Christmas in Adelaide has well and truly set in. The trees are up, the Christmas markets of Adelaide are in full swing, there’s festive events calling Adelaidians from near and far; but most importantly, the Christmas displays are adorning the houses of our city. Our guide of the best Christmas lights in Adelaide not only gives you the winners and runners-up of a state-wide competition, but enlists old faithfuls, and a nifty tool on how to find ALL of the Christmas lights on display in Adelaide.
1. Mix 102.3’s Best Christmas Lights competition winners
This year, radio station Mix 102.3 hosted a competition to find the best homes adorned with Christmas lights in Adelaide. From the north to the south, and the east to the west, there’s brilliants houses that’ve gone all out for your festive needs. This year’s Christmas lights in Adelaide winners and runner-ups are:
- 8 Oratanga Rd, Modbury North
- 8 Birchwood Dr, Blakeview
- 1 Wilma Ct, Aberfoyle Park
- 16 Emerald Blvd, Aldinga Beach
- Rothschild St, Woodcroft
- 125 William St, Norwood
- 5 Rosedale Ave, Wattle Park
- 1 Snowdon St, West Beach
- 13 Raleigh Ave, Flinders Park
- 69 Golding St, Beverley
- 33 St James Dr, Littlehampton
- 89 Onkaparinga Rd, Bridgewater
2. The Lights of Lobethal
Dubbed as the largest community display of Christmas lights in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lights of Lobethal is the place to be for festive gazing. The houses of Lobethal, nestled within the Adelaide Hills, will be truly illuminated from Thursday 1 December until Sunday 24 December.
The display typically attracts 250,000 visitors, and the whopping 700 dazzling Lobethal homes and businesses are probably why. You can catch living nativity scenes performing twice every night, a Christmas pageant on Christmas Eve, and Carols in the Valley too. With a 60-year history behind them, the Lights of Lobethal shouldn’t be missed if all things shiny and bright are your thing.
Location: Lobethal, Adelaide Hills
Price: Free
3. Disney Wishes on Chelmsford
Chelmsford Street in the suburb of Craigmore to the north of Adelaide is host to the annual Disney Wishes on Chelmsford. The display sees a whole lot more than just lights – with weekend events which include a number of everyone’s favourite superheroes and Disney characters roaming the street, as well as bubbles and balloons flying all over the place, candy canes up for grabs, and even snow cones, popcorn, drinks and a raffle, with all proceeds going to Make-A-Wish Australia.
These special event nights take place every Friday and Saturday between 7:30pm and 9:30pm in the lead up to Christmas. With the general light display showing every night from Sunday through to Thursday from 8pm until 10:30pm, and Fridays and Saturday from 7:30pm until 11pm.
Location: Chelmsford Street, Craigmore
Price: Free
4. Riverbank Christmas Display
From Saturday 27 November, the City of West Torren’s annual Riverbank Christmas Display will return in all its festive glory. The official lighting ceremony will take place on the Saturday from 6pm until 8pm, and then every day from 3pm to midnight, running until Saturday 2 January 2023.
The Riverbank Christmas Display has been gracing the River Torrens for over 60 years, and this year it will coincide with the West Torrens Christmas Fare. Find the display at the corner of Port Road and Adam Street in Hindmarsh.
Location: Corner Port Road and Adam Street, Hindmarsh
Price: Free
5. Ninth Avenue, St Peters
Having gained popularity over the past few years, Ninth Avenue in St Peters, just a 5-minute drive east of Adelaide city is a lovely place for a stroll to see houses adorned with all the sparkly stuff. Pretty well every house on the street is glowing with all the colours of rainbow and beyond. These ones are best seen on foot – so whip your phone out and get ready for some happy snaps along the way.
Location: Ninth Avenue, St Peters
Price: Free
6. Adelaide’s Giant Christmas Tree
And here’s an oldy but a goody, and an Adelaide icon – the Giant Christmas Tree of Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga. You really can’t miss it; soaring at 25 metres into the sky. The Christmas tree will be lit up with 13,616 individually programmable LED lights with the lighting loops lasting approximately ten minutes. The fountains below will also be on so that the kids can cool off throughout our hot summer nights. The Giant Christmas Tree will be lit up from 8:30pm to 2:30am every night from Friday 18 November to Sunday 4 January. See our list of the best Christmas trees in Adelaide here.
Location: Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga, Adelaide
Price: Free
7. Or simply use this site to find to find all of the Christmas lights near you
To save you from driving around aimlessly searching for bright beacons of light in the distance, there’s a handy website that helps you find not only all the displays in your area or your city, but also across the entire country.
That website is Christmas Light Search. It works by users submitting their Christmas lights display with a bit of info like if the display has been confirmed for this year and when the lights will be on as well as a description of what visitors can expect to see and hear. On your merry way!