Here’s where you can find the best home holiday light displays south of Boston

Driving around the neighborhood looking for the homes with the best Christmas light displays is a treasured holiday tradition for many families.

The region south of Boston — particularly in the town of Bridgewater — offers some spectacular views this year.

These are some of the spots those in the holiday spirit shouldn’t miss.

15 Edrich Road, Bridgewater

Lou and Laurie Guilbault’s holiday lights display at 15 Edrich Road in Bridgewater is everything one could want out of outdoor home decorations. Their sprawling arrangement of decor includes a talking Santa on the porch, classic twinkling snowmen, and a large LED light matrix that’s mounted on the front of their house.

What makes the Guilbaults’ decorations so impressive is the number of LED light fixtures Lou Guilbault hand made and arranged to create a holiday light show set to Christmas music that he broadcasts over the radio. Using his skills as a senior systems administrator at Boston University, he has crafted everything from a 15-foot mega LED Christmas tree to LED displays that look like singing C9 light bulbs (the traditional Christmas light).

The Guilbaults have always decorated for Christmas, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lou Guilbault became interested in making LED light fixture decorations after seeing videos of other people’s creations on YouTube.

At first, he wasn’t confident he could pull it off, but his background in electronics came in handy, he said. In 2021, he put up his first LED Christmas light display, which has only increased in size since then.

You can watch a sample of the Guilbault’s LED light show sans music in a video he shared on Facebook.

It takes him over 100 hours to put all the decorations out, so he starts right after Halloween in the hopes of having most of it up by Thanksgiving, he said. But it’s all worth it to see the joy on children’s faces when they come to see his light show.

“We’re doing this because we want to give back and give communities something to look forward to,” he said.

Auglis Way, Bridgewater

Auglis Way in Bridgewater is famous for its residents’ dedication to holiday decorating. One highlight on this cul-de-sac is the uniquely-decorated tree each resident has at the end of their driveway, said Cindy Kane, who lives at 15 Auglis Way.

The street has made a coordinated effort to put on dazzling displays for three years now, Kane said. In fact, it’s such a big to-do that her father, who lives in South Carolina, hand made wooden decorations for her so that he could be part of the fun.

The neighborhood uses the increased traffic to raise money for non-profit organizations through a Venmo account, Kane said.

“During COVID, we noticed that more folks were out and really focusing on doing fun things with our holiday decorations. And once we noticed how many people were doing it, we thought about what a great chance it might be to do something good for the community while everyone is driving down our street,” she said.

This year, Auglis Way is raising money for the Bridgewater Food Pantry, the American Diabetes Association and Compassionate Care ALS (CCALS), which provides services for people with ALS that are not covered by insurance. The donations are split evenly among the non-profits.

The first two organizations were chosen simply because Auglis Way residents felt they do good work, but the third organization holds special significance to them. Nine years ago, their neighbor, Jamie Toy, died of ALS, Kane said. Raising money for CCALS is his community’s way of honoring him.

Last year, Auglis Way raised $1,000. They’re hoping to top that figure this year, Kane said.

9 Leo Way, East Bridgewater

If you’re a fan of LED light shows, Fred Lavigne’s home at 9 Leo Way in East Bridgewater is a must-visit. For four years now he’s hand made and added more and more light fixtures that are synced to Christmas music that he broadcasts over the radio.

This year, his house and yard are adorned with LED candy canes, Christmas trees, leaping arches, snowflakes, pinwheels and a mega tree — his favorite creation. Together, these light fixtures put on a dazzling performance to 12 different songs, Lavigne said.

Most of the songs are Christmas songs, such as Feliz Navidad, during which a face appears on the mega tree and appears to sing the Christmas classic, Lavigne said. But if you’re lucky, you might catch one of the Star Wars themes he’s added to the playlist.

You can see a video of the LED light show in action that Lavigne posted to Facebook.

It took years to learn how to make these LED decorations, hundreds of hours to build them, dozens of hours to put them up and half a day just to wire them, Lavigne said. But it all became worth it earlier this month when friends of his stopped by with their son, who has been struggling with health problems.

“Just seeing the smile on his face, I could shut my system down for the rest of the season and be satisfied with that smile that was on his face that night. That’s what makes you want to do all this, is how happy it makes people feel,” he said. “It’s just amazing the response you get from people and how much fun they have. And honestly, I think the adults enjoy it more than the kids.”

Lavigne turns on his light show from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week during the month of December.

271 Vernon St., Bridgewater

Scott Sherrick’s Christmas decoration display at his home at 271 Vernon St. in Bridgewater is tasteful assortment of lights, inflatables, character figures and other decor. Some, such as his manger scene, reindeer stable and snowbanks, are his own creations.

Sherrick has more decorations than he can put out each year, meaning that his display is different year to year, he said. He also has some unique pieces, such as a Santa outhouse inflatable and a Santa projection on his window that makes it look like Santa is walking around inside his house and eating cookies.

A few years ago, Sherrick started to get sick of creating the display, he said. As his daughters were now adults, he wasn’t sure it was worth the time and effort.

But come January, as Sherrick was taking down the display, a woman came up to him and thanked him. She explained that her son was autistic and had asked to come visit Sherrick’s home every day during the month of the December to see the lights.

“ I was like ‘Ugh, I hate you. Now I have to keep doing this,’‘” he joked.

Sherrick turns on his display from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. He plans on taking down his decorations after Christmas.

4 Lagoon Lane, Norton

Mike Fournier’s home Christmas lights display has grown over the six years he’s lived in his home at 4 Lagoon Lane in Norton. This year, it outgrew his front and side yards, he said.

His solution? Create a backyard walkthrough for the community to enjoy. The display is made up of over 40 inflatables and almost 70,000 lights, he said.

Fournier was inspired by Clark Griswold in the classic Christmas movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” As a child, he promised himself he’d one day have 25,000 lights — just like Clark Griswold, he said. Now he has almost three times as many lights.

The walkthrough has some unique decorations, such as his 2001 Ford Mustang, which is decked out in lights.

There is also a section of the display devoted to Fournier’s love of the Star Wars franchise. One highlight in this section is a talking Yoda that children seem to love, he said.

It takes Fournier over 100 hours to put up, but he keeps it up through the end of January. During this time, he also collects donations for research into Progressive Supranuclear Palsy — a degenerative disease similar to ALS that his father battled for 12 years.

When Fournier’s father was close to death, he lost so much muscle function that he became completely unable to communicate, Fournier said. Even the tablet that had previously helped his father eventually stopped aiding him.

“I try to do what I can in order to help other people that hopefully won’t have to suffer as badly,” Fournier said.

Fournier allows walkthroughs every night from 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.

752 Plymouth St., Bridgewater

Stephanie and Mark Sabourin began stepping up their Christmas decorating two years ago when they bought their house at 752 Plymouth St. in Bridgewater, she said.

“People are always in such a hurry. Everybody is so busy. So over-scheduled, over-stressed,” she said. “We’re trying to bring a little bit of levity. We hope that they’ll slow down or stop and come and take a look.”

The Sabourins’ display is notable for its “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” theme. Among these decorations is a dummy Clark Griswold hanging off the side of their house — complete with a fallen ladder and string of Christmas lights and a dummy Cousin Eddy in his iconic bathrobe and trapper hat.

The Sabourins have spent thousands of dollars on the display, Stephanie Sabourin said. The four stakes they use to secure each decoration cost $16 alone.

It also takes the couple several full days to put up the display between testing every light and staking everything down, she said.

“My husband’s the real champion of the assembly. I just point, and he does the slave labor,” she joked.

But one decoration — a “Letters for Santa” mailbox — has turned into a way for the couple to buy gifts for children in need. Community members can request help buying gifts for their children by dropping off a letter that includes the child’s first name, a list of desired gifts and an address for dropping off the gifts.

The Sabourins typically light up their home from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. through the month of December.

Crimson and Maples Streets in Raynham

Crimson and Maple streets make up a small neighborhood near the junction of Route 138 and Interstate 495. The 20 or so families that live there are committed to creating a winter wonderland in their yards each holiday season, according to Maple Street resident Lauren Schantz.

The neighborhood’s decorations aren’t flashy, Schantz said. You won’t see LED light displays set to music or yards filled to the brim with inflatables.

Instead, this community is looking to capture a more “old school” Christmas vibe, Schantz said. Pretty much every tree that can be seen from the street has been decorated with lights.

“It’s very cozy and magical when you drive through,” she said.

While the creation of such a merry and bright neighborhood might seem like a coordinated effort, the transformation of Crimson and Maple streets is not organized by any one person, Schantz said. It’s a group effort, and each resident takes it upon themselves to decorate their yard and home for the season.

A few houses have over a dozen inflatables in their large yards, Schantz said. One of her favorites is her own gigantic 30-foot snowman.

The community also raises money for Boston Children’s Hospital during the holiday season in honor of a neighborhood boy who has Type 1 diabetes. Those who drive through are sure to see the sign with a QR code that links to the donation page.

The neighborhood generally keeps its decorations up until the New Year.

If these homes and neighborhoods don’t sate your need for Christmas cheer, you can find more recommendations on CommunityKangaroo.com and in the Facebook group Bridgewater’s Best Holiday Lights.

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