Christmas Light Tour and Scavenger Hunt
Turn an evening drive or walk around Lethbridge into a game. Print a scavenger hunt card or a bingo card for each child, dress for the cold, and see who spots the most lights. It’s free, it works in any neighbourhood, and it’s best from late November to early January.
On this page
How it works
In 2025, Gary took his grandsons on a Christmas light tour and scavenger hunt drive around town. It’s an easy outing to copy: one evening, one route and a card for every child.
- Pick a calm evening. A still night at −10°C is far more pleasant than a windy one at −5°C. Check the Lethbridge forecast and go once the sky is fully dark. An early evening suits younger kids and their bedtimes.
- Choose drive or walk. Driving covers more streets and keeps everyone warm. Walking a few blocks of your own neighbourhood works well for little ones and on mild nights. Plan on 45 to 90 minutes either way; small children usually tire before the lights run out.
- Everyone gets a card. Print the checklist card, the bingo card or both (below). Bring a clipboard or a hardcover book to press on, a pencil each (pens don’t like the cold) and a small flashlight or the dome light for reading.
- Adults drive, kids spot. The driver watches the road and nothing else. The kids call out what they see, and a passenger adult can be the judge.
- Finish with a prize. Add up the points or count the bingos at the end. Hot chocolate at home counts as a prize for everyone.
Not everyone celebrates Christmas. Lethbridge families mark many different holidays in winter, and some homes don’t decorate at all. The cards mix Christmas decorations with plain winter ones (snowmen, snowflakes, icicles) and include a menorah for Hanukkah. Every house is worth a friendly wave, lights or not.
The printable cards
Tick each thing you spot. Easy finds are worth 1 point, harder ones 2 and rare ones 3. Spotted it before anyone else? Point and call it out!
Mark a square when you spot it. Five in a row across, down or corner to corner is a bingo. The middle square is free.
Weather and safety
Dress for the car and for stepping out
Even on a driving tour, someone always wants to hop out for a closer look. Bring toques, mittens, warm boots and a neck warmer for everyone, and keep the big coats in the car. On a walking tour, dress in layers with a windproof outer layer, as Health Canada advises for cold weather.
Lethbridge wind changes everything. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) says that at a wind chill of −28 to −39, exposed skin can freeze in 10 to 30 minutes. The Canadian Paediatric Society suggests cutting children’s outdoor time at −15°C or colder, counting wind chill, and keeping them indoors at −27°C or colder. On those nights, stay in the car and save the walk for a milder evening.
Not sure what to wear? Our What Should I Wear Today? tool uses live readings from the West Lethbridge station and suggests an outfit for kids, babies and adults. Check the forecast and alerts before you head out.
Car seats and winter coats
Alberta Health Services advises against putting bulky coats or snowsuits under a car seat harness. In a crash, a puffy coat can flatten and leave the harness too loose. Instead:
- Dress children in thinner layers, then buckle them in snugly. AHS says you shouldn’t be able to pinch the strap fabric at the collarbone.
- Once they’re buckled, tuck a blanket over the harness or put their coat on backwards over their arms.
- Hats and mittens are fine, since they don’t get in the way of the harness.
- Keep everyone buckled for the whole tour, even when you’re creeping along at walking speed.
Warm the car safely
Never warm up or idle a vehicle in a garage, even with the big door open. Health Canada warns against idling in a garage, and carbon monoxide has no colour or smell. Open the garage, back the vehicle out, then let it warm up outside, as Lethbridge’s chief fire marshal advises. Never use a remote starter while the vehicle is in the garage.
Before you leave, brush the snow off the whole vehicle and clear every window, so the kids can see out and the driver can see everything. And never leave children alone in the car, even for a quick photo.
Stopping and looking
- Pull over only where parking is allowed. Stay out of crosswalks and intersections, and don’t block driveways, alleys or mailboxes.
- Let kids out on the curb side, never into traffic.
- Drive slowly and watch for other light-seekers. On a popular street, people walk in the road and other drivers are looking at lights too.
- Enjoy displays from the sidewalk or the street. Don’t walk onto lawns or driveways, and keep voices down, since families live there.
Walking tours
- Wear bright or reflective clothing, or add reflective strips to coats and boots, and carry a flashlight or use a phone light. The Alberta RCMP gives the same advice for winter walkers.
- Use crosswalks and obey signals, even when no cars seem to be around.
- Hold small hands near the road, and pick sidewalks that have been cleared. Ice cleats and a short-step “penguin walk” help on icy patches, as Alberta Health Services suggests.
Leaving town?
Some families drive to displays in nearby towns. Check road conditions on 511 Alberta ↗ before you go, and see our winter driving page.
Finding the best displays
You don’t need a list to have fun. Most neighbourhoods have a few streets where everyone decorates. Ask the kids to remember where they saw good ones on the way to school. If you’d like a plan, these are good places to look each season:
- The City of Lethbridge community calendar lists public holiday events, and the City’s news page often posts a round-up of holiday activities in late December. calendar.lethbridge.ca ↗
- Local news. Lethbridge has had a community Christmas lights tour for decades; Global News reported it was heading into its 53rd year in 2015. Tour maps and “best lights” lists usually appear in local news and community groups in December. We couldn’t confirm the details for 2026, so watch for this year’s announcements.
- Public displays. In recent years, City staff have lit Brewery Gardens on the coulee edge, reached by the Indian Battle Park trails, and downtown has held a tree lighting at Festival Square. Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden runs a ticketed Winter Light Festival; its 10th season ran from November 29, 2025, to February 28, 2026. Dates change every year, so check the City calendar or Travel Alberta’s listing ↗ before you go.
About private homes: we don’t publish addresses of decorated homes, and we’d ask you not to post them either. If a list you find includes house addresses, enjoy those homes from the street, don’t linger in front of driveways, and move along if the owners are coming and going.
Make it your own
Hot chocolate stop
Fill a thermos before you leave and have a cup halfway through, parked somewhere safe. Let it cool a little for young kids, and use lidded cups in the car.
Vote for a favourite
Each person picks a favourite street or display, and everyone votes at the end. Write the winner on the back of the card, and go back next year to see if it’s grown.
Design your own light show
Use the box on the checklist card to draw your house with your dream lights. What colours? Do they blink? Does anything move? Older kids can plan a pattern with coloured dots in a grid.
Let a kid navigate
Hand an older child a paper map or a phone map and let them call the turns. Mark the best streets with a star for next year.
Music and a theme
Play holiday or winter music in the car, or pick a theme for the night: only count reindeer, or hunt for the house with the most colours.
Team play
Small children can team up with an adult or older sibling on one card. For mixed ages, let the youngest spot the 1-point items first.
Which colour of lights can you see from the farthest away? Pick a house at the end of a long street and watch it as you drive closer. Which colours show up first? Which ones look like they blend together into white? Write your answer on the back of your card.
Photos of lights from the car
Phone cameras can take lovely light photos, but only when the car is parked. The driver never takes pictures.
- Wipe the window first, inside and out. Breath fog and smudges turn lights into blurry streaks.
- Turn off the dome light and dim the dashboard, so they don’t reflect in the glass.
- Hold the phone close to the glass, almost touching, to cut reflections. Or roll the window down for the shot if it’s not too cold.
- Use night mode if your phone has it, and hold very still until it finishes. Bracing your hands on the window frame helps.
- Turn the flash off. It lights up the window, not the house.
- Tap the screen on the lights to focus, then slide the brightness down a little so the colours don’t wash out.
- Try a photo with a little snow falling. The flakes catch the light and make the picture sparkle.
Sources
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Wind chill index (frostbite times): canada.ca
- Canadian Paediatric Society, Caring for Kids, Frostbite (−15°C and −27°C guidance for children): caringforkids.cps.ca
- Health Canada, Extreme cold (dress in layers with a wind-resistant outer layer): canada.ca
- Alberta Health Services, Winter car seat safety (wellness article, November 2023): albertahealthservices.ca
- Health Canada, Carbon monoxide: preventing exposure (no idling in a garage): canada.ca
- My Lethbridge Now, Lethbridge’s chief fire marshal offers tips to safely stay warm during cold snaps (February 2025): mylethbridgenow.com
- Claresholm Local Press, RCMP offer tips to keep pedestrians safe this winter (Alberta RCMP release, November 2024): claresholmlocalpress.ca
- Alberta Health Services, MyHealth.Alberta.ca, Winter walking tips to lower your risk of falling: myhealth.alberta.ca
- Government of Alberta, 511 Alberta highway information: 511.alberta.ca
- City of Lethbridge, Community calendar: calendar.lethbridge.ca
- City of Lethbridge, Local adventures to brighten your holiday break (December 2024; Brewery Gardens lights, Winter Light Festival): lethbridge.ca
- City of Lethbridge, Festive family fun in the city (December 2025): lethbridge.ca
- Lethbridge Herald, Community events highlight holiday season (December 2024; Brewery Gardens via the Indian Battle Park trails): lethbridgeherald.com
- Lethbridge News Now, Winter Light Festival returns for 10th anniversary at Nikka Yuko (October 2025): lethbridgenewsnow.com
- Lethbridge News Now, Downtown Lethbridge gearing up for the holiday season (November 2025; Festival Square tree lighting): lethbridgenewsnow.com
- Global News, Lethbridge Christmas lights tour back for 53rd year (November 2015): globalnews.ca
- Travel Alberta, Nikka Yuko Winter Light Festival listing: travelalberta.com