The magic of Christmas is alive and well in Canberra, with hundreds of residents illuminating their homes in superb festive lighting displays to captivate the hearts of children.
From the delicate twinkle of fairy lights to full installations accompanied by music, laser lights, projections and our favourite characters, families have turned festive, with eye-catching Christmas light displays popping up all over our city.
Here are some of the best homes in Canberra to put on a show. Or map out your own local Christmas light trail here.
Hooke Place, Charnwood
With multiple homes illuminated, Hooke Place will delight families as a one-stop shop for beautiful Christmas lights.
From decorated rooftops to fun inflatable characters, laser lights and projections, these residents collectively provide a must-see on your 2022 Christmas light hunt. The special festive Bluey display at #5 is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Wackadoo!
Huddy Street, Forde
For more than 10 years, the spectacle of Huddy Street has dazzled big and little kids alike.
More like a nightly festival than a light show, the massive display features more than 500,000 lights set up across multiple homes, including a life-size sleigh, inflatable Christmas characters, rooftop decorations and projections. There is a huge Christmas tree of lights, complemented by presents underneath, and the loved (and loathed) Grinch.
Huddy Street’s annual lights are such a production, the display has its own Facebook page with an incredible 2300 followers.
17 Delma View, Gungahlin
An extra special light display for an extra special reason, this sparkling stunner is sharing Christmas joy while raising important funds into paediatric brain cancer in memory of Dainere Anthoney.
Set up by her family to continue Dainere’s vision for a lights display to bring Christmas spirit to the community, the annual show now also includes a nightly stall where visitors can purchase gifts, handmade crafts, books and jewellery.
Funds raised are donated to Dainere’s Rainbow, a charity set up after the 15-year-old’s death in 2013 to raise money for research to improve outcomes for children diagnosed with brain tumours.
“Our lights display is a legacy to and in memory of our inspiring, selfless and most beloved daughter and sister who died from brain cancer aged just 15,” the Anthoney family said.
“She started the lights display a decade ago to raise awareness and funds for childhood brain cancer, which is the number one disease killer of children in Australia.
“These lights honour her and her selfless, inspiring and courageous advocacy, awareness and fundraising for others.”
225 Newman-Morris Circuit, Oxley
With a staggering 40,000 LED lights, this Oxley home features a massive tree, leaping arches, stars, candy canes and snowflakes.
A staple in the neighbourhood for the past decade, the display takes two weeks to set up and is synchronised to a playlist of loved Christmas songs, which you can tune into on your car radio via 103.1FM.
The homeowners say they love putting the lights up each year because of the joy it brings to visitors who come to watch the show.
18 Hobday Place, Dunlop
This mind-blowing festive light display is a solid investment in time, taking the homeowners a whole month to perfect.
Featuring an archway of lights over the driveway, there is a treasure trove of inflatables and fairy lights, including Santa in a kayak and a Christmas garden hidden beyond the front hedges.
13 Ruthven Street, Gowrie
Hosting one of the biggest solar Christmas light displays in Canberra, the homeowners of this beauty say it is a spectacle not to be missed.
The massive walk-in display, which has been going for more than 10 years and takes a month to set up, includes inflatable Christmas characters, a magical window display and musical accompaniment.
This year, the homeowners are fundraising to support multiple sclerosis.
From our MARQ family to yours, we wish you a safe and happy festive season and look forward to helping you with your property needs in 2023.