One of our favorite family holiday traditions is to drive around looking at Christmas lights. Original I know! Well, this tradition started when my husband and I were 16 and just dating. We would get some hot chocolate, donuts, be in PJs, and have the Christmas music on as we drove around. Honestly we loved competing to see who found the best Griswold-like house and who found the one that was decorated in the most unusual way. I always won (I was not driving in all fairness). But I still won!
Well, now we have kids and we have not missed a year. They won’t let us. Maybe it’s because of the hot chocolate and promise of donuts, but that’s ok. So moving to Texas we needed to find all the lights! And we were instantly told where we needed to see and the neighborhood of Deerfield was a clear, “Y'all need to see it!” (so of course we had to). And it did not disappoint. It was really busy and we did not expect that many cars in a neighborhood at the same time as us. But those houses! Incredible! If you haven’t seen it, I really recommend it. Walking or driving around it is great. The neighborhood light season goes from December 1-30th from 7 pm-10pm on weekdays, and 7 pm-11pm on weekends. But some houses do turn on their lights early when it starts getting dark, and you can avoid some of the later crowds.
Well, now we have kids and we have not missed a year. They won’t let us. Maybe it’s because of the hot chocolate and promise of donuts, but that’s ok. So moving to Texas we needed to find all the lights! And we were instantly told where we needed to see and the neighborhood of Deerfield was a clear, “Y'all need to see it!” (so of course we had to). And it did not disappoint. It was really busy and we did not expect that many cars in a neighborhood at the same time as us. But those houses! Incredible! If you haven’t seen it, I really recommend it. Walking or driving around it is great. The neighborhood light season goes from December 1-30th from 7 pm-10pm on weekdays, and 7 pm-11pm on weekends. But some houses do turn on their lights early when it starts getting dark, and you can avoid some of the later crowds.
- Deerfield is in Plano between Preston Rd. and Coit Rd. There are a lot of side streets that get you into the neighborhood, just follow the cars!
While I was looking for the times of the holiday lights I found this story online and wanted to share it. I love learning all about the area and how things came to be.
“The Story of Deerfield’s Tradition of Holiday Lighting- When Deerfield was being built, it was considered by many to be too far north on Preston Road. There were only fields north of the intersection of Park and Preston. The builders wanted to get people into the neighborhood to look at the homes, so for three or four Christmas seasons, they offered the homeowners a $5000 prize for 1st place, $2500 for second place, and $1000 for 3rd place. Also, there weren’t nearly as many families then as there are now so it was not unreasonable to win a prize. Several people got very competitive about it. People/pets were dressed in costumes and greeting people who drove through even giving out candy. Some people covered their lawns in cotton. Animation was very big. I remember one house had their teenage daughter get dressed in an angel costume and would stand in the front window and act like an animated figure. You had to look closely to realize it was a real person. The next year, everyone owned so many lights, they put them back up and the tradition began. *Story from a longtime Deerfield homeowner.”
Y’all need to see it!
(Picture I took last year, loved that snowman!)
(Picture I took last year, loved that snowman!)
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