This time of year in the West End, the holiday action really heats up, and it’s not just the typical blue and white illumination of yesteryear: these are houses that go all out on lights, and where you can gawk at everything from Rudolph to Charlie Brown. Some of these displays take up to 4 miles of wiring, and the guided tours by limos and buses can spend up to 3 hours showing you just how awesome the holidays can be with this type of cheer. Popular staples of the tour are awesome sights such as the gingerbread home on 6421 Fitzhugh Ave, where more than 75,000 lights are needed to properly portray this exciting illumination. Even Santa and Mrs. Claus themselves show up at this address sometimes, as they deem it one of the worthiest displays of the bunch. You can see them there on Sunday nights from 5 P.M. Until 7 P.M., and revel in an age-old tradition for the holidays.

Many choose a professional limousine company to handle the job of helping them enjoy this event: great local brands such as Anytime Limousines are on deck to be your ultimate chauffeur. You an bring your favorite holiday music, wear your favorite bad sweater, and even select a stretch limousine that will accommodate 6-12 passengers. The 22-passenger shuttle bus is a great way for offices to provide the best holiday party yet for their staff: these tours run through the end of November until the first week of January every year. You get an immaculately cleaned vehicle, ice and bottled water, Sirius/ XM radio, TV’s and DVD service, and a uniformed driver to guide you through the snow and starry night full of lights. More and more residents are opting for services such as this, as taking the hassle out of the drive makes the viewing of the amazing holiday spirit coming to life that much more fun.

The folks at Taylor’s Classic Travels provide one of the most unique ways yet to experience the Tacky Light Tour for 2016: you can hop on a trolley, and seat up to 14 passengers on a fun winter’s night with a bit of a flair from days past. This is a very intimate experience for anyone who prefers a bit of a San Franciscan vibe to their revelry: alcoholic beverages are welcome, and this is a fully heated cabin for you to enjoy the sights from. Accommodating drivers are happy to take group photos for you to have as a lifetime memory, and the premium sound system on board will help you by providing the ability to rock whichever kind of tunes you want for the journey.

Popular addresses such as 9606 Asbury Court and 9625 Peppertree Drive are some of the usual stops in the mix, and the latter is a brightly lit home featuring a real fire truck in the yard. 2503 Pine Grove Drive is where you can get a glimpse of some delightful and animated M & M characters, and the legendary Preissner home is covered with 60,000 lights. The multiple computer circuits that make up the Christmas house on 2300 Wistar Court are truly a thing of wonder, and at 7709 Duncaster Road, you can see a flowing blue stream and beautiful color coordinated shrubbery. At 2814 W. Grace St in the Fan is where George Lough has decorations galore, and he added inflatables to spice up the season a bit. Some of the most quaint Victorians in the nation are available to be viewed here, and this is one of the all-around most exciting events that takes place every year. We’ll see you out in full force sometime over the next month, when the hanging of mistletoe and the mouths full of cider are liable to bring even the scroogiest character of all full-force into holiday spirit!