Going sightseeing for holiday lights in Tacoma? Don’t miss this community-made map
NOTE: The light display at 2907 S Puget Sound Ave shown in the video was removed after the residents reported theft and vandalism of the display. A fundraiser, which has already raised more than $500, has been set up to replace the materials. The fundraiser is linked here.
Looking for some decorated homes to visit this holiday season?
A map created by the “Tacoma Light Show and Stocking Stuffer Network” on Facebook lists more than 100 addresses of lit-up homes in the area.
Not only that, some participants are handing out stocking stuffer goodies, from candy to ornaments, starting at 4:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
The map can be viewed at lights.tacomacandy.com, along with turn-by-turn maps that stops by each home.
Tacoma residents Kass Hodorowski, Tanya Lubow and Celeste Ballentyne are the faces behind the Facebook group and map. The trio met online starting the “Tacoma Candy Chute Network” group for Halloween, which mapped homes with socially-distanced candy chutes for trick-or-treaters.
They wanted to continue the effort for Christmas.
“How many times have you gone out and went, ‘Where’s a good street? Where are the lights at?’” Ballentyne told The News Tribune. “To have a map is actually ingenious. Like, where was that map ... for the last 10 years?”
The Facebook group, which had nearly 4,000 members as of Monday, is a product of the COVID-19 pandemic, with people looking for safe ways to enjoy the holidays.
“This year so many more people are decorating,” said Lubow, a pediatric nurse who lives in Central Tacoma. “I think we all just kind of want to have that Christmas spirit.”
Ballentyne said her holiday will look different this year.
“We will be home this year for the first time ever,” said Ballentyne, who lives in Central Tacoma with her family and has a photo restoration business. “And I assume that’s going to be the way it is for a lot of people that aren’t going to grandma and grandpa’s house. And I thought, ‘How wonderful would it be to have something to give?’”
Ballentyne will be handing out stocking stuffers on Dec. 24 and hopes other people join in. So far, about 40 Tacoma houses will be doing the same.
“It’s just getting people to want to participate, or understand how easy it could be for them to just buy a bag of Ziploc bags and print out an inspirational message or a ‘Merry Christmas,’” she said. “Just something that’s from the heart. Because those little things do matter.”
The group encourages neighbors to remain socially distant by placing the items on tables, hanging them from trees or putting them in Little Free Libraries, if they have them.
The group has shared on its map tables where food is available for pickup and people can leave donations through food-sharing organization Food is Free Tacoma.
Some neighbors are getting creative.
For some light and music displays, stop by 1413 S. 42nd St., 1713 80th St. E., or 3844 S. D St.
The neighbors at 1713 80th St. E. and 5304 N. Winnifred St. are receiving and answering letters addressed to Santa.
Missing Halloween? Take a photo with a life-sized Krampus in the front yard of 2410 N. Stevens St.
Lubow said she feels more connected to her neighbors than she has in the past.
“I feel like this is the year when everyone wants to reach out and connect with other people,” she said.
Hodorowski, who works in technology for a large retailer, has been working from his Hilltop home during the pandemic. While helping with the Halloween Facebook group, he received messages from people saying the group helped “save the holiday.”
“It felt really good to, you know, know that we helped the kids and now everybody’s kind of stoked about this, and I’m pretty excited,” he said.
Ballentyne hopes their effort makes people happy.
“Just something else to do in the weirdest year we’ve all participated in,” she said.
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 5:15 AM.
