Throughout Oakland County, most residential streets feature at least one display of outdoor Christmas lights.
Some people still follow a tradition started in the 1950s: Touring in the family car to see the Christmas lights while singing carols and heading home for a round of hot cocoa.
Outdoor holiday lighting traditions date back to the 1600s, when candles were used on trees and inside lanterns to celebrate Christmas. In the 1880s, Thomas Edison installed a string of electric lights outside his shop. His business partner, fellow inventor Edward H. Johnson, created the first electrically-lighted Christmas tree. It would take a few more decades for Christmas-tree lights to be safe and affordable enough for the average American family.
By the late 1950s and early ‘60s, outdoor displays were common and many Americans started driving to see the lights.
Electronics and LED-filled string lights have expanded options for colors and motion, and inflatables along with computer generated images projected onto exterior walls or synchronized with music have turned some family homes into dazzling displays.
For years, Troy has hosted an annual competition with many categories for residential displays. Winners receive a yard sign and bragging rights, said Courtney Flynn, the city’s communications director. In years past, city officials would personally deliver yard signs but has grown so large they now ask residents to pick up their signs at city hall, she said.
“We had at least 150 submissions this year,” she said, adding that the city has an interactive map online so people can plan their drives and check out the 50 winners and other entries. The map has small pop-up images of each home’s display.
“The lights bring out the holiday spirit and people love to drive around and see them,” she said.
Fans of outdoor displays can also visit elaborate commercial drive-through venues, such as Pine Knob’s Magic of Lights, Meadow Brook Estate’s Winter Wonder Lights, the Detroit Zoo’s Wild Lights or downtown Rochester’s Big Bright Light Show.
Finally, there is Ron and Steve’s Christmas display at 1460 S. Sashabaw Road in Ortonville. It’s a must-see experience that will melt every Grinch’s heart.
Visit theoaklandpress.com to see a variety of images from many Oakland County neighborhoods.
A simple Nativity scene lights up this Clawson home on Charlevoix Street. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
A giant snowman grins as passersby from this Donald Street holiday display in Royal Oak on Dec. 23, 2025. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
Not far from downtown Rochester’s Big Bright Light Show are neighborhood streets filled with holiday displays as on North Castell Avenue near West Fourth Street. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
Light glow around a Rochester Hills home on Shagbark Drive near Walton Boulevard on Dec. 23, 2025. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)