From nativity scenes to cartoon characters, your favorite holiday decorations in the Columbia area

All across the Columbia area, giant inflatable Santa Clauses watch over homes. Banners of lights brighten up neighborhoods. Reindeer and candy canes and snow men are all aglow.

It’s clear that holiday cheer is not lacking in Columbia.

We asked readers to tell us where to find the best home light displays and Christmas decoration set ups around town. Here are just a handful of your favorites.

Characters galore

This house is a fan favorite, having been nominated by readers in years past. Darth Vader, Clark Griswold and Hello Kitty are among the characters featured in holiday garb in this West Columbia display. There’s also a Santa Claus riding a large inflatable rocket sleigh. So, something for everyone.

Joy Joy Joy

This house was submitted by multiple readers, and for good reason. The home, just north of Columbia’s Eau Claire and Greenview neighborhoods, is nearly impossible to miss as you drive Mason Road.

The house is adorned with hundreds of lights, and the yard is packed with lit-up snowmen and other Christmas characters.

Neighbhorhood cheer

The entire cul-de-sac in this neighborhood near Lake Katherine is adorned in matching Christmas lights. The coordination is seriously impressive. When you get to the end of the road, more massive Christmas inflatables are there to greet you. This home on the corridor definitely wins the prize for being larger than life.

Pups and more!

This West Columbia home is another fan-favorite and has gotten a lot of attention around town. And how could it not, with an inflatable Christmas wiener dog and a very festive alien out front?

A water feature!

Another West Columbia home takes advantage of the pond out front, lining up multicolored Christmas trees that shine on the water.

“The house has a pond in front of it and is set back from the road. The lights on the trees reflect on the water with a WOW effect. I know that Christmas is just around the corner when these lights go up,” wrote the reader who nominated this home.

This story was originally published December 23, 2022 at 5:30 AM.

Morgan Hughes

The State

(803) 771-8330

Morgan Hughes covers Columbia news for The State. She previously reported on health, education and local governments in Wyoming. She has won awards in Wyoming and Wisconsin for feature writing and investigative journalism. Her work has also been recognized by the South Carolina Press Association.