This story is from our 1997 archives.
Fort Worth writer and photographer Christina Patoski began chronicling America's favorite holiday in 1973 in her hometown. She was intrigued by an outdoor Christmas display that just kept getting bigger and bigger--every year it seemed that the owner was trying to outdo his efforts of the previous year. "A huge cross crowned the rooftop," writes Patoski, "lights carefully traced the television antenna against the night sky, more Wise Men were added to the already crowded manger scene, where a second baby Jesus rivaled an already existing one. Every year the display grew larger, until the overloaded electrical wiring set fire to the house and destroyed the decorations." Fires notwithstanding, Patoski has continued to photograph Christmas displays all over the country--on back roads, in suburban subdivisions, in urban apartment villages, in trailer parks, and on palatial estates--concentrating
exclusively on decorations in the front yards of private homes. At first she sought out the most ornate displays, but soon became enamored of the modest ones, those that reflected the personal visions of the people who created them. Patoski concluded that Christmas yard decorating is a uniquely American folk art, drawing inspiration from diverse cultural elements, including Disneyland and the New Testament. Eventually all those photos became a book--Merry Christmas, America--A Front Yard View of the Holidays, published by Thomasson-Grant. Here are great displays from the book, all of them are, of course, from Texas.

Tropical Palm, San Antonio
Palm trees and shrubbery are hardly in keeping with traditional Christmas imagery, yet they offer the decorator some interesting possibilities.

 

HILL COUNTRY

Hill Country Christmas Tour-- runs through January 1. "Come Home to the Hill Country" is the theme this year. Participating towns are Blanco, Bulverde, Burnet, Dripping Springs, Fredericksburg, Johnson City, Lampasas, Llano, Marble Falls, Mason, and Round Mountain. For a brochure of the entire tour, call 830-997-8515.

The towns listed above have Christmas displays, festivals, concerts, parades, and more--but not all have formal tours of lights. The towns below offer lights displays open to the touring public.

Boerne: Take a three-mile tour just outside Boerne on Highway 46 east where a million lights, sixty displays, live animals, and more than 200 of the season's favorite characters keep the Christmas spirit alive. Call 830-336-3177 for more information.

Burnet: The First Baptist Church at the corner of Washington and Boundary streets depicts Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Christ. December 5-7 and 12-14 from 6-9 p.m. Call 512-756-4481 for more information.

Brenham: Visit the town square for a glimpse of what Christmas in the Old South might have looked like. Friday, December 5 after sundown. Call 409-836-3695 for more information.

Fredericksburg: More that 100 shops vie for your attention with antiques, collectibles, food, wine, and crafts. A highlight of the season is the Christmas tree lighting at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Historical Park December 21 at dusk. The park is 16 miles east of Fredericksburg off Hwy 290 in the town of Stonewall. Lady Bird Johnson and family members arrive at dusk to light the native cedar tree. Carolers, a live nativity, Santa Claus, food, and a nighttime tour of the LBJ Ranch are part of the evening's festivities. Call the Chamber of Commerce at 830-997-6523 for more information.

Georgetown: Walk or ride through the Courthouse Square trail of lights December 6 through 31 from dusk to 10 p.m. Tour six historic homes December 14 and 15 from 1 to 5 (purchase tickets at History and Visitor Center, 101 W. Seventh St., $8). Call 800-436-8696 for more information.

Gruene: Walk the historical district and visit the town's 25 shops for your own Christmas shopping. Vendors, craftspeople, carolers, music, food and Cowboy Kringle, the Texas Santa, await you at the Gruene Christmas Market Days, December 6 and 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Free admission. Call 830-606-1601 for more information.

Johnson City : The highlight of the Hill Country tour is probably the Blanco County Courthouse, dazzlingly decked out in 600,000 lights. First lighting is November 28 at 6:30 p.m. Inside the courthouse, there is a giant Christmas tree and an antique toy display (open weekends 6-9). "Timeless Christmas in Johnson City," a lamplight tour of LBJ's boyhood home, is December 13 from 6:30-9:30. For more information, call the Chamber of Commerce at 830-868-7684.

Kerrville: Historic homes in the downtown district are decorated, as is the courthouse Square downtown. Kerrville's courthouse and tree-lighting ceremonies will begin at 5:00 p.m. on December 6. The Twilight Country Christmas Tour is one night only, December 13 from 2:00-8:00 p.m. Admission is $5. For more information about these events, call 830-896-1155.

Marble Falls:A million and a half lights have been strung along a walkway in Lakeside Park on Lake Marble Falls. You'll also see hundreds of lighted trees, thousands of feet of lighted garlands, and a huge pole tree. This event runs from November 21-January 1, 6:00- 10:00 p.m. Santa visits every Friday and Saturday night at Lakeside Park from 6 to 8. Call 830-693-4449 for more information.

Austin
37th Street Lights37th between Guadalupe & Speedway. The spectacular lights lining this block and a portion of Cedar St are best viewed on foot. In the past, the intricate and funky displays have included spider webs, DNA strands, and a variation on Van Gogh's Starry Night. Dec 14-Jan 1: Sun-Thur from dark-11, Fri & Sat till 1 a.m.

Zilker Park2201 Barton Springs Rd. The 165-foot Tree of Lights remains lit thru Dec 31. Dec 8-24 is the Trail of Lights--thousands of bulbs illuminate a mile of holiday scenes; Dec 8-19 from 7-10 (pedestrians only) & Dec 20-24 from 7-11; free. Shuttle buses from City Coliseum parking lot on Bouldin; $1.

Bastrop
The courthouse and downtown are lit up for the holidays. Many fine Victorian houses are located in Bastrop and are decorated for the holidays. The Historic Tour of Homes on December 13 is sponsored by the County Museum. Tickets are $8. Call 512-321-2419 for information.

New Braunfels
See the downtown Christmas tree and the courthouse and plaza ablaze with lights, plus local museums will be decked out in Christmas finery. Don't miss Glow Fest. Texas' only Winter Holiday Balloon Festival December 12-14, when more than twenty balloons fly over the town at dawn; from 5 to 7 a.m. the balloons alight and glow at Prince Solms Park. Call the Chamber of Commerce at 830-625-2385 for more information.

Salado
The streets of this charming Victorian village about fifty miles north of Austin on Interstate 35 will be lit by luminarias, downtown buildings will be decorated with lights, and there will be a live nativity scene on Main Street. Costumed carolers will serenade shoppers. The Christmas Stroll and lighting of the luminarias is December 5. For more information, call 254-947-5040.