View Full Version : best christmas lights in okc area



Martin
12-07-2006, 11:49 AM
so... where are the best spots to go see christmas lights in the metro area this season? neighborhoods, public displays, whatever... i've got a caravan of friends going this saturday and we want to hit the best places! -M

wsucougz
12-07-2006, 01:22 PM
Chesapeake

okiemom
12-07-2006, 03:18 PM
so... where are the best spots to go see christmas lights in the metro area this season? neighborhoods, public displays, whatever... i've got a caravan of friends going this saturday and we want to hit the best places! -M




Festival of Light in Chickasha and Christmas Wonderland in Bethany.

Festival of Light - Chickasha Oklahoma (http://www.fol.net/)

John
12-07-2006, 04:26 PM
Take the Bricktown Water Taxi (free rides sponsored by Devon Energy at night) to see the lights on the canal, Bricktown christmas tree and displays along the canal.

hipsterdoofus
12-07-2006, 05:25 PM
We always enjoy going by Chesapeake and then making a run through Nichols Hills. If anyone knows of other nice neighborhoods, wouldn't mind hearing about it.

Theres a place at NW 150th & Western with some wicked tree decorations, but other than that I don't know of any other places.

Martin
12-07-2006, 06:34 PM
thanks for the suggestions so far! i've heard great things about chickasha's display... but i don't think we want to drive that far this weekend. for now, i'm thinkin' yukon and then heading over to bricktown... but nichols hills & chesapeake would be great stops, too, and we might work them in... thanks again for the tips! -M

Karried
12-07-2006, 06:44 PM
Theres a place at NW 150th & Western with some wicked tree decorations, but other than that I don't know of any other places.


Can you believe those trees? The house is in Northwestern Estates .. they have a team of landscapers that come and individually wrap each limb in different colors .. I love those trees.. I live very close by so I see them all the time and everyone slows down to see the lights.. very beautiful!

Patrick
12-07-2006, 08:29 PM
It's too bad Ski Island doesn't do their thing anymore. We realy need a neighborhood that gets together and does up the holidays.

Martin
12-07-2006, 09:05 PM
^
for sure... in the early to mid eighties my family had a christmas eve tradition of driving through ski island and then heading over to mazzio's for pizza. it sure was something. actually trying to recapture some of that feeling with my friends this year. should be fun! -M

Pete
12-08-2006, 08:44 AM
Ski Island doesn't go all-out any more??

Why not I wonder? That was quite a scene for a couple of decades.

Perhaps they all got tired of the traffic.

sdsooners
12-08-2006, 08:50 AM
Can you believe those trees? The house is in Northwestern Estates .. they have a team of landscapers that come and individually wrap each limb in different colors .. I love those trees.. I live very close by so I see them all the time and everyone slows down to see the lights.. very beautiful!




That is Marc Rowland's house, the CFO of Chesapeake. He has the same company (Total Environment) wrap his trees as they do at Chesapeake.

SoonerDave
12-08-2006, 09:12 AM
Ski Island stopped doing their thing several years ago. We always liked to go over there and look at the lights, but from what I've heard it was a monumental traffic headache for the residents.

There was a small neighborhood in south OKC that used to do a coordinated light show/contest, and just about every house in the development participated, and traffic used to back up north on May Avenue from around 95th to - at it's very peak - all the way back to I-240!! I used to live in a neighborhood just east of them and could watch the cars line up beyond 89th on May to the point beyond my ability to see them. That also died away a few years ago, probably for the same reasons (traffic).

Several neighborhoods in that area have individual houses with very nice light displays; some professional, some just owner-installed, so while it's not as extravagant as Ski Island, you can come through the Rivendell, Lakeridge, and Lakeridge Run neighborhoods and see some nice displays...

There's also one HUGE house in east Moore which is SPECTACULARLY lit up, and the owner comes out in the evening and plays Santa to those who drive by and hands out candy canes and such. Don't recall the address, unfortunately..haven't been by there this year...

-soonerdave

Karried
12-08-2006, 09:17 AM
That is Marc Rowland's house, the CFO of Chesapeake. He has the same company (Total Environment) wrap his trees as they do at Chesapeake.


Oh thank goodness.. I was having serious tree envy thinking mortal humans decorated like that! lol

redredwine
12-08-2006, 11:17 AM
I miss Ski Island! We drove that neighborhood for YEARS and my kids LOVE to look at lights. What is Chesapeake, meaning, where and what (I know the Company) just not the light display. We drive through neighborhoods in Edmond. I love to walk in our neighborhood at night with the kids and look at lights that way but ofcourse not everyone puts them up.

diesel
12-08-2006, 11:42 AM
I miss Ski Island! We drove that neighborhood for YEARS and my kids LOVE to look at lights. What is Chesapeake, meaning, where and what (I know the Company) just not the light display. We drive through neighborhoods in Edmond. I love to walk in our neighborhood at night with the kids and look at lights that way but ofcourse not everyone puts them up.

To my knowledge, the chesapeake light display would be all the trees wrapped in lights just north of classen on western towards 63rd..

redredwine
12-08-2006, 11:43 AM
Ok. We have not been by there. We usually stay in Edmond or do Chickasha. I have not been to Bethany either.

Jack Wonder
12-11-2006, 10:52 AM
Kingfisher has a nice display if you usually travel to Chickasha, and are looking for something a little more "north" this year.

But if you live in OKC, you'll probably be satisfied with Bricktown or Nichols Hills...

Yukon always has a nice display too!

John
12-11-2006, 11:39 AM
Yukon and MWC have nice displays for those not wanting to venture out to Chickasha.

Martin
12-11-2006, 11:43 AM
well... we went to yukon, then to bethany, then swung by chesapkeake and then drove around nichols hills. everything was great except for bethany... i really don't recommend that one. it's sponsored by the children's center and the lights are interspersed with information about it... it was like driving through a brochure more than anything.

nichols hills was a-mazing. i really digged the trees that had the trunk and each individual limb wrapped in lights. -M

okiemom
12-11-2006, 01:56 PM
well... we went to yukon, then to bethany, then swung by chesapkeake and then drove around nichols hills. everything was great except for bethany... i really don't recommend that one. it's sponsored by the children's center and the lights are interspersed with information about it... it was like driving through a brochure more than anything.

nichols hills was a-mazing. i really digged the trees that had the trunk and each individual limb wrapped in lights. -M

I think it's actually sponsored by donors and serves as a fundraiser for the Children Center.

I haven't been to the one in Yukon in years. I think we might try that this year.

okiemom
12-11-2006, 02:07 PM
Out of curiosity, I checked with Mapquest to see how far a few of the towns I've seen mentioned here are from OKC.

OKC to Yukon
21.39 miles

OKC to Shawnee
38.93 miles

OKC to Chickasha
42.35 miles

OKC to Kingfisher
49.88 miles

okiemom
12-11-2006, 02:09 PM
I think what makes the Chickasha light display so unique is the fact you can drive through, walk through or rent a carriage.
But I'm biased.

Martin
12-11-2006, 02:19 PM
okiemom... you're right. i misused the phrase 'sponsored by' as the bethany display is obviously meant as a fundraiser for the organization. i still feel that it was a big advertisement, though.

fyi, the display in yukon has horse-drawn carriage rides. -M

okiemom
12-12-2006, 07:02 AM
mmm, it sounds like a nice display in Yukon.

redredwine
12-12-2006, 08:24 AM
OkieMOM I love your signature!!!!!!!!!!!! that is hilarious and OH so true!

okiemom
12-12-2006, 09:29 AM
Thanks redredwine

daresmom
12-12-2006, 11:03 AM
well... we went to yukon, then to bethany, then swung by chesapkeake and then drove around nichols hills. everything was great except for bethany... i really don't recommend that one. it's sponsored by the children's center and the lights are interspersed with information about it... it was like driving through a brochure more than anything.

nichols hills was a-mazing. i really digged the trees that had the trunk and each individual limb wrapped in lights. -M

I have never posted anything on one of these before but was so sickened by mmm's attitude about the bethany lights.
i took my 2 year old there this weekend and she loved it!! she got a picture with santa for $5 and even got to pick a present out of their present chest. they had live people dressed as reindeer, m&m's and elves and it was a great experience. God forbid they try to let people know about their cause while you soak up their lighting display. these people help the children year round and merely insert a few signs asking you to pull your head out and maybe help the children. I propbably should stop here as my blood pressure is sky rocketing. to those of you who dont mind being reminded that some people need help the bethany lights were amazing. (we also liked chickasha, mwc and bricktown)

Martin
12-12-2006, 11:46 AM
daresmom,
look... i'm not knocking their mission and i'm glad your kid enjoyed going. the live people running around was a unique touch. to me, if the group would've included their info in a pamphlet or at the beginning or end of the display, i think it would've been more tasteful. the venue is labeled as a light display, not an infomercial. it just seemed in bad taste to me and it rubbed the group i was with the wrong way... to us, it seemed like more than just a few signs, but that's just my opinion... that and a buck will get me a cup of coffee, so it's nothing important enough to get worked up about. -M

okcguy
12-12-2006, 12:40 PM
Not saying this is the best place in the city to look at lights as I've not gone around trying to find them, but Heritage Hills has some lovely lights sprinkled thoughout the neighborhood. Very Christmassy around there.

daresmom
12-13-2006, 08:24 AM
mmm,
would you have honestly even glanced at a pamphlet. Not to mention going into the place everyone knows that its a childrens hospital, the okc zoo puts up advertisements for og&e, chesepeake etc. so you had to know that there would be ads at the hospital. i guess i should be thankful that you were able to spare a dollar towards a cup of coffee and the cost of putting on the lights display. oh well, have a great holiday and hopefully you and yours will soon learn the true meaning of christmas (believe it or not, its not just about lights and how you feel)

Martin
12-13-2006, 08:44 AM
daresmom,
i see... because i didn't think that this one display was entirely appropriate and wouldn't recommend it to others (which is the purpose of this particular thread), i've somehow missed the true meaning of christmas. for the record, we gave anyway just because it was a good cause.

as for 'sparing a dollar towards a cup of coffee', i think somehow you missed the point of what i was saying... 'that and a buck will get you a cup of coffee' is a common colloquialism indicating that something has no value, in this case my opinion.

so... anything else you care to blow out of proportion? -M

SoonerDave
12-13-2006, 11:27 AM
I've been through that Bethany light display and found it to be entirely appropriate and extremely well done. Our family tries to make it each year.

That it solicits donations toward the accomplishment of the mission it pursues the other 364 days a year that aren't Christmas is completely appropriate. That someone would find it crass, commercial, or inappropriate is, frankly, stupefying. All they do is cater to the medical needs of children.

Children's Center website (http://www.thechildrens-center.org/index.html)

But that's just my opinion.

-SoonerDave

Martin
12-13-2006, 11:56 AM
i don't care if they solicit donations... that's ok and understandable. we just found the number of signs interspersed through the lights a bit too much... but like i say, that's just us. if it didn't bug you, that's cool too...

what i don't tolerate is somebody telling me that i completely miss the point of christmas and am some sort of jerk just because it bugged me. -M

SoonerDave
12-13-2006, 12:33 PM
Well, mmm, I'd just offer that it could be argued that your initial description of the place carried a degree of, say, insolence considering what the Children's Center accomplishes, that's all. That is, if someone is willing to rag on a children's hospital's Christmas display because it has too many signs talking about itself, ya gotta accept the fact it may leave that person open to suggestions that it makes one sound like a bit of a Scrooge..

-sd

Martin
12-13-2006, 12:45 PM
i'll buy that... i see the scope of this thread as being about christmas lights and where to go and where not to go... in no way do i intend to diminish any of the good work the center accomplishes... as i've said, we were happy to donate a little cash based on that alone. -M