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Insider Tips for Seeing Christmas Lights in NJ
Best Christmas Light Displays in North Jersey
Robert Harp Drive Ernest Camuso first put up this walk-through display featuring lights, decorations, and motorized characters more than 50 years ago, and families have enjoyed the holiday treat ever since. The Camuso family continues the tradition in Mr. Camuso's memory and accepts donations for The Burn Center at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center.
83 Paterson Road and 87 Paterson Road Fanwood's Famous Christmas Houses has expanded to include two homes, and it is truly a spectacular display featuring thousands of lights and hundreds of figures. Monetary donations are accepted to support the NJ Institute for Disabilities.
32 Fleetwood Drive Nearly 19,000 lights synchronized to music illuminate this beautiful home display in Morris County. Bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the food pantry.
3 Indian Falls Road Stop by this display—hosted by Mayor Sam Morris and his family—and be mesmerized by 40,000 lights programmed to holiday music.
The Gress House Holiday Light Spectacular raises money for charity. Photo courtesy of the family
Holiday Houses and Christmas Light Displays in Central and South Jersey
14 Johnson Avenue This home, featured on ABC's The Great Christmas Light Fight, has thousands of dazzling lights, hundreds of plastic figures, inflatables, and more to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network of Mountainside, NJ. No parking is allowed on Johnson Avenue; try Broadway and walk to the display.
Forrest Trail Circle Interesting and familiar animations are projected onto this home in this unique and popular display set to music.
1326 Laurel Ave This holiday display includes scenes from movies like "Home Alone" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas," Santa's cabin, and a North Pole post office. The synchronized projection show runs nightly from 5pm-10pm, and visitors can tune in to 88.9 FM to experience the soundtrack from their cars.
704 Belmar Plaza (Connelly-Campion-Wright Building) This two-night-only show takes place on Saturdays December 13 and 20, 2025, with shows slated for 6pm. Suggested donations are $25 for a family of four and $10 for an individual. Donations support RallyCap Sports, a charity that sponsors sports programs for children with disabilities.?
Johnny's Hazlet Holiday Light Extravaganza lights up the neighborhood. Photo courtesy of the family
3 Bauer Avenue This show draws tons of fans yearly to see two dozen inflatable decorations and more than 75,000 lights. Cars must park on side streets and walk to the display. Viewers can walk through the walkway back to the street. Note: There is no parking on Laurel or Bauer.
13 Garrett Place Take it all in! There are lots of lights and lighted figures to lift your spirits and usher in holiday cheer at this two-story house that's practically wrapped in Christmas lights.
11 Hudson Avenue This cheery corner has tons of lights and inflatables, many of which are larger than life. In years past, the home was adorned with enormous Blues Clues characters and a 30-foot-tall SpongeBob!
201 Hamilton Boulevard Set to 30 minutes of music, this house glows with a rainbow of lights and highlights the story of Christmas. The show runs from 5-9pm nightly. Select weekends feature additional activities during the show, including cookies, crafts, a photo booth, and more. Donations are accepted to support the First Baptist Church of South Plainfield, where Jesse Nietzer works.
1 Carlson Court This home has more than 30,000 dancing lights and four singing Christmas trees. All the lights are synchronized to six songs for a show that is about 20 minutes long. The homeowners collect donations for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.???
11 North Island Road Tune your radio to 87.9 FM and check out this awesome display with tons of light synced to a diverse soundtrack of songs starting nightly at 5pm.
12 Snyder Drive There will be sparkling lights everywhere you turn at this display, with all the lawn figures creating a magical scene.
184 Yellowbank Road Lights dance to the music at this whimsical, magical display, which runs nightly through Sunday, December 28, 2025. Donations are accepted in the silver mailbox and go to The Children's Hospital.
182 Porchtown Road See a beautiful display of programmed, twinkling lights that dance to music played over the radio. Donations are appreciated for Toys for Tots and the local food bank.
34 Harness Lane This light show is on the smaller side, but features a fantastic, synchronized music and lights display that runs in a continuous loop that starts around sundown.
Apollo Drive Tune your radio to 88.9 FM to watch this magical musical light display light up the night.
36 Hiawatha Road Come to this home and see more than 1,000 blow-molded Christmas decorations, scene set-ups, and tons of lights filling every corner of the property. The family hosts a walkthrough scavenger hunt of the display, if your kids would like to get up close and personal with this fantastic display that has some unique things, like larger-than-life Mickey characters in display windows. You might even get to meet Santa in his workshop.
23 Euclid Avenue Don't miss this 2024 winner of The Great Christmas Light Fight. See a 35-foot blow-mold tree, unique boxed scenes of animatronics, and more lights than you can imagine.
Neighborhood Christmas & Holiday Lights in New Jersey FAQ
Where are the best Christmas lights in NJ? We've detailed our favorites above, but this list is far from exhaustive!
Are there FREE Christmas light displays in New Jersey? Absolutely! All these neighborhood Christmas lights displays are FREE, with many accepting donations for charity. To check out light shows and drive-thrus, see our post here.
When do Christmas lights start in New Jersey? Most neighborhood lights usually go up right after Thanksgiving, and will be twinkling from dusk until about 9pm.
Are New Jersey holiday lights kid-friendly? Definitely, just pay attention to the parking recommendations and consider going at an off-peak time to avoid the crowds.
This post was first published in 2015 and is updated every year.
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