The ultimate guide to must-see holiday light displays across the metro

Barbecue. Jazz. Chiefs football. And when December rolls around, Christmas lights. 

Each holiday season, KC transforms into a city of lights, with neighborhoods, parks, shopping districts and landmarks all aglow. Here’s your guide to the metro’s sparkling displays.

Iconic Traditions

There are a few wintertime traditions that are always going to make the list, setting the stage for the holiday magic KC is known for.

For the 96th year, the Country Club Plaza is glowing with its 15-block display of holiday lights. Free and open to all, the lights come on Thanksgiving night and continue to shine through mid-January, creating the perfect festive backdrop for holiday shopping or a stroll through the Plaza.

Union Station’s Holiday Reflections walk-through village returned for its fifth year, having opened on November 21 and running through January 4. The Grand Hall transforms into a light-filled winter wonderland featuring singing reindeer and penguins, visits from Santa, a historic ride-on train, animated shop windows and over 10,000 square feet of model trains. New additions include a gingerbread village, a singing snowman and a tree slide. 

Towering nearly 100 feet tall, the Mayor’s Christmas Tree at Crown Center is a sight to behold. Mayor Quinton Lucas and Hallmark movie stars officially lit the tree the day after Thanksgiving. However, the celebration continues all season long, inviting visitors to ice skate beneath the massive tree, visit Santa at Destination North Pole and explore the free Hallmark Christmas Experience, complete with a holiday market and nightly tree lightings. There is also a holiday walk through dazzling lights and weekend appearances by Hallmark movie stars. The holiday displays will be up through January 12.

The Classics

Beyond the KC staples, holiday lights can be found throughout the metro, each with their own spin on the timeless tradition.

One of the biggest drive-through displays in the metro is JoCo’s Christmas in the Park. The self-guided tour takes you past more than a million lights and 200 animated displays, all designed and built in-house by Jackson County crews. The route runs from the Frank White Jr. Softball Complex to Longview Lake Campground, running now through the end of the year. 

Platte Purchase Park’s Winter Magic is also back for its sixth year and runs through January 4. This Northland drive-through favorite takes you along a one-mile route of holiday lights, all synchronized to festive tunes through your car radio.

For a closer look at the magic, the Luminary Walk at the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens offers an immersive light experience. On select nights now through December 30, visitors can wander garden paths lined with twinkling lights and glowing luminaries and explore gnome and fairy villages. The event also features adult-only candlelight strolls and electric glow nights, with golf cart accessibility available.

Tune in to 90.5 Rose FM and enjoy your favorite seasonal songs in sync with the Holiday Lights on Farmstead Lane show. The lights will dance across the Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead barn and front entrance now through New Year’s Eve. 

Lenexa’s Sar-Ko Aglow is another highlight of the holiday season. Each winter, the park is transformed by miles of twinkling lights and thousands of colorful bulbs, creating a festive wonderland. Open until January 19, visitors can take an evening stroll around Rose’s Pond and enjoy the shimmering lights on the water.

Neighborhood Displays

If you’d rather stay cozy in your car and skip the crowds, many neighborhoods throughout the metro offer holiday light displays that rival the professional shows. While decorated homes can be found throughout the city, a few subdivisions go all out, turning entire blocks into festive wonderlands.

Here are few standouts

Candy Cane Lane in Prairie Village (79th Street and Outlook Lane), where every house features at least one candy cane, some towering up to 10 feet tall, along with twinkling lights, elaborate displays and even a 50-foot Christmas tree surrounded by lit presents.

Christmas Place in Overland Park (18705 W. 131st Place), a charming double cul-de-sac of 23 homes glowing with coordinated displays.

Bradshaw Christmas Light Show in Overland Park (25138 Bradshaw St.), which transforms an entire cul-de-sac into a synchronized light show set to holiday music if you tune your radio to 99.9 FM.

Winterwood Circle in Lee’s Summit (2500 S.W. Winterwood Circle), a dazzling drive-through display featuring singing faces, animated lights and festive music broadcast on 91.7 FM.

Eagle Creek Subdivision (2309 S.W. Stone Bridge Court) in Lee’s Summit, where the main display at S.W. Stone Bridge Court shines bright with choreographed lights synchronized to 88.7 FM, and many nearby homes join in to spread the holiday cheer.

Riverside’s Timberline Drive (5085 N.W. Timberline Drive), where houses sparkle with vibrant lights and creative displays, turning the quiet neighborhood into a glowing winter wonderland.

The Lee’s Summit Magic Potty (Blue Parkway and Blackwell Road) is a porta-potty decked out in dazzling holiday lights that’s become a local photo-op favorite. Each year, visitors stop by to snap pictures and donate food to support the Coldwater food pantry.

The Alberton’s Holiday House KC (7806 N.E. 107th St.) in KCMO is a dazzling Christmas home display covered in thousands of lights, festive inflatables, and animated decorations. There’s also a walk-through arch display and a dome “igloo” setup for photo ops.  

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