Skip to Search Form Skip to Page Content “The two giant stockings really set the scene for the perfect Christmas living room and if you're lucky you might even catch Santa.” “There's a train circling the large tree, piles of presents at the base of the tree, a pink marionette bear, and a cool Ferris wheel on display.” “From the lady passing out candy canes to the kids taking pics with Santa, this place has me all googly eyed.” Yelp users haven’t asked any questions yet about Tom and Jerry's House.Merry & Bright: The Best Holiday Displays in the Bay There’s something about driving through holiday lights displays that bring us back to our childhood. If spending hours on a ladder decking out your own roof is not your idea of fun, then take advantage of these options around the Bay where trains, cable cars, neighborhoods and parks are adorned with thousands of blinking lights. Tune your radio to some holiday favorites, set the kids up with the hot cocoa and enjoy the merriment.

Classic Cable Car Holiday LightsWhat’s more San Francisco than a classic cable car ride?  For a unique holiday spin, take it up a notch by riding a bedecked, motorized cable car through the Northern part of the city. You'll view landmarks that are beautifully lit up for the holidays. Each tour comes with a (free) Santa hat.  This jolly tour lasts 70 minutes and departs from Fisherman’s Wharf.  What not to forget: blankets and a camera. photo credit: Classic Cable Cars Where do you go to get your holiday lights fix? Let us know below! —Kate Loweth, Melissa Bouse, Mae Respicio & Erin Feher From Our Partners Tour Stratford School: Now Accepting Applications for the 2017-18 School YearPosted in San Francisco Time is flying and the holidays are just around the corner, which means the Bay Area is starting to look a lot brighter. These Christmas light displays showcase the fun and festive flavor of the holidays. Take a journey throughout San Francisco and beyond to enjoy these magical displays!

1. Union Square: San Francisco 2. Fairmont Hotel: 950 Mason Street, San Francisco Fairmont San Francisco Website 3. Widmer World: 3671 Chelsea Court, Pleasanton 4. Fantasy of Lights: 333 Blossom Hill Road, Los Gatos 5. Christmas Tree Lane: 3200 Thompson Ave, Alameda 6. Tom and Jerry’s House: 3650 21st St, San Francisco 7. Holiday Circle of Lights: 5000 Piedmont Ave, Oakland 8. Union Street Fantasy of Lights: Union Street between Van Ness & Steiner, San Francisco 9. Christmas Tree Lane: Fulton Street b/w Embarcadero Ave. & Seale Road, Palo Alto 10. ZooLights: 9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland Did we miss anything? Let us know what you think. Check out 10 Of The Most Enchanting Man Made Wonders in San Francisco while you’re at it too.Tuesday, December 22nd marks this year’s winter solstice, when the Earth reaches its maximum axial tilt and leave us with the year's shortest days and longest nights. What better way to brighten up those nights than a tour of holiday lights.

Though many displays are so bright that NASA can literally see them from space, San Francisco’s displays are on the whole fairly dim, and you can go blocks without seeing a single string of lights.room decorations ideas tumblr So, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite holiday displays, updated from our tour around city neighborhoods last year. christmas decorations for big eventsIf you know of any that we missed, we’d love to hear about it in the comments.cool home decor for guys Don your favorite holiday sweater, fill a thermos with holiday cheer and join us as we brighten up the longest night of the year exploring San Francisco’s best holiday lights displays.home decor wholesalers india

Tips: Winter is San Francisco’s rainy season, on top of that El Nino’s coming, so check the weather before you go out and dress accordingly. christmas decorations ideas out of paperSunset is just before 5 so you can get an early start. diy room decorations summerThe larger displays like 45 Upper Terrace, Tom & Jerry’s and Castro Street tend to turn their lights off around 9-10pm, so if you’re off to a late start put those on the top of your list. If you are still playing LDB, godspeed, and be sure to refresh yourself on the rules. As you already know, few places are safe after Thanksgiving— pa rum pum pum pum. 1. Southeast Corner of Masonic & Hayes This brightly lit iconic Edwardian house is decorated all the way up to the eaves and back down to the ground where the garage is all wrapped up and tied in a bow.

2. Eiffel Tower 1269 McAllister Street We applaud the great efforts made at 1269 McAllister Street to suspend this towering free-hanging chandelier wreath beneath an illuminating multi-story Eiffel Tower. (Check out the backstory we wrote about the other week.) 3. The House of Defenestrating Holiday Airblown Inflatables 1332 Van Ness Ave This holiday display was easily our favorite. Though we’d love to hear the story behind it, we’re content for now making up our own about a tenant tossing lights and holiday airblown inflatables out of their apartment window in a Christmas themed conniption fit of seasonal defenestration. A shout of holiday cheer at whomever lives in the apartment above Route 101 Bar. 4. Larry’s window, 245 Diamond Street Larry’s window display is simple and charming with a cable car zooming along— faster than a speeding B.A.R.T. train- beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, Sutro Tower and the Casto’s oversized rainbow flag. 5. The Wishing Tree, Eureka & 22nd Streets

Okay, so TBH The Wishing Tree isn’t a ‘holiday display’ per se. This collaborative community art installation was inspired by the book “The Wishing Year” to create “a place in the neighborhood for wishes, intentions and gratitude to be made” to “hold a space for unspoken wants, dreams, stories and to spread joy.” After several dark blocks without a single string of lights it’s a luminous addition that is most welcome on our tour this night. One passerby sweetly wished he could find a parking space as he drove past. The Wishing Tree is active during the months of November and December. 6. Castro Street between 14th and Duboce Three stories lined with lights, stuffed with stockings and ornately embellished with ornaments, bows, flowers and wreaths of holly. All topped off with a larger than life Santa Clause rappelling from the roof. 7. The Gingerbread House 45 Upper Terrace In Ashbury Heights, this charming gingerbread cottage is a traditional favorite that delivers holiday cheer year after year.

An immaculately manicured traditional garden lined with flowering Cyclamen. Oversized Christmas ornaments line the path to the door leading up to animatronic drummer boys. Looking down from various pitches of the roofs are a smattering of gnomes. This well decorated terrace seems almost as if it sprung straight from the pages of a holiday fairy tale. 8. Tom & Jerry House, 3650 21st Street between Church & Sanchez A classic and staple of San Francisco’s holiday display. For the last 25 years, Tom Taylor and Jerry Goldstein have been transforming their home into a mesmerizing Christmas village. The tree started as a houseplant that outgrew the living room and was replanted in the front yard. As the tree grew larger, so did the size of the giant presents, stockings and stuffed animals to make it appear as if it might only be your average 5-1/2 foot tall Christmas tree. Santa visits every day from 6-10pm until December 24th (unless it’s raining). He wants to know what you’d like for Christmas, and is very concerned about your hygiene… especially that you’ve been brushing your teeth without being asked.