A Conversation with Laura Thake-Creator of Holiday Light Hopping
St Louis is a great town, not only for gardens but for how people deck them out during the holidays. I recently talked with Laura Thake, the creator of my favorite website this time of year, Holiday Light Hopping. Laura’s site is THE place to go first if you are into touring around town and checking out lights.
Check out Holiday Light Hopping here; Holiday Light Displays in St. Louis | Holiday Light Hopping | Missouri
Laura, a graphic designer by day, launched the site with her nephew, Mitchell, and six homes in 2016, quickly adding 20 more in the first year. This year, 210 homes are featured, each with its own page, complete with photo, address, and quick facts. The site covers Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and St. Patrick’s Day, but she’s willing to cover any holiday people want to celebrate! (Hello, Soulard-Mardi Gras is right around the corner!)
Viewing the lights is FREE! Twenty pre-planned routes are available for $1.99 for those who want a quick and easy route. The routes are kept up-to-date and are constantly changing.
The pandemic last year spurred an explosion in holiday decorating. “People were home with time on their hands, and they got creative. More people were bored with being at home and wanted to get out of the house and do something safe, so they went light hopping.”
As for trends in holiday displays, Laura says it’s all over the board. “Vintage blow molds (Those lighted, plastic, molded snowmen and Santas that became popular in the 1950’s and ever since!) are a huge thing, inflatables continue to get bigger and bigger, those tinsel characters are very effective and colorful, they seem to be making more and more characters. I love when someone has a theme and really goes for it.”
Laura personally drives to each stop and takes photos. She sees some incredible things. “The vintage carnival train in Affton that takes little children on a ride around the yard, that’s pretty unique. The house in Webster Groves that has It’s a Wonderful Life depicted all over the yard and house, that’s very original! There’s a house in St. Charles that has a helicopter that flies over the yard and lands. I had never seen that before! Out in Grey Summit there is a lake rimmed in lit up trees that is set to music, with not a light on the house, but it’s gorgeous. And in Waterloo, Illinois, there’s an entire Farm that is lit up, all the barns and buildings and fences. it’s a magical experience if there is snow on the ground.”
What about Laura’s house? Is it all decked out with an over-the-top display worthy of the Holiday Light hopping site? “I don’t always put up a tree because I’m never home to enjoy it. I’m out virtually every night and exhausted when I get home. One of the home decorators has a Christmas lighting business; he sent some guys over to put lights on my gutters, so we re-hang those every year. That was a really nice and unexpected gesture.”
Homeowners can submit their homes via the website. There is no cost to be featured, so take advantage of the mild temps this year and help make St. Louis a festive city of lights for the holidays. It doesn’t have to be a theme. It doesn’t have to be over-the-top. Laura says, “it’s all about fun and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.”
And given the crazy world we live in these days, what’s better than a bit of sparkle to warm our hearts, spread some cheer, and give us all a little hope.
Holiday Light Hopping is also on Facebook! Like the page here;
https://www.facebook.com/holidaylighthopping/
Words by Jo Batzer. Photos and video provided by Laura Thake.
© Jo Batzer, garden-lou.com All rights reserved.
