Best Christmas Lights in Charlotte and tix to the Minivan Express!

This is by far our favorite Smarty Pin of the month on Pinterest from Confessions of a Homeschooler blog. This is definitely the cutest idea of this holiday season, so we wanted to tie it in with our Smarty Charlotte Best Christmas Lights Tour! Here’s how it goes.

Start your bedtime routine as usual, have your hubby pop bags of popcorn and hot chocolate and load your swagger wagon. Don’t forget to crank up your Justin Bieber holiday tunes! When the kids climb into bed, they will find this fab golden ticket hidden. The kids are instructed to grab their slippers and head for the car. Upon entrance to The Minivan Express, hole punch the ticket, and drive around the QC while basking in these Smarty Holiday lights! You just might bump into our pink & green Smarty Party this Friday night!

1. Hillside Hunger Drive-Through in Myers Park – This street has banded together with the cutest and most creative handmade chicken wire balls (or you could go all Martha Stewart and order fancy versions) hung high from the trees. They have a drop-off for canned goods for Loaves & Fishes. This photo doesn’t do it justice – the cool factor is that almost every house on the street appears to have agreed to a competition of who can hang theirs the highest. So fun!

2. The South Charlotte Santa on Sherwood Forest Drive off Colony Road. This is one of the most impressive streets in all of Charlotte. They hand out over 10,000 candy canes each season and collect donations for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

3. Brandenburg Court in Belingrath neighborhood in SouthPark – Props to my neighbors who make our holiday season so fun! To me, this is the best Clark Griswold display I have ever seen!

4. Ballantyne – Marvin Creek in the culdesac on Kindling Wood. This display has larger-than-life inflatables.

5. SouthPark – Bellechasse in Beverly Woods East – TONS of inflatables.

6. North Charlotte Griswold all the way – tied are 15419 and 15038 Hugh McAuley Drive in the MacAulay neighborhood, Huntersville. (Different spelling for street & neighborhood). Last year they even had music!

7. North Charlotte in Huntersville – Hillcrest Dr has a house that has lights EVERYWHERE!

8. North Charlotte – Washam Potts Rd in Cornelius.

The usuals include Carolina Christmas at the Speedway, McAdenville Christmastown USA, Holidays at the Garden – Danielle Stowe Botanical Garden and Christmas Wonderland of Lights – Zootastic.

Post your comments and tell us where to check out your favorite neighborhood holiday displays. Be as specific as possible so we can all find the “ahhh”. It’s your turn shine, so bring it!