If you enjoy Christmas light displays, you do not want to miss the Stewart Family Christmas Lights Display, located in east Fayetteville at 4423 Wyman Rd. It is nothing short of amazing. While your first impression may be that this display was professionally done, it is actually all done by one local family.
It started in 2003, when Carlin Stewart put a few lights & inflatables in his yard. Each year since then, it has grown. Every year after Christmas, Carlin, his wife Kim and their 4 kids go shopping for more inflatables & Christmas lights to add to next year's display. This year there are 337,000 lights and over 250 inflatables. Inflatables range from Santa supporting the military to The Grinch, giant rubber duckies & Minions.
Over the years, this has gone from a drive-by Christmas display to one where you actually get out of the car & walk through it for the full effect. You will cross through a tunnel of lights into an enchanted holiday wonderland.
I visited with Carlin & Kim last week while my girls and I enjoyed the displays. I found out they start putting lights up on September 1, and that all of the many, many hours of work are done by them & a few friends. Kim teases that she sometimes calls Carlin "Clark" from Christmas Vacation, and at times you will see the movie projected onto the garage door while you walk around.
This year they have a a new train for kids to ride. While the light display is free, the train rides are $1.00 per person or $3 for a family of 5, and a wonderful addition to this place.
There is no cost to enjoy the light displays, but donations are accepted. As you can imagine, it is very expensive to pay for the electricity & supplies for this place, but the Stewarts say they do it because they love seeing the smiles on the kids faces as they see it. Look for the red & white striped box for donations.
The Stewart Family Christmas Lights display is open every night from 5:30-10 PM until Jan 1st. Santa is here every night.
Santa also has a mailbox here, so kids can bring their letters to Santa & drop them in the box. Santa will reply to all letters so make sure that the return address is included. Santa occasionally visits for pictures with the kids, and on weekends you may walk through blowing "snow" there.
The Stewart Family Christmas Light display can be found on Facebook HERE. Please keep in mind this is at a home, not a business, so parking is limited. Carpool if possible. They have added more parking this year and you can also park along the road, allowing room for traffic, but I would recommend visiting on a weeknight if possible to avoid the largest crowds.
The Stewart Family has a dear friend, a local mom, who helps with replying to the letters left for Santa, and in many cases, ensuring that wishes are granted for children who may not otherwise get much. This year, a fundraiser has been set up to assist them with fulfilling these wishes for local kids. On Christmas morning, she will drive to each home and personally deliver the gifts (without being seen by the kids, of course), as Santa's helper. If you'd like to help out, donations can be made here.
Enjoy! Thank you, Stewart Family, for so generously sharing this wonderful display with families around Northwest Arkansas.
