Here we are, on year six of the Visit Bucks Blog’s annual holiday lights driving tour! Before we jump in, I have something to admit: I really didn’t want to drive around this year. Don’t get me wrong, I love the lights! Seeing neighborhoods all decked out, taking part in this tradition with my little family – it’s all great! It’s just that on the night we were planning to go out, I was fully wiped.
Our kids, Howie and Clover, are now 8 and 2 years old respectively, which means that Howie is busy with just about every playdate and extracurricular known to mankind, and Clover is equal parts hilarious and adorable alongside a healthy dose of frenetic, chaotic energy. The idea of piling into a car and driving around after a weekend already full of other holiday activities made my stomach lurch. But Howie, who has done this drive every year since he was Clover’s age, was ridiculously excited.
“This is my all-time favorite thing!” he said while bouncing around our kitchen. “We’re making hot chocolate right? We have to!”
And so, like parents everywhere this time of year, we pushed through. Hot chocolate made, route mapped, seatbelts clicked, we set out for another year of lights. And, spoilers: I’m really glad we did.
One small change this year! In a bid to keep our super active toddler engaged (and meltdown free), all the stops on this year’s route are homes where visitors are invited to get out of their cars and walk through the displays. This was a lifesaver with our busy kiddo – she loved getting out of the car and being outside at night in new neighborhoods at every stop.
The map below includes plenty of other styles of stops in case you’re in the mood to just stay in the car or mix it up – and worth checking out stops on all these other local light tours while you’re driving around!
Stop 1: Light Up 394, 394 Hidden Oaks Dr, Yardley, PA
We parked and almost in unison, my husband and son went, “Starting strong this year!” This yard was packed with inflatables and light up figures of all kinds – who even knew there was such a thing as a light up axolotl? The winding path through the front and side yard, complete with sparkling tunnel, gingerbread house, and enormous snow monster, was big enough that our kids were really able to run around, but not so large that we worried about losing track of them. They took quite a few laps to make sure they saw everything, and even with that were pointing out new characters on our way back to the car – turns out they’re big fans of a holiday swordfish!
Stop 2: Reams Classic Christmas Shows, 124 Goldenridge Dr, Levittown, PA 19057
One of many exceptional houses in this neighborhood, this stop was really something special. I mean, when you drive around the corner, in the dark, on a chilly December night, and spot a working wooden Ferris wheel in somebody’s front yard, you just know you’re in for a good time. An incredible number of these decorations were handmade, and I loved the personal touch it gave the whole yard. A path led our kids past a few inflatables with fun projections of holiday movies, around cut outs of the Peanuts characters, to a path leading up to a miniature workshop, complete with vintage animatronics and candy canes for visitors. The workshop had this pretty incredible set of bells hung from the ceiling that were automated to ring out in time to seasonal songs – in all our years of doing this tour, we’d never seen anything like it. Don’t miss this one!
Stop 3: So This Is Christmas, 40 Hollow Rd, Levittown, PA 19056
Sometimes, all you really need is a good light up tunnel – and boy does this house have one. Running along a brand-new sidewalk, our kids got their steps in going up and down under a brilliant archway while pausing here and there to admire a blinking Rudolph and a whole other cast of sparkly characters.
Bonus Stop 4: 301 Matthews Ln, Newtown, PA 18940
As we wound our way back up North from Levittown and towards our home in New Hope, we spurred off to peek at one house in Newtown we’d heard added even more lights this year. Not a walk through (much to Clover’s disappointment, because by this point in the ride she was both exhausted and ready to keep running, welcome to evenings with a 2-year-old), but a wonderful celebration of lights, this house is a lovely presentation of what can be done with simple strand lights in a limited color palate. Not an inflatable, cut out, or projection in sight, this is a stop for anybody who wishes they could visit the McCallister’s house in Home Alone.
Stop 5: Misfit Meadows, 6205 Stoney Hill Road, New Hope, PA 18938
Repeat readers of this blog may remember that we’ve visited Misfit Meadows on a few previous tours, but come on – this one is a blast. Jam packed with characters, lights, blow molds, over 150 inflatables, and with a newly lit parking lot just for visitors off to the side (bonus!), we really wanted to end with a house that always does a wonderful walk around stop. Where else are you going to find a rainbow arch, cocktail drinking snowman, lighthouse full of peppermint penguins, and boatful of Santas all in one place, I ask you? So even though it was well past bedtime, we pulled over, got ready to get out and for once Howie was awake…but Clover was totally out. Oh well, best laid plans and all that! We admired from the road, vowed to come back, and drove home in the sparkly winter dark.
As ever, so grateful to everyone in our Bucks County community for putting in so much effort for all to enjoy – even at my most holiday-exhausted, this was such a highlight for me, my husband, and our rambunctious kids. Have a wonderful holiday season everybody, happy driving!
Looking for more holiday lights in Bucks County? Find other popular houses on the map below.
2024 Driving Tour Route (Walking Path Edition):
Stop 1: Light Up 394, 394 Hidden Oaks Dr, Yardley, PA
Stop 2: Reams Classic Christmas Shows, 124 Goldenridge Dr, Levittown, PA
Stop 3: So This is Christmas, 40 Hollow Rd, Levittown, PA 19056
Bonus Stop 4: 301 Matthews Ln, Newtown, PA 18940
Stop 5: Misfit Meadows, 6205 Stoney Hill Road, New Hope, PA 18938
2023 Driving Tour Route:
Stop 1: Sesame Place, Langhorne, PA
Stop 2: Colonial Drive Lights, 155 Colonial Drive, Langhorne, PA
Stop 3: 1215 Grenoble Road, Warminster, PA
Stop 4: Keystone Drive between Church Road and Fairhill Road, Hatfield, PA
Stop 5: Tis the Simpsons, 502 Timber Court, Perkasie, PA
Stop 6: 308 N 5th Street, Perkasie, PA
2022 Driving Tour Route:
Stop 1: Yule on Yale, 15 Yale Drive, Richboro
Stop 2: Autumn Drive, Langhorne
Stop 3: Lights on Lumpoc, 2512 Lumpoc Court, Bensalem
Stop 4: The Warrells' Elderberry Lights, 257 Elderberry Road, Levittown
Stop 5: 15 Raab Drive, Yardley
Stop 6: 301 Matthews Lane, Newtown
2021 Driving Tour Route:
Stop 1: 1445 Bartlett Ct, Yardley
Stop 2: The Blinking House, 9 Franklin St, Levittown
Stop 3: Stonybrook Lights, 56 Stonybrook Dr, Levittown
Stop 4: Colonial Drive Lights, 155 Colonial Dr, Langhorne
Stop 5: MaloneyLights, 644 Cypress Rd, Warminster
Stop 6: 901 Catalpa Rd, Warminster
Stop 7: Keystone Drive between Church Road and Fairhill Road, Sellersville
Stop 8: 227 Beech Ln, Perkasie
BONUS Stop 9: Peddler’s Village, 100 Peddlers Village, Lahaska
Stop 10: Misfit Meadows, Aquetong Rd & Stoney Hill Rd, Solebury Township
2020 Driving Tour Route:
Stop 1: Green Heather Lights, Green Heather Court, Buckingham
Stop 2: 12 Boulder Drive, Sellersville
Stop 3: 308 North 5th Street, Perkasie
Stop 4: 764 North Limekiln Pike, Chalfont
Stop 5: 1215 Grenoble Road, Warminster
Stop 6: 1220 Carolyn Drive, Southampton
BONUS Stop 7: Shady Brook Farm, Yardley
2019 Driving Tour Route:
Stop 1: Stoney Hill & Aquetong Road, New Hope
Stop 2: 4318 Route 202, Buckingham
Stop 3: 212 Stags Leap Circle, Doylestown
Stop 4: 61 Cherokee Road, Doylestown
Stop 5: 502 Timber Court, Perkasie aka ‘Tis the Simpsons
Stop 6: 37 East Ridge Avenue, Sellersville
