Must-See Christmas Light Displays in Winston-Salem

As the holiday season approaches, Winston-Salem transforms into a city of lights, adorned with dazzling displays and festive decorations. While the Tanglewood Festival of Lights is a must-see, countless other neighborhoods and homes in the area go all out with their seasonal displays. The following highlights more than two dozen top holiday displays nearby — from high-tech spectacles to old-fashioned delights — all less than 20 miles from downtown and free of charge.

Window Wonderland in Downtown 
Our holiday lights tour starts in the city center, where dozens of storefronts are dressed in holiday style. It’s all part of Window Wonderland, an annual promo put on by the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership. Last year, more than three dozen downtown businesses participated in the promo, from bars to boutiques to art galleries. Windows are judged by both online voters and a celebrity panel in several categories, including a "People's Choice Award,” with the winner receiving up to $1,000 cash (plus unlimited bragging rights). Be on the lookout for this year's displays in early December, as all storefronts must be completed by Dec. 6 to compete. 

• Where: Throughout downtown, particularly Fourth Street and the Downtown Arts District (corner of Sixth, Trade, and Liberty). If you want to hit most of the highlights, here's a 2-mile route that starts and ends around Foothills Brewing.
• Inside Tip: While exploring downtown, stop by Corpening Plaza, site of the city’s Christmas tree.

The Christmas Family Lights 
Located in the northern outskirts of Winston-Salem near Horizons Park, this impressive display on Shiloh Church Road has garnered plenty of attention in recent years. Among its honors was a first-place finish in the "Classiest Lights" category on TackyLightTour.com, a globally known site that lets users plug in their ZIP code to find the best lights nearby. Known as the Christmas Family Lights, the display spans multiple homes and features 50,000 lights synced to a computerized animation system. You’ll see characters from Peanuts, Rudolph, and other holiday classics, along with dozens of Moravian stars, a life-sized Nativity scene, and a 24-foot mega tree that dances to holiday tunes on 89.7 FM. 

• Where: 3420 Shiloh Church Road, Winston-Salem, NC. (See map)
• Good to know: While timing varies slightly by year, the Christmas Family Lights typically run from Thanksgiving through early January.

Horizons Holiday Lane 
For more than 50 years, Horizons Residential Care Center has served children and adults with developmental disabilities in the area, providing compassionate care and enriching opportunities. Since many residents there aren’t able to see Christmas lights around town, the staff at Horizons decided, “What if we bring the lights to them?” That’s the idea behind Horizons Holiday Lane, a 3-year-old display that lights up several acres around Horizons’ Rural Hall-area campus with lighted archways, dozens of inflatables, and nearly 20,000 lights. It returns this year with an opening night celebration on Dec. 13 and will be viewable nightly through Dec. 25. 

• Where: 101 Horizons Lane, Rural Hall, NC (See map)
• Good to know: This display is only a few minutes from the Christmas Family Lights display, highlighted above. 

The Spectacle on Churchland Drive
In the city’s northeast corner, you’ll find thousands of lights blanketing the home of Brian Reeves, the Clark W. Griswold of Winston-Salem. The lights are all part of a synchronized show that’s wowed onlookers for years. There are also dashing reindeer, nativity figures, old cars, mannequins, and nods to a few Christmas movie scenes. Reeves credits “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” for inspiring the over-the-top display, which attracts nearly 75 cars per night. You’ll see (and hear) nods to the movie throughout the hour-long show, which harmonizes with music on 88.1 FM.

• Where: 118 Churchland Drive, Winston-Salem (See map)
• Inside Tip: Look closely, and you’ll see nods to another holiday classic, “A Christmas Story,” including a pink bunny suit and the infamous leg lamp hidden in the display.

'Mini Tanglewood' off Jonestown Road
Just off Jonestown Road, down a nondescript driveway between Ploughboy Lane and McGregor Road, there’s a hidden treasure of a display those in the know often call "mini Tanglewood." The display spans several homes tucked along a narrow, quarter-mile driveway. It features lighted archways, a colorful nativity scene, inflatables, and several lighted trees reflecting off a small pond. 

• Where: 1526 Jonestown Road, Winston-Salem (See map)
• Good to know: The display is an out-and-back (not a loop) with a turnaround at the end of the road.

Glenn Ferry Road (Pfafftown)
Located just northwest of Winston-Salem, the holiday display along Glenn Ferry Road is a true seasonal gem. It features thousands of lights dancing in sync with music on 88.7 FM and countless holiday scenes scattered about. Santa also makes regular stops at the home, parking his sleigh on the front lawn and visiting with kids. But the true highlight for most families is the big red “Magic Mailbox,” where kids can send letters to Santa. Every letter with a return address received before December 20 gets a personalized response from Santa. (In this case, “Santa” is the homeowners — Michael and Rhonda Reeves — who mail and hand-deliver the responses until Christmas Eve.) “My kids thought the ‘Magic Mailbox’ was incredible,” a recent visitor told us. “And getting a response back put the biggest smile on their face (and mine).”

• Where: 7606 Glenn Ferry Road, Pfafftown, NC (See map)
• Inside tip: Along with Santa, the Grinch also makes regular appearances, often stirring up a little mischief. (Don’t worry, parents. It’s all in good fun.)

Ferree Family Christmas Lights (Clemmons)
Winner of the Clemmons' 2023 "Light Up the Village Contest,” this colorful display is packed with fun finds. There are jumbo-sized balls in the yard, reindeer on the roof, and a handful of characters (including Snoopy on a Georgia Bulldogs-themed doghouse). But the most memorable site is an animatronic Santa who peeks out of an outhouse. "Seeing Santa coming out of the outhouse was the highlight of my holidays last year," said one recent visitor. 

• Where: 8916 Harpers Grove Lane, Clemmons, NC (See map)
• Good to know: This display is only a mile from one of our favorite neighborhood displays, Waterford, highlighted below.  

Downtown Kernersville 
If you're looking for small-town charms, look no further than downtown Kernersville. The town’s quaint Main Street morphs into holiday mode in December, looking like the set of a Hallmark movie. You’ll see some customary small-town sights: window displays, busy sidewalks, and a towering Christmas tree just outside Town Hall. But you’ll also see a signature decoration not found along any other Main Street in America — Blinkies. Created by Kernersville native Roger Briles, the twinkling lights are simple in design and mesmerizing in effect. Since first appearing along Main Street in 2009, they’ve spread to other neighborhoods across Forsyth County and are a big part of our local holiday traditions. 

• Where: Town Hall is at 152 S. Main St., Kernersville, NC (See map)
• Good to know: Downtown Kernersville is also home to another must-see outdoor display: The Spectacular Holiday Blooms at Ciener Botanical Gardens. The ticketed attraction is open each weekends, 5:30–9 p.m., from Nov. 29 to Dec. 29. 
   

Brady Country Christmas (Pinnacle)
Just beyond the Forsyth County lines in Pinnacle, this drive-through display has dazzled visitors for more than three decades. The display stretches across dozens of acres of farmland owned by the Brady family, set in the shadow of Pilot Mountain. It features more than 700,000 lights, 100 inflatables, 50 Christmas trees, and countless other surprises. The display hasn’t changed much over the years according to Nancy Brady, but most visitors like it that way. “We’re not very high-tech,” she laughs. “So our decorations tend to be a little old-fashioned. But I think the simplicity appeals to a lot of folks during the holidays.” 

• Where: 1776 Bradley Road, Pinnacle, NC. (See map)
• Good to know: Weekend visitors can also tour an onsite log cabin filled with Christmas trees, holiday trinkets, and plenty of nostalgic charms. 

Best Neighborhood Displays 

Historic Ardmore 
With its collection of charming homes, the tight-knit neighborhood of Ardmore is always worth a drive in December. Our favorite route is to start around Baptist Medical Center and head west down Hawthorne Road (seen above), which features several lovely sites. Just before you get to Stella Brew (1305 S. Hawthorne), take a right on Magnolia, then another right on Maplewood. That’s where, at 2432 Maplewood Ave., you’ll find the neighborhood’s crown jewel — a synchronized spectacle featuring thousands of lights harmonizing to music played via sidewalk speakers. (Here's our route.)

Buena Vista 
It seems only fitting that the city’s most impressive neighborhood is home to some of its grandest displays. You’ll find dazzling scenes down every street in Buena Vista, from Stratford Road to Country Club to all the alleyways in between. One longtime favorite is found atop a hilly pasture overlooking the 1200 block of Reynolda Road — a poignant Nativity scene on the Crosnore Children's Home campus. Another favorite site is Runnymeade Road, especially on Christmas Eve, when residents line the sidewalks with thousands of luminaries, creating a magical scene.

Sherwood Forest 
Drivers tend to look up when driving through Sherwood Forest during the holidays — and for good reason. The neighbors here make good use of the mature trees that tower overhead, filling them with Moravian stars, Christmas balls, and strands of twinkling lights (aka, Blinkies). The neighborhood is actually two neighborhoods intersected by Peace Haven Road (Old Sherwood and New Sherwood Forest). Here are a few standout sites in both:

• Archer Road in Old Sherwood, roughly between Pennington and Paddington lanes, where a collection of light-filled trees creates a tunnel-like effect overhead.
• Carversham Court, in the New Sherwood subdivision of Huntscroft, where dozens of trees are adorned with twinkling “Blinkies,” creating a mesmerizing scene.
• 1112 Claverton Court, a standout in New Sherwood featuring Santas, snowmen, a jumbo-sized Grinch, and a penguin piloting an airplane. 

Shallowford Lakes (Lewisville)
This neighborhood on the western outskirts of Forsyth County is filled with delightful homes decorated for the holidays. One highlight is 200 Flintridge Drive, an LED light show sequenced to holiday tunes on 91.9 FM. Families are welcome to bring chairs and enjoy the nearly 40-minute show that plays on a loop. Further back in the neighborhood sits the grand finale on 315 Graydon Court (above), a dazzling display akin to the Festival of Lights filled with dozens of sights and scenes. (Our favorites include including ice-skating ducks and a frog on skis).

Waterford (Clemmons)
Also on the western side of Forsyth County, the Waterford neighborhood near the Jerry Long YMCA is always one we go out a bit out of our way to see each year. Like Sherwood Forest, the neighborhood is actually two neighborhoods bisected by Peace Haven Road. While there's not necessarily a standout home display here, it's more of the sum being greater than the parts. Dozens of neighbors get in on the act, filling their spacious lots and stately brick homes white lights, holiday scenes, and a few fun surprises. If you need help getting there, put 1600 Slane Road into your GPS. (That's the address for neighborhood pool, which sits in the middle of the larger of the two Waterford neighborhoods.)

Hidden Hills (Kernersville)
If you’re looking for multiple spectacles in one convenient spot, head to the Hidden Hills neighborhood in Kernersville. That’s where, along with dozens of brightly decorated homes, you’ll find two of the most thrilling light shows in the Triad. The first display is at 190 Rockford Road, an awe-inspiring show that’s synced to tunes on 91.9 FM. The second display is less than a mile away at 1000 Lisa Run Drive. Known as the Ferguson Family Lights, it’s especially dazzling for kids. Each night at 7 p.m., the synchronized show temporarily switches from holiday tunes to Disney hits, dancing along with hits from “Frozen” and other Disney classics before switching back to holiday music.
 

Tanglewood Festival of Lights

While there are plenty of stunning displays around the area, Tanglewood's Festival of Lights remains the crowned jewel. The ticketed attraction is one of the biggest and best-known light shows in the Southeast, having earned the title of "top light display in the Carolinas" from Travel + Leisure for several years running. Now in its 31st year, the display is open nightly from Nov. 15 to Jan 1 and features several new surprises this year.

You can see what's new and get some insider tips by checking out our 2024 Festival of Lights Guide.

NOTE: This article isn't meant to be a comprehensive list of light displays in the area. It's simply a starting point for mapping up your own holiday adventure.  (After all, discovering new sights is half the fun.) With that said, if we missed your favorite display, let us know. Email us with the address and a brief description for potential inclusion. As long as it's within 30 minutes of downtown, it's fair game. (And if we can't get it into this year's story, we'll certainly keep it in mind for next year.)