Who has the best holiday decorations in Southern California? You tell us

With the holidays approaching and decorators performing magic on houses that look ordinary the rest of the year, we want to hear about the most elaborate, gorgeous or just plain tacky holiday displays you've seen around the Southland. 

We'll take your photos and the location information you provide and create a map/guide to the area's best lighting and decoration displays.

Want to help us?  It's simple -- just post your photos or video at Your Scene, The Times' photo-sharing site, and include in the caption the location of the display. (For example, you might advise us that the home is in the 300 block of Muirfield Road in Hancock Park.) 

Just go to Your Scene's Holiday Decorations album, click the "submit" link at the top of the page, choose your photo (.jpg format) or video (.avi, .dv, .mov, .qt, .mp4, .mpeg, .3gp, .asf, .wmv, .mpg or .mp3 formats), and be sure to include location information in your caption.

If you find a house you'd like to recommend to others, visit our Google map to add it to the map.

And finally, check out this Guitar Hero light display over at Brand X.

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: Your Scene submitter Frank describes this display as "the most beautiful house in E Avenue S4 in Palmdale."  

Add your finds to the Google map:

 

Comments

[Betty Bowers]

I see nothing beautiful about a house blazing with thousands of colored lights. It's ugly and tacky not to mention wasteful.

[Lang Caster]

Ah, it's Palmdale. That explains it.

[G]

WOW BETTY are you the female version of the Grinch?

My little ones love to see all them lights. Wasteful maybe but once a year, thats all. Would love to send you a christmass hug... lol

[Mark]

Excess carbon in the atmosphere due to Christmas lights makes the baby Jesus cry.

[Patricia]

Oh, my, the memories. Is the Balian House still a destination at Christmas?

[PAUL OLIVAS]

Grinchet

[Taking the last can of Hoo Hash]

Betty Downers,

You are correct and all those trees that are uprooted and wasted, all those toys that are given and ultimately cast aside are also wastes.

Grinchily yours

[OneAnunaki]

well it appears CALI is not going through an energy crisis... you can see this house from space.

[Bahea]

Wow, that is beautiful!! I love to see houses like that. Very festive! :)

[David90068]

Betty,
You sound like a real winner. Want to meet under the mistletow ? Must admit your comment did make me smile. Wow, you really are grumpy!

[Maurizio Maranghi]

By far, the greatest neighborhood to view house after house of Christmas lights GALORE is Candy Cane Lane (aka Candle Light Lane) in Woodland Hills, CA. This neigborhood turns into Christmas Art with 4 long streets of decorative lights, Christmas carolers, and Double Decker busses filled with those in the Christmas spirit. Candy Cane Lane is off of the 101 Freeway at Winnetka. It is between Winnetka Avenue and Corbin Avenue; and within Ventura Boulevard and Oxnard Street. Enjoy this neighborhood of Art.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays! Let's all be safe!

- Maurizio Maranghi -

[Eric]

Wow, Betty.... Betty, or Bitter, party of one!

[ERB]

Wow...how very sarcastic in this holiday season..it is just one criticism. Christmas is to love not be defensive. Plus...cheers without the lights and just have wholesome family Xmas time...we've lost the meaning of xmas already in our society ;-)

[maduceone]

Further to Betty Powers post - you are right, but on top of that - at a time when the power companies, governments and all sorts of other agencies, clubs, etc. are pleading with us to cut power consumption, use energy star appliances, fluorescent lights, etc. these Holiday displays are an "in-your-face" to all green aware people. Can't these people cut back just a little?

[Betty Sounds Hot]

Naples Island, Long Beach.

[Michelle]

I also agree, Candy Cane Lane in Woodland Hills is the best place in Socal for lights. One of the first places I'm going when I return for the holidays. =)

[eyeful]

Wretched excess. So this is America's "moral imperative?"

Really?

In light (no pun) of our wrecked economic system, our 3rd world divide between rich and poor, our self-destructive energy policy, our appetite for super-sized drek, our legions of self-absorbed undereducated citizens, combined with our vulgar consumer gestalt... this house is the ironic representation of America's flat, burnt, tasteless Christmas cake covered with buckets of cheap, canned frosting.

"Uplifting" you say? Yea...like a cheap high. Pass the glue.

[Betsty]

Imagine what this house looks like in daylight.
Yuck.

[Vin S.]

Looks like plain boring Vegas to me.

And what is it about conserving energy? It's not ok to water the lawn but it's ok to light up the house all night long.

[Stop Worrying]

There are tree farms to support all these trees being chopped down every year, just to let the naysays in on a little secret. Christmas is a bit wasteful even though it is an amazing celebration that we all love and maybe we all need to cut back on the gifts and give back in a different way.

[Gary Kinzer]

Every critical comment here is completely accurate: this decorated home is tasteless, wasteful, and excessive. And every critical comment here also completely misses the point. This family wants simply to share a joyous and festive spirit with us, (in a time where there rarely is either spirit); and it worked hard to try and make this happen. It will pay all the costs that SCE requires, and even permit others to "throw the first stone." Chill, let your kids "ooh and ahhh," and Merry Christmas. It's a "miracle on E Avenue S4," almost as big as Macy's too!

[Hoot]

There are some amazing light displays at homes in the western & northern San Fernando Valley but your map seems to cut off a big chunk of it. You should feature a map of the entire City of L.A.

[Lauren]

People, it is Christmas time. You put out lights, you give out toys, you put up a tree. It is all a waste, really.

But that isn't the point of the holiday. Celebrate Jesus Christ, our Father and Savior in Heaven. Love your neighbor, cherish your family and friends, be thankful for all we have.

The lights, toys, and trees are all just an added bonus.

[solitaryone]

The only thing I plan to do for the holiday this year is find a good neighborhood(s) to spend some time looking at the lights. Maybe I will bake some cookies for friends and the people I work with. That's it. No family, no wish to knock myself out going broke on stuff nobody appreciates anyway. Keep it simple, avoid the huge letdown after, is my motto. Thanks to the people who invest the time in creating such a display, it costs people like me nothing and adds a bit of beauty in the darkest part of the year.

When I do decorate my home for christmas the lights are the most important part (although I don't do nearly as much as the one in the photo), it is so peaceful and sweet to sit in the living room at night with all the house lights off and just see the pretty colors glowing around the mantle or whatever, and listen to christmas music. As much as I welcome other traditions it seems there is nothing quite like the one I grew up with.

Cheers, everyone.

[Susan Core]

In this era of global warming awareness, I cannot get the same fuzzy holiday feeling from electric excess that I used to in the holiday season. Somehow it was fitting that as I read this post, right next to the item on this LATimes.com internet page an ad flashed: "Reduce Your Electric Bill"....and I turned to that instead.