The inaugural Reindeer Road Christmas Lights event is coming to Naperville. The drive-thru holiday lights attraction will be hosted at Highpoint Church, 1805 High Point Drive in Naperville, this December.
Family Friendly Fun
The family friendly event will feature giant lighted reindeer, theatrical lighting, Christmas music, Reindeer Road LIVE, and Christmas photo opportunities. Kids will be able to drop off letters to Santa in a mailbox, and may be able to catch him in person along with Rudolph when the two drop in for occasional visits. There will also be hot chocolate/food trucks on hand for grab-and-go refreshments after driving through the display.
The event, put together in part by local business owner and Naperville Park Board Commissioner Rich Janor, is meant to spark some holiday cheer.
“We are thrilled to produce this one-of-a-kind, event for the community,” Rich Janor, president of Reindeer Events, said in a statement. “The 2020 Christmas season was wrought by pandemic-related shutdowns of popular traditions, restaurants, events, skating rinks, activities, etc. Many families sought to fill the void and find joy by driving around to view residential holiday light displays. We expect the popularity of Christmas light displays to continue to soar this year.”
Manchester Lights Partnership
Janor is working with Naperville business owner Matt Baker of Brookdale Lighting to make the event happen. Baker is the creator behind the Manchester Lights Show, a popular holiday lights program, which he founded in his neighborhood when he was 12 years old. Now, nine years later, he is teaming up with Reindeer Events to put on the inaugural Reindeer Road Christmas Lights show.
“After a great run with Manchester Lights, tens of thousands of visitors, and even some wedding proposals, the timing was right to join forces to create a larger event, and together, stage an attraction that will be entirely new and innovative,” Matt Baker said in a statement. “Visitors and fans of Manchester Lights will no longer find the show in the cul-de-sac, but everyone is invited out to Reindeer Road.”
Benefitting Local Charities
The event will benefit the Alive Center and KidsMatter, two local charities that serve children and their families.
Admission is $10 per vehicle. The drive-thru is expected to take about five minutes per vehicle, though it could be longer dependent on traffic, especially on busier weekend nights. The event will be open to vehicles from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. on select dates throughout December. A full list of dates and more information is available on the Reindeer Road website.
Naperville News 17’s Megann Horstead reports.
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!