Christmas Light Map

Suburban Chicago Christmas Light Map

The link to the map

https://bit.ly/SuburbanChicagoChristmasLights2023

The extended google map address has remained the same for the past few years, but I do update the short URL each year to make it easier to share with people.

The Map Legend

The following text is directly from the map legend but unless you know how to navigate google maps really well, it's not obvious you need to click on the text to expand it.

* Trees are static light displays

* Music notes are displays synced to music

* Cars are drive-through displays

* Lines are entire streets that are decorated

* Stars are large parks or community areas with displays (FREE)

* Walking person is a PAID $ Walk-through display

Green denotes the display is active or active in recent years

Yellow denotes probably active, but no current updates available online

Orange denotes past displays that are unconfirmed

Gray denotes an Inactive display 

Background: More wordy version

The Christmas Light Map started out as just a fun project for us to use ourselves, but we quickly realized what a good resource it could be for families wanting to drive around too! It has gone through a few different iterations but has been in its current form since 2018. It is organized by county where each county is a map layer that can be turned on and off. It lists displays denoted by type and history.  In 2021 a second layer was added for Cook County so that is now divided up into Cook County Northwest and Cook County North/South, to make it more manageable. Active displays or recently active are green, displays that were current or at least thought to be current within the last year or two are yellow. And older data, or unconfirmed displays will be orange. Grey denotes a display that is no longer active or not active in the current year (as some homes do their displays every other year). As far as the types of displays: musical displays are denoted by music notes, static displays are trees, drive-through light displays are cars, large (free) commercial or park displays are stars, and paid ($) walkthrough displays are denoted by a walking person icon.  I tend to keep recently inactive displays still grouped in with the county view, so that people can see the status of some of those familiar or larger displays that may have changed status in the last year.  After a few years of being inactive I will move it to the Past/Inactive layer. Keep in mind that static displays are much harder to confirm. We don't personally drive to all these but still do quite a bit of research and do our best to keep it accurate.

We are not an authority on Christmas lights or judge of worthiness! Big or small, static displays, blow molds, cut-outs, and any size light shows are all invited to be listed. We are all spreading the Christmas cheer in our own way! Most of the entries are from online presence, past contests or word-of-mouth. But if you aren't listed and would like to be, send us a message through our FB page. Conversely, if you are listed and don't want to be, we will take you off the map as well. Maybe you don't know how you got on the map in the first place but perhaps someone driving by your display thought it would be a great addition and sent it to me! Still, this is just for fun. Make memories at your own risk! Some might be great, some might be duds or non-existent. Take it all as part of the adventure!

Here are some general tips, as navigating the map can be a bit quirky on mobile:

Google Maps Tips

• • Browser/PC version

    • There is a text legend in the map description, similar to what is detailed above. 

    • Clicking on the listed County in the Legend will activate/deactivate the layers

    • You can't see the details of an address by clicking on it in the legend, you must click on the pin on the map.

    • Clicking on a pin will show the name, details and address

    • To access the map again in the future, go to the menu next to the Search Bar (the 3 lines)->Your Places->Maps tab and it should be listed there

  • Mobile App

    • The map is best viewed and navigated in a browser, but if you ever access the map and you are signed in to your google account you will be able to then see it on mobile in the google maps app. In the past this was accessed by hitting the menu (next to the Search bar it's the 3 lines) and then going to "Your Places," scroll right to "Maps" and choosing the map. I have noticed that now instead of accessing that menu by the search bar, go to the 'Saved' button under "Explore Nearby" at the bottom. Then select "Maps" and the Christmas Light Map should be listed there. If you don't see the map there you need to open it from the link on your device first, then I think it should be listed. Device apps behave in different ways so I have only tested a few different setups.

    • Once you select the map, it will overlay the map and all the pins onto your current map view.  If you select a pin and actually start to navigate to it, as far as I can tell you can't interact with the map anymore to see details in the legend, but you can add other pins as another stop.

    • Clicking on a pin on the map on the mobile version does not show the physical address, unless it's part of the details added in the text of the pin. However if you start to navigate to it, the address will show up as your destination. 

    • If you select the Legend text and happen to hit 'Close' thinking this will just close the Legend, it doesn't--it closes the map completely so that the overlay is no longer on your map view. 

    • In order to activate/deactivate layers, when you are viewing the legend check/uncheck the box for the layer you want to show or hide and then Do Not hit 'Close' because this will, as I said above, remove the map view. Instead just hit back and  then once you are at the list of maps hit back once more and you should be back to the 'explore' tab and the layers should be shown.

    • It can be quite frustrating to use at times so I suggest you try it before you get in the car (and having a dedicated navigator will help). I also think it is much easier to kind of scope out your drive ahead of time using the map in the browser, at least then you can check the websites or FB page details for times, etc. 

  • This is a constantly evolving map, so please help me keep it up-to-date. Anything you can add or verify (turn green) will be helpful to everyone. Just send us a FB message. I don't allow anyone else to edit the map so if you want to change something, just ask.

  • This map, while it does include some City of Chicago highlights, I could not possibly manage the plethora of displays in Chicago so this is mostly geared towards the suburbs. However I will add you to the map if you really want to be on it! Also I have been asked "what about Northwest Indiana?? That's part of Chicago." It's true, NW Indiana is part of Chicagoland but I would not call it a suburb of Chicago. We have to draw the line somewhere so I would say, if you are west of Route 65 and north of Route 30 I will add it.

  • Links are included when available so check for times, fees or suggested donations. Happy hunting!