Travel & Touring | WA Things to Do
By: Monique Ceccato
Rounding up the family and heading out to see Perth’s elaborate Christmas light displays has become a special treat for young families. Houses right across the metropolitan area, from Mandurah to Alkimos, put on their festive finest from as early as late November.
It’s all in the name of spreading some holiday cheer. Queue your favourite Christmas carols, strap on your seatbelts, and hit the road to see some of these dazzling Christmas light displays.
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Alkimos
8 Malleefowl Way
Decorating a house with more than 13,000 lights sounds like a recipe for glittering chaos. But 8 Malleefowl Way has to be one of the neatest, most organised Christmas light displays in Perth. The interactive display runs from 7:30pm to 10:00pm each night and is programmed to change in time with the carol soundtrack, which you can tune into on 99.9FM if you’re swinging past by car. If walking, park at the nearby Alkimos Beach Primary to ease congestion in the residential streets.
Armadale
13 Warrina Place
Barely an inch of this Armadale home’s brick façade is left uncovered by the magic of Christmas. Around 350,000 LED lights adorn the house, gardens, and trees, as well as giant Christmas avocado and tin soldier inflatables. You can catch the glittering display from 7:30pm to 10:00pm, right up until Christmas day. The easiest way to get to the home is by walking from the Challis Primary School car park.
Atwell
Aromatic Crescent, Harmony Avenue*, Kennack Vista
Make an evening of your light-seeing and drop into three of Atwell’s most celebrated displays; it takes all of 10 minutes to drive between the trio. Start at Aromatic Crescent, where an interactive inflatable igloo, huge sleigh, and Santa chair are the main attractions. Then, move on to the synchronised audio-visual display and artificial snow (only on weekends in the lead-up to Christmas and every day closer to the big day) at Kennack Vista before finishing on the glittering lights at Harmony Drive.
Brabham
24 Livonia Street*
Don some festive finery and pose for a memorable Christmas photo in this Brabham home's life-sized Santa chair or sleigh. There’s a bubble machine, smoke machine, faux snow to enhance the atmosphere, and—of course—thousands of sparkling lights. Make a night of it and have an early barbecue dinner at the nearby Ariella Adventure Park. The Christmas lights don’t kick off until around 7:00pm, so you have plenty of time to enjoy the park's calm before the merry chaos.
Bull Creek
Tully Court and Ryan Court*What’s better than happening upon a Christmas light-bedazzled home: finding two of them within a stone’s throw of each other. In Bull Creek, you’ll find glittering Yuletide displays on two ordinarily quiet, parallel residential streets. Come Christmas, they’re buzzing with people. It’s easy to walk between the two homes—just park your car near the Bull Creek Vet on Parry Road and walk up to the streets via Darley Circle.
Cannington
7 Bauer Street and Grafton CourtThere aren’t too many Christmas light displays in Perth that can say they run an annual Yuletide colouring-in competition. But 7 Bauer Street is Doing just that. There’s so much for the kids to do here—they can get stuck into the colouring in, play in the ‘snow’, marvel at the lights, and even meet the Big Guy himself. There’s no guessing as to when Santa will show up, but with or without his presence, this light-covered home is magical all the same.
Cloverdale
159 Williamson Avenue and 8 Pontiac Avenue*Though they’re just a four-minute drive from each other, the Christmas light displays at Williamson Avenue and Pontiac Avenue couldn’t be more different. The northern hemisphere’s festive season reigns supreme at the former, with illuminated snowmen, igloos, and sleighs the main attractions. At the latter, it’s all about the ‘less conventional’ Christmas. Dance the night away in Santa’s disco, have your photo taken beside any one of the Christmas hat-donning inflatable Australian animals, and get one more for good measure in the photo booth.
Connolly
Prairie Dune Place*Christmas is a neighbourhood effort in Connolly, with all 23 houses on Prairie Dune Place donning their finest lights and two-storey Santa inflatables in the name of the holiday spirit. The quiet cul-de-sac lights up from 7:30pm to 11:00pm each night. And, occasionally, during the festive period, some guide dogs drop by for pats. The street raises funds to support them and the team at Guide Dogs WA.
Duncraig
Samson Court*
Blinking, glittering, and moving lights are everywhere on this short, residential street. It’s another community effort, with almost every house joining in on the nightly shows. Park at the Poynter Primary School and cross the oval to get to the cul-de-sac, where you’ll see a house covered in more than 15,000 programmed LED lights, life-sized nativity scenes, and plenty of dancing lasers. The show starts at 7:30pm each night and ends at 10:30pm.
Gwelup
3 D’Ercole Court
It might be well into the 30s in Perth come Christmas time, but it still snows in Gwelup. Head to 3 D’Ercole Court at 7:30pm from Thursday to Sunday, and you’ll get your white Christmas without leaving the country. Closer to Christmas day, it snows every night of the week, making the musical light program even more magical. A popular light display and a small cul-de-sac make for plenty of traffic, so leave the car elsewhere and wander down to the house on foot.
Hammond Park
27 Baumea Turn*In previous years, the owners of this home have gone all out and not only festooned the façade and garden with thousands of lights, but they’ve created a walk-in Christmas grotto in the garage, too. If this year is anything like the last, expect to see the grotto return, along with a large inflatable Santa and nativity scene. Arrive early to nab a parking spot at the nearby Botany Park and make the short walk down.
High Wycombe
Palmer Crescent and Wem Mews
Just as snow is an integral part of the festive season for the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas in Australia wouldn’t be Christmas without present-bearing and hat-wearing kangaroos, koalas, and wombats. The kids will love having their pictures taken beside the jolly inflatables, which join Santa and the reindeer at—what is arguably—the most Australian holiday display in Perth. But the inflatables aren’t the be-all and end-all. Thousands of Christmas lights are strung up all over the house and garden, too.
Langford
143 Langford Avenue*For the last ten years, the family at 143 Langford Avenue have well and truly delivered on the Christmas spirit. Their house is decorated with a chaotic but beautiful mix of lights, inflatables, and life-sized Santa sleighs, ensuring that even the biggest Christmas Grinch walks away with a smile on their face. Leave the car at the parking lot at 80 Cortis Way and head to the house on foot so you can spend time wandering the light tunnels and examining the display in detail.
Maddington
5 Geebung Street*
Park at East Maddington Primary and walk over to this Christmas Wonderland because the kids will want to stay here for hours, and it’s not just the detailed festive display that they’ll be enthralled by. There's a fun children's play area alongside the 3m Santa, his life-sized workshop, and a miniature North Pole Village. It really is all about the kids here, with all donations collected at the display supporting the Perth Children’s Hospital.
Morley
7 Collins Court*
7 Collins Court won the award for ‘Best House North of the River’ in the 2022 Synergy Xmas Lights Trail competition, and for good reason: it’s simply magical. Owners Jo and Maria have been decorating their house for their grandchildren, special needs daughter, and the public to enjoy for the past 18 years. It takes them some 120 hours to set up the thousands of lights in the leadup to Christmas, but it’s all worth it, with the results much-loved by the wider community.
Thornlie
Consulate Court
There’s so much more to this festive street than just the fantastic light displays and reindeer on the roof. In the lead-up to Christmas day, there’s a roster of fun family events to look out for, too. If carolling is your thing, visit the street on its carolling night, or perhaps the charity bake sale or visiting Santa (escorted in via a Hot Rod) are more your speed. Understandably, the street gets busy at this time of year, so park up at Sacred Heart Primary and wander over from there. You can keep up to date with the month’s events on the street’s dedicated Facebook page.
Rio Tinto Christmas Lights Trail
Northbridge and Perth
47 nights of lights, 22 installations, and performances galore: The City of Perth, Rio Tinto, and Lotterywest have gone all out for Christmas this year. The mega lights trail begins in the Northbridge Piazza, where a pulsating light display reacts to your presence. Follow the installations through the Cultural Centre, Raine Square, and the Murray St Mall to Cathedral Square, where a constellation labyrinth awaits. Visit on a Friday or Saturday night, and Santa will be meeting and greeting the kids just across the road at Council House. Finish up the trail at Elizabeth Quay and marvel at the 8m-high illuminated sailing ship.
Mandurah Canals Christmas Lights
Mandurah
With the weather pushing the 30s, there’s no better way to experience the Christmas light displays than from the water. Launch your own boat into the Mandurah Canals and cruise around to see the 200+ homes that take part in the decorating extravaganza each year. Alternatively, book a spot on one of the many tours that depart at this time of the year—pirate ships and floating barbecue boats included. It’s a much-loved WA experience and one you have to do at least once in your lifetime.
Other streets worth the drive
La Salle Road, Alexander Heights
Yorn Circuit, Beeliar
Hargreaves Road, Coolbellup
Anacapri Road, Hillarys
Darlington Loop, Pearsall
Kirn Close, Willetton
Maitland Rise, Woodvale
*These Christmas light displays are still to be confirmed for 2023
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