Do you decorate your home's exterior for the holidays? What if thousands of residents were being told they could visit your street for the best Christmas lights in the city?

Waste and Resources Manager Patience Melnik is immune to any pressure exerted by the presence of her Old North Knoxville neighborhood on the first-ever Neighborhood Holiday Trails. She admits that the colored lights intended for the front of her home have been sitting in a pile near the front door for, um, a while. 
 
"Our neighbors do such a great job!" she says. One of those neighbors regularly wins the neighborhood organization's annual Best Lights competition. 

Knoxville's Neighborhood Holiday Trails was conceived by the City's offices of Special Events and Neighborhood Empowerment to encourage neighborhood groups to collaborate on a holiday project that residents can enjoy while practicing COVID-19 protocols. 

Deputy Chief Operations Officer Chip Barry regularly decorates his Holston Hills home for the holidays, but it's safe to say he went above and beyond this year. A large illuminated wreath hangs from the chimney, and a fully lighted Christmas tree stands on the roof. 

Enjoy these pictures of just a few of the decorated homes on the Old North and Gibbs Drive trails, and access maps of the other participating neighborhoods here.