It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, right?
Lights are tracing rooflines throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth region, and this being Texas, subtlety ain’t part of the deal around here. Christmas light gawking is as traditional as hot chocolate and poinsettias.
When it comes to Christmas lights, boundaries are nonexistent. Bigger is better, more is better, and excess is best. Texas, not known for understatement, offers quite a few places with Christmas lights galore. Some combine eye-popping lights with yard displays and even synchronized music. The outstanding light shows can become a bit competitive within neighborhoods, and then it’s an all-out battle of illumination.
Should the itch to string up lights, decorate trees, bow-tie columns, and accent the front porch become contagious, daltxrealestate.com is making it easy to wade into the challenge. Open houses, available near the action, are in the spotlight this week.
3637 Maplewood Avenue, Highland Park
Christmas light displays are so popular in Highland Park, that there’s no need to pull out your sedan. Horse-drawn carriages can be booked to see these spectacular lights in style.
Should you want to wave to the passing visitors during next year’s Christmas season, explore this stately 8,234-square-foot home. Built in 1990 and designed by Jan Showers, the floor plan features five ensuite bedrooms. The owner’s suite comes with a glamorous dressing area, plus built-in storage galore.
The French Provincial-style home is made for entertaining. In addition to a formal living area, the house features two casual areas, plus a library, office, home gym, and a solarium. Then a few weeks from now, when the light displays are taken down, your gaze can turn to the backyard pool.
This property is up for auction, with bidding ending Dec. 12. It was previously listed at $9.75 million, and the current high bid sits at slightly above $4.2 million. Santa can’t fit this house in a stocking, but a bow could be attached to the front door easily enough.
This home, listed by Susan Bradley with Allie Beth Allman, will be held open from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
1005 Ivory Trail, Arlington
Pink flamingos pulling Santa’s sleigh and giant inflatables are among the sites to see around Lake Interlochen. For almost 50 years Interlochen Estates has stopped traffic with its dazzling display of trees, Santas, nativity scenes, and yard art.
Interlochen is a popular neighborhood, and the people who buy there realize what a festive neighborhood they’re entering. Houses for sale there are tough to find, but here’s a spot that’s close.
It’s quite the location, too. By car, it’s under 15 minutes from this townhouse in north Arlington’s Viridian master-planned community to the holiday lights of Interlochen Estates. After holiday lights are put away, the proximity to both the Cowboys and the Rangers makes it a great spot for sports fans. It’s also handy for a two-career couple who go in opposite directions since it’s almost equidistant from downtown Dallas and downtown Fort Worth.
Built in 2014, the townhouse is listed at $650,000. The open floor plan connects the living room with a fireplace, dining area, and recently upgraded kitchen with a Bosch cooktop, granite countertops, and an oversized island. The four bedrooms include one — the owner’s suite — with a large walk-in closet and a private balcony, too. The outdoor sitting area might be just the place to decorate with lights … or maybe just leave the house and take a tour elsewhere.
Chip Reid with Ebbie Halliday Realtors will hold this townhouse open from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday.
5409 Pershing Avenue, Fort Worth
Lightscape, an outdoor, walk-through display, will continue through Jan. 1 at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Light, bright, and family-friendly, the show covers a one-mile path with strings, tunnels, and shapes of entertaining lights.
Want to be close enough to get there for this winter spectacle and maybe come back to the beautiful gardens for the other three seasons? Check out this home about seven minutes from the botanic garden.
Don’t let the mature pecan trees of this house fool you into thinking the structure has been there a while. This house in the Arlington Heights area was completed in 2020, but the owners never moved in so it’s basically new construction.
The design is far from cookie-cutter. The 4,162-square-foot interior features brick pillars, brick flooring, wood floors, floating vanities and custom tile work. Not one, but two master suites can be found upstairs, along with two other bedrooms and a second living area. Outside this white two-story with a porte-cochere, is a backyard courtyard, overlooked by a second-story balcony. Listing price?
It’s $945,000.
This house, listed by Clint Crawford with AMC Realty, will be held open from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
