When and where to drive
Go after dark. In December the sun sets between about 4:30 and 5:30 pm across most of the US, and many displays run on timers that switch off at 10 or 11 pm. The hour after full dark is the sweet spot: every display is on, and younger kids still get home for bed.
The driver picks the route. A good loop takes about 20 minutes through two or three neighborhoods, mixing the famous displays with ordinary streets. Ordinary streets matter here. A strand with a dead section, a deflated inflatable and a house with no lights all come from the houses that didn’t go all out.
Drive slowly and let the passengers call the squares so the driver watches the road. If a street posts a sign asking drivers to use parking lights or keep moving, follow it.
How this card plays differently
Daytime bingo spreads squares over hours. Here they come in bursts, and one busy street can mark five squares in a block. That makes 5×5 the best size for kids over six, with 4×4 for younger ones. A 3×3 card is over before the first turn.
The rare squares reward a long look. Displays synced to music usually post a small sign with an FM frequency to tune to. Luminarias, paper bags with candles lining walks and walls, are a New Mexico tradition, famous in Albuquerque and Santa Fe on Christmas Eve. A tree tied to a car roof is a December find, most likely on early-December weekends.
Every square in this set
Common: you’ll see these most hours
Inflatable Santa, Icicle lights, Light-up reindeer, Candy cane path lights, Wreath on a door, Tree lit up in a window, Colored lights on a roof, All-white lights, Lights spiraling a tree, Net lights on bushes, Inflatable snowman, Laser dots on a house, Blinking lights, Electric candles in windows, Garland on a porch rail, Deflated inflatable, Strand with a dead section, House with no lights, Lit star.
Uncommon: a few per drive
Nativity scene, Christmas tree lot, All-blue light display, Santa on the roof, Santa’s sleigh and reindeer, Grinch inflatable, Penguin decoration, Polar bear decoration, Giant nutcracker, Light-up archway, Giant ornaments in a tree, Menorah in a window, Vintage plastic light-up, Gingerbread man, Someone in a Santa hat, Lit angel, Snowflake projection.
Rare: the ones that end a blackout
Lights synced to music, Tune to FM radio sign, Inflatable taller than you, Light-up train, Tree tied to a car roof, Car with antlers and a nose, Luminarias along a path, Real snow on the ground, Flamingo in a Santa hat.