket rules change from one season to the next, so check each venue’s own website before you go rather than trusting last year’s post on social media. If a display sells timed tickets, buy early. Weekend evenings in mid December fill first.

Neighborhood drives are free, flexible and quieter. You pick the route, you set the pace, and nobody minds if the kids fall asleep in the back seat halfway through. For a lot of families this is the better night out. The rest of this post is mostly about doing it well.

Areas worth building a route around

We install lights across Nashville and the surrounding towns, and the areas below are the ones we know well. We are not going to point you at specific houses. Homeowners did not sign up for a stream of cars stopping out front, and the best houses change every year anyway. Treat these as starting points and explore the side streets.

• Belle Meade, Hillwood and Forest Hills. Larger lots and longer driveways mean displays are often set back from the road. Drive slowly and look past the mailbox. See our Belle Meade and Forest Hills pages for more on these areas.
• Green Hills, 12 South and Sylvan Park. Closer together, walkable in places. On a dry night you can park once and stroll a few blocks, which is often better than creeping along in traffic. Our 12 South and Sylvan Park pages cover what we do there.
• Brentwood and Franklin. Plenty of subdivisions where several neighbors decorate, so one street can light up end to end. See Brentwood and Franklin.
• Hendersonville and Gallatin. Worth the drive if you live north of the river and want a night out that does not involve I 65 traffic.
• Oak Hill and College Grove. Bigger properties, darker roads. Displays stand out more against the countryside, but plan the route in daylight so you are not hunting for turns in the dark.

How to plan the night

Go on a weeknight

The weekend before Christmas is the busiest time on every popular street. A Tuesday or Wednesday in early or mid December gives you the same lights with far fewer cars.

Start just after dark

Lights look best in the first hour or so after sunset, when there is still a little blue in the sky. The rooflines and trees show up against it instead of floating in black. It also gets the younger kids home before they are done for the night.

Keep the route short

Pick two or three areas close together. An hour of looking beats three hours of driving between neighborhoods. Map it before you leave so the driver is not reading a phone at the wheel.

Be a good guest

Do not block driveways. Turn your headlights to low beam on residential streets. Keep moving unless there is somewhere safe to pull over. And do not walk onto anyone’s lawn for a photo. People light their homes to share them, but they still live there.

Check the weather

Nashville Decembers swing between mild nights and cold rain. A wet road makes lights reflect beautifully, but fog and heavy rain wash them out. A clear, cold night is best.

What separates a good display from a messy one

Once you start looking closely you will notice the difference between a display that looks sharp and one that just looks busy. Most of it has nothing to do with how many lights are up.

• Straight, tight lines. On the best houses the roofline strand follows the edge exactly, with no sagging between clips and no loose ends hanging off the gutter. That comes from strands cut to the length of each run instead of extra lights bunched up at a corner.
• Consistent color. Mixing old and new strands, or two brands of warm white, gives you patches that look slightly yellow next to slightly blue. It is hard to see up close and obvious from the street.
• A clear idea. The displays people remember usually commit to something: all warm white, or all classic multicolor, or just the roofline and one big tree done well. Doing everything at once tends to look like a hardware store aisle.
• Every bulb working. A dark section halfway along the eaves is the first thing your eye goes to.

If it gives you ideas for your own house

Plenty of people come home from a drive like this wanting to do more with their own place. Some of that you can do yourself. A few strands of lights on shrubs by the front door, a wreath and some lit garland on the porch railing are all fine DIY jobs from the ground. You do not need to pay anyone for that.

The roofline is where it changes. Two story eaves, steep pitches and wet December gutters are where people get hurt, and where lights get fixed on with staples or nails that damage fascia and trim. When we install, the clips are sized to the roof edge or gutter lip, and nothing goes into the fascia, trim or shingles.

Every install we do includes the design, custom cut commercial grade LED strands, installation by insured crews, maintenance during the season, takedown after the holidays and storage until next year. We store the lights, so there is nothing piling up in your garage. There is a 24 hour service guarantee during the season, and no contracts or long term commitments. You can read how it all fits together on our how it works page, or see what we do for homes on the residential installation page.

Getting a price is simple. Call us at (615) 595-9686, tell us about the house and what you want lit, and we can quote you on that call. If you would rather we come out and look, or the property is large or unusual, we can do that too, but it is not required. You can also use the quote form.

Red Nose Lites is a family owned company and has been lighting homes around Nashville since 2006. Whatever you end up doing with your own house, enjoy the drive. Some of the best displays in town are on streets you have never been down.