Where Do You Go to Look at Holiday Lights in Pleasanton?

We know we can't compete with the extensive holiday light listings on trivalleylights.com, but we still want to hear from Pleasanton Patch readers about where you love to go to look at elaborately decorated homes and what keeps you returning to your favorite spots each year.

When our family first moved to town nine years ago, we loved taking our 9-month-old daughter to Candy Cane Lane (4000 block of Walnut Drive off Ray Street) because it was easy to see everything up close while slowly winding the car around the compact cul-de-sac. She got plenty of giggles looking at the weirdly whimsical assortment of cartoon character cutouts and a great display depicting a polar bear sliding down a roof on a snow mountain of white lights.

With an estimated 28 homes dolled up, we are always impressed by such a solid showing of holiday spirit on one single street.

The neighborhood has changed a bit, with some beautiful newly built homes in the mix, but much of the same semi kitschy décor always returns. We always make sure to check out the ferris wheel, to be amused by the assortment of stuffed animals going for a spin.

Now that our kids are older, they are harder to impress, so we count on my personal favorite, Bob's World, 2612 Calle Reynoso, where it's been known to actually snow on visitors, who can also enjoy a show of lights that keep time to favorite Christmas tunes.

One year I could have spent hours just in the garage, where homeowner Bob Stanley had concocted an amazing miniature world made of vintage moving winter scene characters, skating and skiing their lives away. Don't miss the moving mountain tram car.

Another winner in the extreme sport of holiday home decorating is always the Bob and Susan Widmer home, 3671 Chelsea Court, where the decorating tradition dates back to 1980. Now they've even got their own  website.

Widmer World was always on our annual must-visit list, with the home's entire back yard transformed into a walk-through tour of holiday toy displays. The generosity of the Widmers, who let visitors into their private space, is very touching and has always made me appreciate living in such a friendly community.

This year's features include: Front yard electronic light show, snowy penguin scene, Mrs. Claus house, Santa's golf land and a train town, to name a few. And Santa will be there too, with likely much shorter lines than you'll find at the mall.

Hours/days open:

Candy Cane Lane — 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. nightly through Jan. 1. Luminaries will be lit on Christmas Eve.

Bob's World — Thursdays-Sundays, through Dec. 27, weather permitting, but always lit up on Dec. 24 and 25th.

Widmer's World — 6 p.m. to 9 p.m/ through Dec. 31, weather permitting. Santa scheduled to be there this Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Dec. 23.