It’s as constant as a Bunnings sausage sizzle: every year, thousands of Aussies will cover their houses in lights, working for hours on end to make the best Christmas display they can.
It’s impossible to see every one of them, and it’s even harder to pick the best. But each year, a few homes will stand out in the crowd, from the big and bright to the unique and interesting.
This year, we put out a call on social media to see some of Australia’s top Christmas display homes. Here are five of the best submissions to check out this holiday season:
57 Swansona Ave, Mount Annan, NSW, takes nearly 3 months to set up every December; and is part of a neighbourhood custom that’s gone on for 24 years.
A slice of neighbourhood tradition
New South Wales resident Brian Carr has been making Christmas lights for his home since he moved there 12 years ago – but he’s taking part in a suburb tradition that’s lasted for 24.
The house at 57 Swansona Ave, Mount Annan, takes about 2.5 months to set up every year, and it’s one of several houses on the street that uses their displays to raise money for charity.
“Every year a neighbour on the street chooses a different charity to raise money for,” Mr Carr said. This year, donations go to CareFlight, which provides air medical service and training across the country.
Residents of the street work together to make Christmas displays and raise money for charity every December, with this year’s donations going to CareFlight.
57 Swansona Ave has a wraparound display that goes across the whole house, giving passers-by a pathway of lights all along their side of the road.
Mr Carr and his family built the house, and made sure the Christmas lights he set up would wrap around more than just his home. The curved walking path around his house has been covered in lights to lead neighbours and visitors to the front display, which continues to be upgraded by the family.
“I’ve always done lights at previous rentals, my parents’ home, wherever we lived,” Mr Carr said. “People come back every year to have family or friend photos at the love heart … I love how this time of year brings everyone together.”
The Clarence River ‘Christmas Boat’ cruises between Yamba and Iluka, NSW, and is seeing a spike in popularity.
The floating home started as a small light display – but nine years later, it was marked an official event of the area by Visit NSW.
Sailing in a Summer Wonderland
The prize for ‘most unique submission’ goes to Deb Morris, hands-down, for her Christmas Boat on NSW’s Clarence River.
Travelling back and forth between Yamba and Iluka, the festive vessel has been running for nine years, and was recently made an official event by Visit NSW.
“All of it’s really quite humbling for us,” Ms Morris said. “We just started with a pearl of lights and a Santa head that goes on our anchor … every year we change the boat a little bit and add more stuff.”
Elves, a mechanical Santa and shining reindeer can be found around the boat, with new additions regularly added.
The boat can be found at docks across the Clarence River, with families racing to see the home before it sails away once more.
This year, several elves have been added to the boat, along with a real Santa Claus to work alongside their mechanical Santa.
“Santa takes his place at the front deck, listening to his favourite tunes, while the elves enjoy the sparkling lights from the rooftop,” Ms Morris said. “Our decorations are mostly handcrafted from recycled or upcycled goods, and we rely on the sun to power our display.”
36 Mahogany St, Raceview: a home in Queensland with an interactive display that visiting families are invited to walk through.
The house is well-known for its big themed areas around characters like the Grinch, Mickey Mouse and Bluey.
The Queensland home at 36 Mahogany St, Raceview, doesn’t just have some impressive lights: it’s a themed interactive exhibit, with hundreds moving through the home every year.
This year, not only does the home have a Santa, but also mascot displays for Bluey, the Grinch, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Garfield and Dora the Explorer.
Some of these mascots have big areas dedicated to them, such as the ‘Grinch Zone’: where kids can meet The Grinch himself as they walk through the house.
Visit at the right time and you’ll come face-to-face with the Grinch!
A mixture of real and inflatable mascots are scattered across the home.
Kym Wats and her family have run the home since 2018, slowly turning the house into what it is today.
Ms Wats said the family would often hold giveaway nights at the house, where children under 12 could interact with every mascot and get a small gift from Santa.
“We want to deliver a fully free event each night,” she said. “We change our display and add more areas each year.”
12 Bedarra Cres, Burpengary East, QLD, is known as “Merry Strickland Christmas” online, and has more than 16,000 followers on social media.
One of the country’s most popular displays is in the Queensland suburbs, and has a Facebook following of more than 16,000 people.
The Strickland family owns the corner home at 12 Bedarra Cres, Burpengary East – but even on Google Maps, it’s known as ‘Merry Strickland Christmas’.
The home has gained enough traction to earn thousands of followers on social media, with the majority on Facebook to read their latest updates on the home.
Posts on the social media page have been popular enough to earn international attention, finding the spotlight in the USA on ABC 7 New York.
The home has featured on international news, and often needs traffic control for visitors.
The latest addition to the display is ‘Santa Scarecrow’, which the Stricklands called “The unhinged rooftop overlord of Christmas 2025”.
“This man … looks like he got sucked into a tornado, chewed up, spat out, and then hired by me on a casual contract,” a family member wrote on the house’s Facebook page.
“If he makes it to Christmas Day without falling, catching fire, or starting a cult, it’ll be a miracle worthy of its own Netflix documentary.”
The house has had to reattach many of its displays thanks to damage from Queensland’s recent storms – but now the home is back up and running, and is so popular the area often needs its own traffic control.
The lights at 91 Hennessy Ave, Moorebank, NSW, are designed to show off displays both big and small across the home – all while helping raise money for charity.
Mel Johnson has tens of thousands of Christmas lights around the inside and outside of her NSW home; and she’s built it all to help raise money for a charity close to her heart.
The house at 91 Hennessy Ave, Moorebank, manages to raise a few thousand dollars each year for the Miracle Babies foundation: a service working to provide care for sick and premature babies.
“We’ve had premature babies ourselves,” Ms Johnson said, “so we chose a charity that meant something to us.”
People visiting the house will interact with detailed mini-displays as well as larger attractions, such as a window matrix with 6,000 lights and a giant sleigh.
Santa often visits families who stop by, with the money raised going to the Miracle Babies foundation.
Over the past few years, the Johnsons have managed to raise around $22,500 for the charity, regularly adding new features to the home to help attract new visitors.
“The new matrix has 6,000 lights, and essentially projects designs,” Ms Johnson said of the home’s window attraction. “You could almost play a film clip from it!”
Fake snow, a visiting Santa Claus and a giant sleigh for photos are other attractions that keep people coming to the Sydney home.
“It’s just getting bigger and bigger every year,” Ms Johnson said. “Our neighbours still don’t hate us, which is good, because they do listen to the same songs over and over.”
—
There are many homes across Australia with incredible displays, and there’s no way to see them all. If you know a house you think has a story worth telling (Christmassy or otherwise), send an email to nicholas.finch@news.com.au.
English (US) · 