Last night, after grabbing a quick bite at Burger and some hot chocolate from Starbucks, our family decided to hit the road and explore. We were looking for the best Christmas Lights of Aptos (and Beyond), and we discovered plenty of eye-popping and heart-warming displays throughout 95003.  You’ll find a slideshow with dozens of the best homes we found below.

If you’re on NextDoor, check the app (and I assume web site too!) for their “Holiday Cheer” map. It will show you where users have said that homes are festooned with holiday lights, and it will be a good guide for finding such homes in Aptos and elsewhere.

We didn’t actually end up using the NextDoor holiday cheer map much – my wife checked her iPhone and saw on Facebook where people recommended that you go to see some awesome Christmas lights. We ended up spending about 90 minutes driving around, through Seacliff, Rio del Mar, Mar Vista, Capitola, and Soquel, listening to Christmas music on the radio and sipping the hot cocoa.

Amazingly enough, the kids spent the time happily, with lots of “oohs” and “ahhs” and nary a mention of wanting to play XBox or jump on the iPad. And the best part is, when we finally rolled into our driveway, one of the boys had already fallen asleep and the other was well on his way. Visions of sugar plums, I’m sure, were dancing in their heads.

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Aptos Christmas Lights Slideshow