For some, there's no such thing as too many Christmas lights. When it comes to outdoor holiday decorations, there’s something inherently joyful and celebratory about thousands of colorful twinkling lights, each one representing a wish for good cheer and glad tidings. Here are four outstanding examples:

The colorful sloping roofs of Clairemont.

^{Photo by Wendy Lemlin}

Clairemont

In the neighborhood between Lana and Jamar Drives, more than 40 homes are aglow with an array of lights and decorations. Making this neighborhood unique are the vividly-hued poinsettias, trains and other designs drawn in rope lights on the steep sloping roofs of many of the homes. These are the work of Don Park, who with his wife and son, began the neighborhood decorating tradition 31 years ago.

You can often find Park outside his home at 4733 Lana Lane, happy to show off his handiwork, especially his own yard, which is filled with such remote-controlled novelties as a dancing Santa, and a bubble machine to emulate snowfall.

“We get thousands of visitors through here, especially the last week before Christmas,” says Park. “It’s often wall-to-wall people, cars backed up a couple of blocks down the street. A bus from the Children’s Hospital always comes through, bringing the kids in wheelchairs, and I so enjoy seeing the looks on their faces. That’s why we do it.”

The Mathias home on 28th Street.

^{Photo by Wendy Lemlin}

North Park

With enough lights for an entire neighborhood, Jeffrey and Lauren Mathias’ home at 3235 28^th Street (across from Bird Park in the Morley Field area) is an extravaganza of color, music and fantasy. There’s hardly a square inch of front lawn not covered with strands of twinkling color or some kind of lighted decoration (including a false front of a castle tower on one home.

Jeffrey Mathias begins his decorating at Halloween and it just progresses from there. A member of PlanetChristmas.com, he estimates that his display costs several thousand dollars.

“It’s entirely worth it when I see how much joy it brings to so many people,” says Mathias. He points to a small boy, who has been running back and forth along the sidewalk for the last 15 minutes, squealing with delight every times he discovers something new, and then to an elderly couple who stand hand in hand, gazing admiringly. “You can’t put a price on that,” he says. “You can’t put a price on joy.”

Garrison Street in Point Loma.

^{Photo by Wendy Lemlin}

Point Loma

When you turn onto Garrison Street from Chatsworth Boulevard, you know you’ve entered Fairyland. The trees are a-twinkle with thousands of lights, and many of the colorfully decorated homes feature mechanized window displays: Teddy bears ride Ferris wheels and carousels; Mrs. Claus bakes up goodies in her kitchen; and Santa and the elves work busily in their workshop. Up and down the street children and adults delight in the magic that combines the intense colors of today’s LED lights with the feel of a traditional Dickensian Christmas village.

Christmas Card Lane.

^{Photo by Wendy Lemlin}

Rancho Penasquitos

From December 13-31, Oviedo, Ellingham and Renato streets (off Black Mountain Road) become Christmas Card Lane, where about 200 homes display giant plywood greeting cards on their front lawns, along with other holiday decorations. On these “cards,” Dr. Seuss characters cavort, Santas surf, reindeer rain down from the sky and greetings range from religious sentiments to the all encompassing “Happy Whatever.”

(Know about another holiday display worth sharing? Leave a comment…)