love, Maddily

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Christmastime in Nashville

Madeline Jacobs

Although I didn't actually spend Christmas day in Nashville last year — I went home to Los Angeles to be with my family and do other fun things — I did do a lot of fun and great things in the Nashville area leading up to it! And I thought I'd share if you're in the mood or starting to plan all those holiday festivities.

Here's the breakdown:

I'm hoping to continue to add more as the season progresses. So look out ;) 

 

Lipton Lights

This one is my favorite if I had to choose. 

Located at  213 Lipton Ct., Franklin, TN, it is literally the greatest Christmas-lighted house I've ever witnessed. You pull up into a little cul-de-sac and position your car for a spectacular show. Tune the radio appropriately and the lights animate with the appropriate music. I had a couple favorites including "Let it Go" from "Frozen" — which also included a little scene animation from the movie in the Christmas tree lights.  

I also liked that whenever I went, it was never really crowded and we always found a spot. Make sure to donate and also turn off your car lights for optimal viewing.

Update: Lipton Lights is on a hiatus – you can check their Facebook for future updates.

Chad's Winter Wonderland

This place is a bit of a drive from Nashville but I had the best time going here with a full car of friends. Santa is a feature here, so you know it's good. The only bummer is you can't get out of the car, but I guess that would be a danger to yourself. You may get run over by a reindeer like grandma or something.

The drive thru features over 2 million lights and 90 drive-thru arches! We seriously had so much fun driving through and listening to classic and more present-day Christmas tunes with synchronized lights.

Between this drive thru and the Dancing Lights of Christmas, I hands down recommend this one. Primarily because we didn't have to wait at all.

Opryland Hotel Christmas

I talked about Opryland here, and mentioned how it was really beautiful at Christmastime. It is. Especially at night with all the lights more visibly lit. 

In addition to walking around the mall area, there are also other activities like "ICE" featuring "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas Musical" plus much more!

Dancing Lights of Christmas at Jellystone Park

I can't say I wasn't completely warned about this drive thru light show. Before my friend Amanda and I headed over here, my roommate had said she once sat in the car for two hours waiting to get to the show. But, I reasoned, although it was close to Christmas and a Saturday night, we were driving there around the time that it opened, just after dark. It wouldn't be that bad. 

Three hours and a lot of delirious snapchats later... 

Seriously. It took three hours waiting to get to the show. At thirty minutes in I was committed though, reasoning it would go by faster. Wouldn't take more than an hour. An hour in and I was even more invested. Why turn back? That would mean we wasted an hour. Just 30 minutes ahead and we'd be fine... at two hours in, there was no going back. We were so close but not really. And at exactly three hours, with a huge line still behind us and it being close to closing, we made it! 

The show was pretty great. So many lights and music. I liked that when I thought it was over, there was more. There were light tunnels and the music changed through various Christmas songs. It took about 15-25 minutes to drive through. And the $25 entry fee went to a worthy charity. 

We opted not to spend time at Santa's Village because we were just ready to get home.

The Parthenon at night

I wrote about the Parthenon here, but at Christmastime, at night, the lights are red and green. Which is kind of a neat thing. In addition there's some cool things to see around Centennial Park — day or night.

It's just one of those things to stop by, maybe bring a dinner picnic, and enjoy the ambiance of what a full-scale Greek Parthenon offers.