Where to see holiday lights 2021 in Sonoma County

While most people opt for a simple strand or two of colorful Christmas lights this time of year, others take holiday decorations to an extravagant level.

For those families, the ones with snowmen and elves and reindeer covering their lawns and thousands of lights strung around the doorways and eaves, Christmas displays are more than entertainment. It’s their way of bringing people together and connecting with others at a special time of year.

“It’s a really big community thing for us,” said Jerry Pinola, a Santa Rosa resident whose house on Michael Drive is quite the sight to behold. “You know, without our community, it wouldn’t be worth it. It’s just too much work, for just my family to enjoy. If the community didn’t like it, we wouldn’t do it.”

Jerry and his wife Laura Pinola brought out all their wonderful decorations this year after significantly downsizing their display last year.

They have around 28,000 individual lights up this year, along with hand-painted candy cane decorations, wooden cutouts their kids decorated over the years, a snow-blowing snowman they named Mr. Flurry and many other decorations.

“My wife has probably about 15 other cutouts, wood cutouts, of paintings that she made,” Jerry said.

Some new additions this year are an elf scene Laura made, an outdoor cabinet of light and motion ornaments and some special toy men and reindeer they received from a display they used to take their kids to on Creekside Drive.

The Pinolas have put up their big holiday display for close to 25 years, each year adding more decorations, to bring joy to neighbors, strangers and family who need a little Christmas cheer.

“We got a lot of stress in our lives these days,” Jerry said. “You see adults out there and they come up under the lights and then maybe a husband and wife kind of hug each other. They just sit there and stare at the lights and you can just see that stress just draining off their body. I think just being able to create that, even if just for a few seconds, I think is just invaluable to people.”

Another Sonoma County resident, Josh Gilmore, creates his award-winning display every year for a similar reason: to feel connected with his community.

“I’m here for the community,” Gilmore said. “I need the community to come out and enjoy this more than ever now, because I need that energy.”

His display on Lazy Creek Drive in Windsor has well over 1,000 strings of lights, a professional-grade snow machine and a 23-foot wooden Christmas tree he built on his own. This year, he’s added 12-foot and 6-foot wooden stars he built and put on the roof, plus lollipops and icicles. Gilmore spent over 150 hours this year setting up the display and will keep adding to it up until Christmas Day.

His holiday tradition started when he met his wife.

“She showed me a picture of her yard in The Press Democrat, and it was two, maybe four, strands of lights; two deer and a Christmas tree. She was like, ‘Look, I got my house in the paper!’ And I just had a good laugh and I said, ‘Watch what’s next,’” Gilmore remembered.

In the last two years, Gilmore has put out a post to remind others that the holidays aren’t necessarily a joyous time for everyone, and that it can bring hardships for families and individuals.

“It’s important to check on everybody, so we’re doing this display as a way to provide joy, have those conversations. The lights are something to see. It’s an entertainment, but it’s getting to spend time with people,” he said.

It seems for both Pinola and Gilmore, their holiday displays bring them just as much joy and connection as they bring to their communities.

“It’s the laughs, the smiles, the photos — to me, that’s everything,” Gilmore said. “All my frustration with fuses blowing and things falling over every day ... all of that disappears the second you hear a family laughing and having a good time.”

To see the Pinola house display, visit 309 Michael Drive in Santa Rosa. To see the Gilmore house display, visit 9511 Lazy Creek Drive in Windsor.

There are plenty of other holiday light displays to check out in Sonoma County, in every town. Here are a few you shouldn’t miss.

Santa Rosa

2020 Riebli Road: The barn and front gate at this house on the outskirts of Santa Rosa near Mark West are all lit up, with a light show synchronized to a radio station. You can park in the small lot across the street to watch the show.

4461 Drury Lane: This house was featured on the ABC reality show “The Great Christmas Light Fight.” The Berndt family won $50,000 for their extravagant railroad-themed holiday display with a train, a Ferris wheel and cookie and snow globe factories.

Walnut Court: Residents on Walnut Court dubbed their street Snowman Lane this year. To see all the lights, visit before 10 p.m.

3503 Banyon St.: This house has a light show synced to 94.3 FM and a huge light tree in the front yard. Along the cul-de-sac on Banyan are house numbers 3485 and 3489, which are both lit up, too.

1898 Crimson Lane: The house is covered in icy white lights with a banner reading “The Griswolds” in red letters, a reference to the family of the slapstick Christmas classic, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”

Rohnert Park

7367 Circle Drive: Circle Drive in Rohnert Park has more than one house to visit this year, but the one at 7367 and the one next door have such colorful displays they blend together into one magical light show.

1128 Emily Ave.: The “Nelson’s Northpole” display is a shining beacon of holiday lights, with a roof covered in strands of lights and reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh. For a preview, visit facebook.com/Nelsonsnorthpole.

957 Ellen Ct.: This house has everything from a light canopy covering the driveway to a Santa truck sitting on the roof. Colorful candy canes line the lawn and large ornaments hang from the front-yard tree.

6026 Elsa Ave.: This house has everything a light display could have. Every tree and shrub is covered in neon blues, greens and reds, while little elves and nutcrackers are strewn throughout the display.

5570 Country Club Drive: A bright-green jungle is the centerpiece of this display. Candy canes line the walkway up to the front door and an array of penguins, reindeer and snowmen cover the front yard.

For other holiday light displays in Sonoma County, go online to our holiday light map at www.pressdemocrat.com/holidaylights.