Christmas: Australia’s most festive suburbs revealed

When it comes to festive cheer, one unexpected city stands out from the crowd. Now new analysis reveals the top places to go on a Christmas lights tour!

A large crowd outside the Merry Strickland Christmas lights display at Burpengary East. Photo: Supplied

When it comes to festive cheer, one area stands out from the crowd.

Melbourne came out on top with 1431 Christmas displays, followed by Adelaide (700), Sydney (518), Perth (400), Canberra (296) and Brisbane (272).

In the regions, NSW came out on top with 227 listings, followed by regional Victoria (184), regional Queensland (85), Hobart (62), regional South Australia (50), regional Tassie (43), regional Western Australia (20), Darwin (15) and the rest of the Northern Territory (2).

“Looking at Christmas lights is an annual tradition many Australians hold dear to their hearts,” Ray White Group senior analyst Aton Go Tan said.

“For many it’s a core memory.”

He said that Melbourne was the Christmas lights capital of Australia with 1431 displays, almost double the number of displays in Adelaide.

He said that six of the top 10 suburbs for Christmas lights were in Melbourne.

Parkdale in Melbourne’s inner-south has 70 displays tp create a concentrated wonderland of lights.

The front yard of a house in Melbourne.

Following Parkdale are the Melbourne suburbs of Pakenham and Ferntree Gully, with 50 and 30 displays respectively.

Unlike Parkdale’s concentrated display areas, these suburbs feature decorations

spread across numerous streets, making them ideal for evening drive-by viewing.

“This pattern of dispersed displays creates an extended Christmas light trail for visitors to enjoy,” Mr Go Tian said.

Christmas Lights Source: Ray White

Beyond Melbourne, several other suburbs have carved out their own festive niches.

Bombaderry in the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven region in NSW stands out as the only regional suburb in the top 10.

Adelaide’s Craigmore has also become known for its displays, particularly around Jenkins Court and Somerset Grove, while Canberra’s southern suburbs of Gordon and Kambah round out the top 10.

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Christmas lights in Craigmore in 2023. Picture : Supplied

The analysis found that only one suburb exceeded the $1 million-mark, challenging common misperceptions about festive displays and wealth.

Outer suburbs also featured highly, generally offering detached houses with larger frontages and gardens.

“Outer suburbs generally have a higher concentration of families with children and foster stronger neighborhood connections,” the report said.

“This environment naturally encourages more street-level interaction between neighbors and often leads to friendly competition in holiday decorating, creating clusters of impressive displays.

“The street layout of these suburbs plays a crucial role in their success as Christmas light destinations.”

Christmas Lights Source: Ray White

In Brisbane, the family behind one of the city’s biggest Christmas diplays has been forced to “go dark” due to threats on social media.

‘Merry Strickland’ in Burpengary East became a favourite among the Christmas lights community, decking out the entire home with more than 60,000 lights and giant inflatables creating a display that could apparently be seen from space.

The family recently took to the display’s Facebook page to reveal their much smaller, “cheekier” lights which were for the “one per cent”, captioning the post with “and...we’re done for 2024 @followers @everyone” and two middle finger emojis.

David and Chloe Strickland with their children Noah 2, and Piper 4, at their Burpengary East home covered in Christmas lights which is attracting hundreds of visitors nightly. Picture Lachie Millard

Originally published as Christmas: Australia’s most festive suburbs revealed