The City of Burbank’s official outdoor holiday decorating contest — residents enter their decorated homes, the city publishes an annual OurBurbank Holiday Destination Guide with about 30 routed addresses, and families drive a curated route from one side of Burbank to the other to see the entries. Free, self-paced, and runs the full holiday season.
The OurBurbank Outdoor Holiday Decorating Contest is the City of Burbank’s official annual residential lights tradition. Burbank homeowners enter their decorated homes through the city’s contest portal each fall; volunteer judges visit; and the city publishes an annual OurBurbank Holiday Destination Guide with the season’s roughly 30 participating addresses routed in driving order from one side of Burbank to the other.
The guide goes live in early-to-mid December at `burbankca.gov/ourburbank`. Families enter the addresses into their preferred GPS app, then drive the route at their own pace any evening through the holiday season. Categories typically include classic, themed, animated, and elaborate music-synchronized displays — the elaborate entries are full-yard productions.
For families across Burbank — the Rancho district, the Magnolia Park blocks, the foothill neighborhoods, the Hollywood Way blocks — and visitors from across the east San Fernando Valley, this is the season’s longest-running self-paced holiday outing. The route covers neighborhoods most visitors otherwise never see, and the displays range from welcoming traditional homes to social-media-popular elaborate setups.
The annual OurBurbank Holiday Destination Guide is published at burbankca.gov/ourburbank — typically posted in early-to-mid December. The page links to the PDF or online list and the routed map for that year.
Yes — the drive-around is completely free. Fuel and any optional snacks or hot drinks at stops along the way are at your own cost.
Most displays run nightly through the holiday season — typically from early evening into the late evening. The route is best driven after full dark for the synchronized and animated displays to shine.
At a relaxed pace, plan for 90 minutes to two hours to drive all 30 addresses across Burbank — the guide routes from one side of the city to the other, covering neighborhoods from the Rancho district through Magnolia Park to the foothill blocks.
Most addresses are on residential side streets across the city, so a single walking loop is impractical. A few clusters within the Rancho district or the Magnolia Park grid may be walkable block-to-block, but the routed tour is designed for driving.
Burbank‘s residential neighborhoods stretch across the city’s flat valley floor from the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains south through the Rancho District near the Equestrian Center to the Magnolia Park blocks west of Hollywood Way. The OurBurbank Holiday Destination Guide threads residential streets across all these neighborhoods, designed as a single driving route that crosses the city. The neighborhoods participating reflect Burbank’s small-city scale — a 17-square-mile city where a thirty-home route can genuinely cover most of the residential landscape.
Burbank’s official municipal holiday kickoff on the front steps of Burbank City Hall — the Mayor opens the ceremony, the City Council hosts, Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive (often on a Burbank Fire Department truck strung with lights), local performing groups bring music, and the City Hall holiday tree shines to life. Free, family-friendly, and held in the downtown Burbank civic core.
Brian J. Cook
The annual Burbank Town Center tree-lighting evening on the mall’s dining terrace — the holiday tree sparks to life, costumed characters greet families, hot festive beverages and ornament-decorating stations spread across the terrace, and the indoor mall transforms into a winter wonderland with photo ops throughout. Free, family-friendly, indoor-friendly weather backup.
Brian J. Cook
Burbank’s 30-plus-year community Holiday in the Park festival along Magnolia Boulevard — tree lighting, holiday music, carnival games, bounce houses, food trucks, and the Magnolia Park business community’s street takeover.
Brian J. Cook
Giant glowing animal lanterns light up the Los Angeles Zoo — elephants, butterflies, peacocks, and dragons — across an after-hours holiday walk-through that runs from November through early January.
Brian J. Cook
Southern California’s holiday lights and festive outings are pure magic — but nothing compares to Santa Claus himself stepping through your own front door. House of Kringle brings a real-bearded, professionally trained Santa to homes and gatherings across SoCal for an intimate live visit your family will treasure for years.
Check Availability
Have a date in mind? Tell us when and where, and we’ll let you know whether Santa is open. House of Kringle brings a real-bearded Santa Claus to Live Visits and Group Experiences across Southern California, and December fills quickly, so the sooner you check, the better your odds of locking in your first choice.
This is a quick availability check, not a booking. Nothing is reserved and nothing is owed until we’ve confirmed your date and you’ve placed your retainer.
