We track 3 displays in Leawood. Every one of them is free to visit.
When to go
Displays here switch on around sunset. In Leawood that means about 4:57 PM in early December and 4:57 PM by mid-month — the earliest sunsets of the year fall right in the middle of lights season. It is properly dark by about 5:27 PM, which is when the displays look their best. December nights in Leawood typically drop to around 23°F.
Date
Sunset
Fully dark
Dec 1
4:57 PM
5:26 PM
Dec 15
4:57 PM
5:27 PM
Dec 25
5:02 PM
5:32 PM
The Leawood lights loop — 3 stops
We ordered every display in Leawood into the shortest sensible driving loop: roughly 7.1 miles and 29 minutes of driving, before you count time spent parked and looking. Start wherever is closest to you and follow it round.
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 Leawood cluster, OpenStreetMap maps 3 public car parks and 3 public toilets. Only 21 cafés or takeaways nearby, so bring a flask if you want one.
typically late Nov – early Jan (check before visiting) · 5 PM - 1 AM
Freeresidentialcomputer-controlled show since 2003music on 102.7 FMAnimated Lighting electronics
Ken and Marilyn Hager's computer-controlled show, running since 2003, was one of the area's first animated displays and remains more restrained than most, with less flashing. The program runs from 5 PM to 1 AM with music on 102.7 FM, using Animated Lighting electronics and lights installed by Brighter Holidays.
This themed Leawood yard, new to the tour in 2024, fields a fleet of Star Wars inflatables including a large Millennium Falcon, a Tie Fighter labeled 'Dreaming of a Hoth Christmas,' a Death Star, and a troop of storm troopers dragging R2-D2.
typically late Nov – early Jan (check before visiting) · Evenings
Freeresidentialmostly fixed lightsmoving white deercomplementary neighbor display
Running for at least thirteen years, this display one block east of Nall Avenue uses mostly steady lights with a moving white deer as its only animation. The neighboring house adds a complementary deer-themed display.