Do you have the best Christmas decorations in town? Send us photos and a description for Patch's 2024 holiday tour o' lights.
Kristina Houck, Patch Staff
OCEANSIDE, CA — Can the holiday lights on your home be seen from space? Does it look like the Las Vegas strip?
If you've spent days or weeks painstakingly hanging strands of lights on your house, palm trees and shrubs, or hauling multiple figurines out to your lawn — Patch wants to hear from you.
Soon, we're compiling a Patch California tour o' lights, where readers can explore the best holiday light displays in San Diego County.
We aim to have the list up as soon as possible — so email photos and a description of your winter wonderland to Kat Schuster at [email protected].
For many of us, taking in our neighbors' outdoor holiday lighting displays and other decorative touches is as much a part of the season as exchanging gifts and singing Christmas carols.
Find out what's happening in Oceanside-Camp Pendletonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
There's a good reason twinkling holiday lights and colorful displays make us feel good, according to mental health experts.
"It does create that neurological shift that can produce happiness," Psychologist Deborah Serani, a senior professor at New York's Adelphi University, told NBC's "Today" show. "I think anything that takes us out of our normal habituation, the normal day in, day out ... signals our senses, and then our senses measure if it's pleasing or not."
Decorating for the holidays "will spike dopamine, a feel-good hormone," she said. "For a lot of us, Christmas is a magical time, it's a time of innocence. It's a time of joy."
That's why Patch and T-Mobile are partnering to find the lighted homes around Oceanside to visit.
A few details:
If you're including a video, please upload it to YouTube and send us the link so we can embed it (make sure it's marked "public"). We also request that the homeowner submit their own yard or a close relative.
We'll keep updating the list for San Diego County throughout December.
Once you've provided the information — and submitted a photo or two or a video (after you uploaded it to YouTube) — you will be entered and included in our roundup.
Pro-tip: If you haven't photographed your light display before, a good time to take photos is at dusk.
IMPORTANT: By submitting a photo, you're giving Patch permission to publish it for this feature and future stories. Photos should be original and taken by the person submitting the photo.
So, be sure to check back for updates and sign up for your local Patch.com newsletters as well!
Please copy and paste the following information into an email, along with photos or videos, and follow these guidelines:
We're looking forward to hearing from you. Remember, email Kat Schuster ([email protected]) to submit photos of your holiday lights.