Holland's Holiday Lights

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Holland's Holiday Lights We operate a drive-in holiday display from the Saturday after Thanksgiving through December 25th.

We have operated our holiday display annually at this site since 1981, and we have not missed a year! It has grown in complexity over the years, and affords a traditional display, including life sized animations and audio animatronic figures, along with latest tech including thousands of individually controlled pixels programmed to our musical selections, and projection mapping of the South end of the house.

09/26/2026

2026 Holiday Display September Update!

There has been a great deal of activity over the last few months as we make final preparations for our 50th annual outdoor Christmas display!

All of the songs (including the children’s songs) that will constitute the show part of this year’s display have been sequenced to include recently added display items using the latest effects. A couple of classic older songs that will be included this year have been completely redone and now include these added effects as well.

Given we expect an increase in traffic for this year’s display (more on why in next month’s October update) we have limited the song playlist to 40 minutes, which can be shortened as needed based on traffic flow. The songs selected for this season are based on requests I have received from folks over this past year.

The visitor “control panel” will offer 12 songs that can be selected to play on demand, 6 of general interest (including the most recently sequenced latest songs) and 6 specifically for children, the latter of which are all not included in the general playlist. This was based on visitor input, allowing families to pick and choose what songs the children can listen to, and allow more songs to be included in this year’s playlist. If visiting with younger children folks will need to get out of their cars and indicate their choice of songs by pushing a button in the green box in front of the parking area.

In addition to adding 4 new songs, we have included the Jonas brother’s song “Like It’s Christmas” which will allow folks to participate in true Karaoke fashion as the song’s text will be projected on the front of the house along with the music. I thought this might be fun, especially during family night with the North pole characters, so I added it!😊

As I mentioned in my previous update I have compiled many of the family photographs taken over the past 17 years of our family nights with the North Pole characters which will be projected on the front of our house while many of the songs play! The very first years only had Frosty, but the overwhelming majority include Rudoph and Elf of the Shelf.

I have added several new animated house video projections this year which include singing and dancing characters. They are projected onto the Southern end of our house.

As I mentioned in my last update, our display this year will run 6 – 10pm every night as usual but will run through December 30th to allow out of town folks visiting the area during the holidays a chance to see it.

Remember to save the second Saturday in December (the12th) for family night with the North Pole characters. In addition to all the usual free activities (family pictures, hot chocolate, accepting letters to Santa, and treats for kids) the first 75 children will be given a LED teat they can take home with them. Hours for this walk-in event with be 6:30 to 8pm, although we may start a bit sooner and go longer, depending on foot traffic. Parking will be along the West side (our home side) of the road. The other side of the road can be used if there is no snowplowing expected. The road was just repaved and will for at least this year be nice and smooth!

Given my age (and all that goes along with it), it is taking me longer than my traditional 6 weeks to set the display items up, so I have just started to set a few items up, focusing on those items that can be setup and not impact our lawn. The grass is still growing like crazy, so I am hoping for a brief freeze soon so the grass goes dormant and I can begin the ground setup in earnest.

Many thanks to my grandson Andrew Bolles who recently took the time between his school and after school activities (including playing soccer and refereeing soccer matches among other things) to come over and help me setup our 2 pixel trees. With his help we had them setup and tested literally in half the time it would have taken me! Once the ground-based items can be setup I am looking forward to his help again.

That’s it for this update.

06/07/2026

This will be our 50th year of consecutive decorating!!
The first 4 years were at our home in Buffalo, the last 46 years have been here in Holland.
This year will host our 18th annual family night event with our North Pole characters! As usual it will occur on the second Saturday in December. We currently may be extending it an additional half hour. Details to follow.

In light of our golden anniversary year we have some special things planned for our family night, as well as for this year's display:

1) Over the last 3 months or so I have gone through all of our visitor's family pictures (4 figures worth!) that families have taken with our North Pole characters over the years and have incorporated as many as I could into collages that will accompany many of this year's musical selections! Talk about a pleasant trip down memory lane....
2) Based on visitors' feedback all of the children's song selections and all of the new 2026 song selections this year will only be available by using the Visitor control panel. Folks have complained selections have been made and they often come up again in the running playlist within a couple of songs, so this will address that issue. That means however to hear the 4 or 5 new selections and all of the children's selections folks will need to get out of their car and push the appropriate buttons in the green control panel in front of them. I tested using cell phones to allow folks to pick their songs from the comfort of their cars, but with the poor cell phone coverage in our area, and the absence of wifi coverage in our driveway and parking area that idea didn't work.
3) Another issue folks have shared is the playlist length (45 minutes) has kept the parking area full on busy nights preventing other folks from getting a chance to enjoy the display, especially on weekends. Given this will be our 50th year, I expect it will be even more of an issue. To address that the rotating playlist will be limited to a maximum of 11 songs (30 minutes) before repeating. (There is no limitation on the visitor control panel selections). If that doesn't help, I will drop the number more to keep the flow moving, especially on busy weekend nights.
4) I will activate our countdown timers on our website shortly, indicating the time until our lights go on for this season, as well as the time our family night event starts.
5) I am looking for someone accomplished with drone photography willing to come out for an evening and film our display, something I have not done in several years as my video equipment is long gone.
6) Finally, there is something very special in the works this year that I will share with folks sometime this fall once things have been finalized.

Have a great summer, and we look forward to seeing many of you in less than 6 months!

12/26/2025

After having gone through the 70 pictures from family night with the North pole characters, there are 5 families that have not confirmed that they received their picture of their visit.
Given it's possible an incorrect email address was given to us, I am posting this so they can reach out and we can get them their family picture.

12/25/2025

Tonight will be a wrap for this year's display!

We have really enjoyed getting a chance to interact with our regular visitors, along with a significant number of new visitors to the display.

Given the temperature swings we again are facing some thin, but very slippery ice. I used up the rest of our deicing salts today, and most of the blacktop is clear, but I was unable to deice the cement in front of the garage door.

Given the fact that it is roped off that will not be a problem for visitors to the display, but it will present a bit of a challenge to family members who will be joining us tonight.

On behalf of Diane and I, let me take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and very happy holiday season. We look forward to seeing you again next year. :)

12/24/2025

GPS directions appear off 150 feet!

For the first time in the 45 years we have been doing our display, GPS directions have apparently contributed to a total of 3 vehicles this year (coming from North of our home) driving up our stone driveway that leads to the woods. That driveway is about 150 feet North of our actual driveway.

That stone driveway is never plowed, and the ground drops off on both sides of the stoned area which could easily cause a vehicle to get stuck.

The correct driveway is easily identified, as it has a large arch that you drive under to enter the parking area, and being blacktopped it is well maintained. We have a lit 3 foot in diameter round ornament overhanging the street in front of that driveway, and you can see our Santa shed from the street, so it is hard to miss!

12/21/2025

Important 12/.21 Weather Related Update:

Those who know me know I have complained how the unusually warm temperatures with their associated high winds followed by the cold temperatures associated with high winds which have been cycling back and forth over the last few weeks had been a challenge for a number of reasons. The fluctuations we have been seeing this season are more frequent and extreme than those I have experienced over the past 48 years that I have been decorating.

Although the roadways in the area are clear, and I have kept our driveway leading to the display clear of snow, the underlying blacktop is now a sheet of ice. My wife, with 4 new snow tires on her car had to get a running start to get up the driveway a few hours ago. We all know that no tires (whether snow or all weather) behave well on ice...

I just returned in after salting the driveway, starting a little beyond its entrance on the street, up to the start of the parking lot when I ran out. 50 plus pounds of salt, rated effective to minus 25 degrees, was used.

In light of this, since I could not salt the actual parking area, I am informing ALL visitors to remain in their cars for their safety!

Additionally if folks have ANY difficulty driving up the lower section of the driveway, that is the section from the street to the large overhead arch, please slowly back out, and do NOT attempt to drive up to the parking area as you will slide off the driveway, and get mired in the mud which is soft given the warm temperatures we have had.

12/20/2025

The roads are dry now, the snow has ended, so we will be resuming our display this evening. It will run 6 - 10pm daily through December 25th.

12/19/2025

Display off tonight due to hazardous driving conditions!
Yesterday's 50 plus degrees led to melting snow, which unfortunately has frozen and is covered with snow leading to hazardous driving conditions. Visibility is currently down to about 150 feet with blowing snow. The roads up this way are not plowed, as crews are working on the major roads. We expect to have the display on tomorrow night depending on weather conditions. If we need to cancel tomorrow I will post tomorrow afternoon.

12/14/2025

2025 Family Night with the North Pole Characters wrap-up.

The weather forecast for last night gave us some concern regarding brisk winds and blowing snow, but although it was a cold night, there was no wind, the roads were clear, and we had a very light snowfall. It turned out to be a great setting for an outside Christmas event! Had it been a little warmer it would have been a perfect night.

There was a steady flow of visitors, starting at 6:20pm, until a few minutes before 8:00pm when the event ended.

Folks came from the South as far as Arcade, from the North as far as North Tonawanda and from the Northeast as far as Rochester.

The kids kept Bruce busy, telling them jokes, and more than a few were surprised that he knew their names! There were no bubbles this year given it was a little below freezing.

All of the kids received small LED lights to take home after visiting us during this 45th year of hosting our holiday display here in Holland.

We received a few more letters to Santa that have already been addressed. My efforts now will be focused on reviewing and editing the 69 pictures that were taken of families prior to emailing them out.

For those that might not be aware, this year’s display will continue to run 6 – 10 pm through December 25th. Bruce the Spruce will still be available to chat with visitors most nights between 6 and 7pm.

As always I want to thank the volunteer team that makes this possible every year – my wife Diane who makes the hot chocolate using our “special” recipe and backs me up on my Christmas activities every year, Sandy who mans the hot chocolate table outside, Aaron and Michelle who take and log the family pictures, Addison and Andrew who are two of our characters, Kaylee who joined us this year as the third character, and Brian whose voice always entertains the kids (while he stays toasty warm inside the house!).

Diane and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the happiness this holiday season has to offer. We look forward to seeing many of you again next year.

12/12/2025

Tomorrow's Family night update

As I compose this note, it’s a sunny day in Holland with some cumulous clouds, and a temperature of 19 degrees!
The roads are clear and I expect the same for our family event tomorrow night. It will be cold, so be sure to bundle up!
Given this is our 45th year of decorating at this home we will be giving the children something extra to take home with them. Something that will light things up a bit. 😊
A couple of folks have inquired about conditions of the hill on Partridge road. The hill is kept plowed, even on weekends (although sometimes less than during the week). If you have decent all weather tires you should not have any issues, however to allay concerns there are alternative ways to visit us without going up the hill.

For those South of Holland who will be heading North on route 16, when you get into the Holland business area, at the traffic light turn left onto Holland Glenwood road. Continue on Holland Glenwood road (you will be heading West) for a few miles and then turn right onto Phiilips Road. Continue on Phillips Road (you will be heading North) a couple of miles and you will see our lights on the left side of the road.

For those South of Holland coming up from route 240, etc. connect with Holland Glenwood road and head East to Phillips road. Turn left onto Phillips road. Continue on Phillips Road (you will be heading North) a couple of miles and you will see our lights on the left side of the road.

For those North of Holland take route 20A (it becomes Main Street) into East Aurora. In East Aurora turn onto Center road (it dead ends on Main Street). Continue on Center road (you will be heading South). Shortly after you pass the channel 4 TV towers on your right you will come to an intersection with Partridge road. There is a small fire station there. Turn left onto Partridge road, and follow it for several miles. After a curve in the road you will get into a wooded area and you will see Phillips road on the right. Turn right onto Phillips road and you will see our hanging ornament on the right hand side, a few houses down the road.

We are all looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night between 6:30pm and 8:00pm!

Address

8590 Phillips Road
Holland, NY
14080

Opening Hours

Monday 6pm - 10pm
Tuesday 6pm - 10pm
Wednesday 6pm - 10pm
Thursday 6pm - 10pm
Friday 6pm - 10pm
Saturday 6pm - 10pm
Sunday 6pm - 10pm

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