Christmas lights in Phoenix, Arizona

We track 40 displays in Phoenix — the densest city for lights in Arizona. 37 of them are free to visit.

When to go

Displays here switch on around sunset. In Phoenix that means about 5:20 PM in early December and 5:22 PM by mid-month — the earliest sunsets of the year fall right in the middle of lights season. It is properly dark by about 5:49 PM, which is when the displays look their best. December nights in Phoenix typically drop to around 41°F.

The Phoenix lights loop — 40 stops

We ordered every display in Phoenix into the shortest sensible driving loop: roughly 81 miles and 354 minutes of driving, before you count time spent parked and looking. Start wherever is closest to you and follow it round.

1. Santa's Cottage — 112 W Southern Hills Rd
2. Gingerbread Kids on the Block — 158 W Boca Raton Rd
3. The Home Alone House — 14044 N Canterbury Dr
4. Let It Glow — 14243 N 2nd Ave
5. Hamilton's Fantasy Land — 14617 N 1st Ave
6. A Home for the WHOlidays — 12 E Seminole Dr
7. Enchanted Christmas Forest — 14640 N 2nd Ave
8. Neon Wonderland — 123 W Pine Valley Dr
9. Ho Ho Ho House — 119 W Country Gables Dr
10. Jobey & Andy's White Christmas — 126 W Country Gables Dr
11. Christmas in the Desert — 14822 N 3rd Ave
12. Merry Grinchmas — 15049 N 7th Dr
13. Family Display at 15209 N 8th Ave — 15209 N 8th Ave
14. Flying Reindeer House — 15202 N 8th Ave
15. Hogwarts Christmas — 15002 N 10th Ave
16. Frosty the Snowman House — 110 W Port Au Prince Ln
17. 14654 N Coral Gables Dr Display — 14654 N Coral Gables Dr
18. Willy Wonka Christmas — 14259 N Coral Gables Dr
19. Nutcracker Village — 14027 N Coral Gables Dr
20. You Serious Clark? — 13616 N Coral Gables Dr
21. Jolly Lolli Lane — 13601 N Coral Gables Dr
22. Inflation Station — 15032 N Moon Valley Dr
23. Holiday Havoc — 15217 N 4th St
24. Makela Family Light Show — 104 W Marco Polo Rd
25. Mollick Magic Christmas — 1711 E Rose Garden Ln
26. Desert Ridge Marketplace Holiday Lights — 21001 N Tatum Blvd
27. Super Nova Light Race — 4149 W Port Au Prince Lane
28. 21st Street and Osborn Display — 2101 E Mitchell Dr
29. Calle Tuberia Display — 4415 E Calle Tuberia
30. Las Noches de las Luminarias — Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N Galvin Pkwy
31. ZooLights at the Phoenix Zoo — 455 N Galvin Pkwy
32. APS Electric Light Parade — Central Avenue route, Uptown Phoenix
33. Christmas Eve Luminarias in Moon Valley — 1344 W Thunderbird Rd (start at Thunderbird Rd and Coral Gables Dr, go north)
34. Christmas on the Farm at DH Farms — 2209 N 99th Ave (Phoenix Events Complex)
35. Cruise ZooLights — 455 N Galvin Pkwy (Phoenix Zoo)
36. Jingle at JW Desert Ridge — JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa
37. Moon Valley Decorated Homes — 14995-15017 N Moon Valley Dr
38. North Phoenix Lights — 18639 N 1st Ave (from Union Hills, north on 2nd Ave, east on Rockwood Dr)
39. Festival of Lights (Ahwatukee) — 2400 E Chandler Blvd
40. Taylor Sitera Display — 17023 S 27th Pl

Driving estimate assumes a 25 mph average on residential streets plus four minutes stopped per display. Straight-line distances with a road-network allowance — treat it as a planning figure, not a satnav route.

Practicalities

Residential displays have no facilities of their own — no parking, no toilets, nowhere to warm up — so it is worth knowing what is around. Within about three miles of the Phoenix cluster, OpenStreetMap maps 0 public car parks and 7 public toilets. Only 20 cafés or takeaways nearby, so bring a flask if you want one.

All 40 displays in Phoenix

Nearby towns

Know a display we're missing in Phoenix?Add it to the guide.