One of the fun things about Christmas, especially when you have small children, is visiting the neighbourhoods that put on spectacular Christmas light displays. Often you can go online and find out which streets and neighbourhoods in your area are worth visiting. It’s a great way to get into the Christmas spirit, and kids love seeing all the fun inflatables and pretty light shows. But have you ever wondered what it’s like to live next door to or across the street from someone with the kind of epic lights that attract a crowd?

This week Aussie’s shared the highs and the lows of living near a neighbour that goes all out with their Christmas light display on Reddit’s AskanAustralian.

My inlaws neighbors do a massive display. Get food trucks out. Literally thousands of people in the street. It’s a nightmare getting in and out after dark.

My father in law just likes to mess with him. My inlaws do some lights, impressive if they weren’t next to a space beacon. He finds the biggest ugliest lights and blow ups and tells the neighbors that’s what he’s getting. So the neighbor always gets them first or a bigger uglier version.

Because the lights are so bright my FIL always lets the news teams set up on his yard since the neighbors is too bright. Drives the guy mad that it’s them on TV not him. (Elmindria)

The lights never bothered me but the idiots parking across my driveway and clogging up the street always pissed me off. It also made it really hard when the kids wanted to put their own lights up but it was drowned out by the neighbours. I couldn’t come close to what the neighbours did and the kids used to get very deflated when the random adults would loudly claim that our houses lights were ‘disappointing’ compared to the neighbours.

On the upside we could see the lights every night without having to travel or upset the little kids routine, which was always really cool. (Notnotindecisive)

Not all out, but our neighbours seem to have found a heap of Christmas lights on sale between last Christmas and this one!

I’m grateful that we finally were able to have block out curtains installed to replace the crappy horizontal blinds that were here when we moved in. There is certainly a bit if light leakage around the curtains, but it’s fine. I left a door open (for ventilation) one evening and our house was bathed in eerie blue. I felt like I was in a scene from the X-Files tbh.

I’m not sure why they’re so much into the Christmas spirit. We live at the end of a cul de sac so people don’t drive past here anyway. But then again, my neighbours spent a couple of hours every day washing their gravel in a wheelbarrow earlier this year. That took them weeks to do – fun times when WFH.

Just goes to show that neighbours are weird. (Dav2310675)

We live across from a house that goes all out Griswald style. We love it. My kids are in excited anticipation in the lead up to when ‘Clark’ puts his lights up. Yes we get more traffic in the street and that can be a little annoying. But it’s Christmas and it’s lovely to see all the little kids and families out getting enjoyment out of lights. We actually feel lucky that we live close to their house and get to see it every night. (eenimeeniminimo)

We have one of those extreme ones where they have synchronised music. He does it for a living so it’s its pretty epic. He only lives on a narrow street and there are literally people sitting on the lawn to watch “the show”. Cars go past and kind of park to watch it before moving on but it’s all very polite with people pulling to the aide if someone’s trying to get through. He posts on FB what time the lights will be on and they turn off at around 10.30 so it’s quiet and dark again after that which is pretty decent. I don’t think it would be bearable if they were going all night. (amylouise0185)

Lived across the road from one for a while. My entire bedroom would be filled with purple light that no blockout curtain could exclude. Also, I like leaving some curtains open as it’s healthy to be woken up by the sun so it could have been bad.

Thankfully they were considerate and good neighbours and the lights always went off at 10pm sharp, so it was never an issue when I wanted to actually sleep.

Other than that, it was lovely. All the neighbours would come out and set up chairs on the side of the road and have drinks to watch the display, and people watch all the people who came just to see the lights (it was a well known house).

Sadly they stopped doing it a few years ago as the cost of the electricity was getting too much for them (they had a lot of lights). Also I moved to a different town, so I’ve no idea if they ever started again. (Zaxacavabanem)

My street has two houses that go all out. One even has sponsorships from local businesses. The issue isn’t the light, it’s some of the inconsiderate people that come to look at them. The street noise is pretty bad, rubbish left in gardens etc. We won’t complain because it isn’t the fault of the people putting up the lights, but if your driving through residential areas at 10pm, how about being respectful to the residents that still have to show up to work the next day! (South-Plan-9246)

I really liked my neighbours huge effort to light up their house. I helped them out by not having a single light. Creating dark space really makes their lights pop. (ReflectionofSoul)

We are the only house in our street (it’s a cul-de-sac) who refuse to do it. Our neighbours on all sides go all out and spend thousands trying to out do each other. My wife and I are the types who will be less likely to do anything the more pressure is applied. We don’t mind others doing it, and it is nice to see little kids enjoying it but it does attract a lot of randoms obviously. We don’t have social media but know from others the street is listed as one of the Christmas lights streets to see, so there have even been buses od OAPS trying to squeeze 12 seaters i and out of this tiny street.

So yeah, not the grinch but also not a fan of the attention it attracts. (shepling)

Not us but aunty in law. She says the worst thing is getting a “strongly worded letter” in her mailbox every year from the neighbour that goes all out, saying she is “letting the street down” by not also joining in with a large obnoxious display (Squats4wigs)

It gets difficult. We had someone go all out and then most of the street started doing it. There were times I would be stuck trying to get in/out of my own driveway because traffic was at a standstill and kids would be running everywhere. This was weeks before and up to a week after Xmas. Difficult to have your own dinner gatherings cause your own guests had no where to park in a usually quiet street. (Cryptomnesias)

What do you think? Do you live near someone who put on a huge Christmas display outside their home? Do you love it or loathe it?