KCKidsFun

Who went to the Plaza Lighting ceremony? Or to the Crown Center Mayor’s Tree Lighting? The last two weekends have been filled with holiday lighting ceremonies all over Kansas City.

That means it’s time to bundle the kids up, buckles them into the car and start driving around to look at Kansas City’s Christmas light displays!

The list of great Kansas City-area lighting ceremonies and light displays seems to grow larger each year. There are still a few lighting ceremonies left on the schedule – and several of them have some fun family-friendly activities planned to round out the evening.

If we’ve missed your favorite Kansas City-area Christmas/holiday light display, let us know in the comments!

Kansas City Lighting Ceremonies

11/28 – Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting, Belton, MO, 5:30pm. Along with Santa, food and more!

12/1 – Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting: Grandview, MO, 6:45pm. Santa and live music too!

12/2 – Mayor’s Tree Lighting – Mission, KS, 5pm. Hot chocolate, s’mores, caroling, popcorn and lots more fun!

12/2 – Christmas on the River in Parkville, 5pm to 9pm. Live Music and Dancing, Santa and reindeer, fireworks, shopping and a TON of fun. (Free shuttles available from Park Hill South High School and South Platte County Community Center YMCA.)

12/2 – Holiday Lighting Ceremony – Raytown, MO, 6pm.

12/2 – Old Town Lenexa Lighting Ceremony, 6:30pm. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive, entertainment and refreshments in the Lenexa Community Center after the lighting!

12/3 – Christmas Around Town and Mayor’s Tree Lighting -  Shawnee, KS, 4:30pm. Carolers, arts & crafts, Santa. Tree will be lit at 5:15pm with event to continue until 7:30pm at Shawnee Town.

12/3 – Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting and Candy Cane Hunt – Merriam, KS, 5:30pm. Tree lighting, a candy cane hunt, music and Santa!

12/6 – Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting – Blue Springs, MO, 5:30pm to 7pm. Entertainment, refreshments, Santa and more!

After the switches are flipped, there are a TON of Christmas light displays – some commercial, some residential – that you and the kids won’t want to miss! (If we missed your favorite display, let us know in the comments and we’ll add it to the list.)

Kansas City-Area Christmas Light Displays

• Country Club Plaza, KCMO

• Mayor’s Christmas Tree at Crown Center, KCMO

• Mormon Visitors Center, Independence, MO

• Christmas Card Lane (through Jan. 1, 2012) north of 151st around Ridgeview and Frontier (Mission Ridge subdivision) in Olathe, KS.

• Christmas in the Park (through Dec. 31, 2011. Sun-Thur 5:30-10pm, Fri-Sat 5:30-11pm) at Longview Lake Campground on Raytown Rd. in Lee’s Summit, MO. Over 300,000 lights!!!

• Northern Lights at Zona Rosa (runs throughout the season) at I-29 & Barry Rd. in Kansas City.

• Legends Outlets features a light show, synchronized to concert-quality holiday music.  Located at I-70 and I-435 in Kansas City, Kansas.

• Downtown Overland Park, Briarcliff Village (KCMO),  Brookside and Downtown Lee’s Summit have light displays.

• “Christmas Place” in the Terrace Place subdivision, 132nd and Antioch, south Overland Park, KS.

• 75th Street and Falmouth, Prairie Village, KS. This is a completely over-the-top decorated home!! You must see the Babick house!

• Chicago Street Lights, Blue Springs, MO at Hwy 7 and Walnut. Animated story of Christmas in lights.

• Paulie’s Penguin Playground–Olathe, KS at Indian Creek Parkway and Mur-Len. This is a sight to see–more blow-up decorations than you ever knew existed!

• The Ultimate Tree, south Overland Park, KS – huge flat-panel LED Christmas tree display, synchronized to music. Runs from 5:30pm to 10pm weekdays, 5:30pm to 11:30pm on weekends, through first week of January. 6600 block of 131st Street at Deer Creek Golf Course

• Vince & Associates – 103rd & Metcalf, Overland Park – huge display, coordinated with music!

• Downtown Kansas City – don’t miss the amazing computer-generated facade of the Downtown Marriott hotel!

• Candy Cane Lane, 79th & Outlook, Prairie Village, KS
• Hale Christmas House, 3719 NE 34th Terrace, KCMO

For a great list of Johnson County, KS residential displays, don’t miss Keith’s list at KansasTravel.org (and convenient driving maps) which even includes some photos!

It’s that time of year again! Time to bundle the kids up, buckles them into the car and start driving around to look at Kansas City’s Christmas light displays!

The list of great Kansas City-area lighting ceremonies and light displays seems to grow larger each year. Many of the lighting ceremonies took place last weekend or earlier this week, but there are still some good ones to take in. Including the biggest Thanksgiving night party of the year, the Plaza Lighting Ceremony!

Kansas City Lighting Ceremonies

11/25 (Thanksgiving night) – Country Club Plaza Christmas Lighting Ceremony, 5pm. Live Music, fireworks and a HUGE crowd!
11/26 – Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting at Crown Center, 5:30pm.

11/27 – Christmas Lighting Festivities at Mormon Visitors Center, Independence, MO – 6pm – Thousands of twinkling lights and a larger than life Nativity cutout display. Live music and entertainment.

11/29 – Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting, Belton, MO, 5:30pm. Along with Santa, food and more!

12/2 – Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting: Grandview, MO, 6:45pm. Santa and live music too!

12/3 – Mayor’s Tree Lighting – Mission, KS, 5pm. Hot chocolate, s’mores, caroling, popcorn and lots more fun!

12/3 – Christmas on the River in Parkville, 5:30pm. Live Music and Dancing, Santa and reindeer, fireworks, shopping and a TON of fun. (Free shuttles available from Park Hill South High School and South Platte County Community Center YMCA.)

12/3 – Holiday Lighting Ceremony – Raytown, MO, 6pm.

12/3 – Old Town Lenexa Lighting Ceremony, 6:30pm. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive, entertainment and refreshments in the Lenexa Community Center after the lighting!

12/4 – Christmas Around Town and Mayor’s Tree Lighting -  Shawnee, KS, 4:30pm. Carolers, arts & crafts, Santa. Tree will be lit at 5:15pm with event to continue until 7:30pm at Shawnee Town.

12/4 – Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting – Merriam, KS, 5pm. Tree lighting, music and Santa!

12/7 – Mayor’s Christmas Tree Lighting – Blue Springs, MO, 7:30pm. Entertainment, refreshments, Santa and more!

After the switches are flipped, there are a TON of Christmas light displays – some commercial, some residential – that you and the kids won’t want to miss! (If we missed your favorite display, let us know in the comments and we’ll add it to the list.)

Kansas City-Area Christmas Light Displays

• Christmas Card Lane (through Jan. 1, 2011) north of 151st around Ridgeview and Frontier (Mission Ridge subdivision) in Olathe, KS.

• Christmas in the Park (through Dec. 31, 2010. Sun-Thur 5:30-10pm, Fri-Sat 5:30-11pm) at Longview Lake Campground on Raytown Rd. in Lee’s Summit, MO. Over 300,000 lights!!!

• Country Club Plaza

• Northern Lights at Zona Rosa (runs throughout the season) at I-29 & Barry Rd. in Kansas City.

• Legends Outlets features a light show, synchronized to concert-quality holiday music.  Located at I-70 and I-435 in Kansas City, Kansas.

• Downtown Overland Park, Briarcliff Village (KCMO), Old Town Lenexa, Brookside and Downtown Lee’s Summit have light displays.

• The Mayor’s Christmas Tree at Crown Center – at 100 feet tall, it’s one of the nation’s largest!

• “Christmas Place” in the Terrace Place subdivision, 132nd and Antioch, south Overland Park, KS.

• 75th Street and Falmouth, Prairie Village, KS. This is a completely over-the-top decorated home!! You must see the Babick house!

• Chicago Street Lights, Blue Springs, MO at Hwy 7 and Walnut. Animated story of Christmas in lights.

• Paulie’s Penguin Playground–Olathe, KS at Indian Creek Parkway and Mur-Len. This is a sight to see–more blow-up decorations than you ever knew existed!

• The Ultimate Tree, south Overland Park, KS – huge flat-panel LED Christmas tree display, synchronized to music. Runs from 5:30pm to 10pm weekdays, 5:30pm to 11:30pm on weekends, through first week of January. 6600 block of 131st Street at Deer Creek Golf Course

• Vince & Associates – 103rd & Metcalf, Overland Park – huge display, coordinated with music!

• Downtown Kansas City – don’t miss the amazing computer-generated facade of the Downtown Marriott hotel!

• Candy Cane Lane, 79th & Outlook, Prairie Village, KS

For a great list of Johnson County, KS residential displays, don’t miss Keith’s list at KansasTravel.org (and convenient driving maps) which even includes some photos!

Kansas City is chock-full of fantastic lighting ceremonies and light displays.  Many of the big ceremonies took place earlier this week, but there are still some good ones to take in! In addition to the larger ceremonies, you might want to load up the family in the car and head to one of the popular neighborhood displays in and around town.  There’s nothing like a little Christmas music on the radio as you look at lights with your family!  If we missed your favorite, shoot it our way and we’ll add it to the list.  Enjoy!

Christmas Card Lane (through Jan. 1, 2010) north of 151st around Ridgeview and Frontier (Mission Ridge subdivision) in Olathe, KS.

Christmas in the Park (through Dec. 31, 2009.   Sun-Thur 5:30-10pm, Fri-Sat 5:30-11pm) at Longview Lake Campground on Raytown Rd. in Lee’s Summit, MO.  Over 300,000 lights!!!

Northern Lights at Zona Rosa (runs throughout the season) at I-29 & Barry Rd. in Kansas City (816-587-8180).  Zona Rosa also has the lighted crowns, the Fairy Princess and new this year–the Ice Igloo!

The Legends at Village West (runs through Jan. 5) and features a light show, synchronized to concert-quality holiday music.  Runs every 15 minutes, from 5-10pm.  Also- Check out the new “Santa Experience” next to the Nike Factory.  Located at I-70 and I-435 in Kansas.

Downtown Overland Park, Briarcliff Village (KCMO), Old Town Lenexa, Brookside and Downtown Lee’s Summit have light displays.

The Mayor’s Christmas Tree at Crown Center – at 100 feet tall, it’s one of the nation’s largest!

“Christmas Place” in the Terrace Place subdivision, 132nd and Antioch, south Overland Park, KS.

75th Street and Falmouth, Prairie Village, KS.  This is a completely over-the-top decorated home!!  You must see this house!

Last year, a reader alerted us to a display in Blue Springs, MO–called the “Chicago Street Lights” at Hwy 7 and Aldis.  It featured traditional lights and the story of Christmas, and the whole neighborhood participated. Does anyone know if this is still going on??

Paulie’s Penguin Playground–Olathe, KS at Indian Creek Parkway and Mur-Len.  This is a sight to see–more blow-up decorations than you ever knew existed!

Last year, another reader, Keith, joined in on the whole “lights” discussion and pointed us to his own online guide to Johnson County, KS holiday light displays.  This is an incredible resource and so well done–nice work, Keith! He has even included photographs so you can see the various displays before venturing out.  (Although in my family, driving around aimlessly seems to be half the fun!!!)