You’ve crowned the holiday lights bracket winner, Charlotte. View the victorious home

By CharlotteFive staff

Updated January 31, 2024 12:35 PM

Every year around this time, our team is on a mission, looking for the best holiday lights in Charlotte.

You already know our favorite commercial places: Carowinds, Daniel Stowe, Speedway Christmas and more.

But the real holiday heart can be found in Charlotte’s best decorated yards. This year, we turned it into a contest. You nominated your favorite homes, then we narrowed it down to the top 10 for our holiday lights bracket. Round One closed at noon Wednesday with more than 7,000 votes, and Round Two closed on Friday with more than 25,000 votes! Round Three wrapped up Monday at noon, with more than 17,000 votes.

Who has the best Christmas lights and decor in all of the Charlotte area?

The holiday lights contest winner

Location: 323 Eastover Rd, Charlotte, NC 28207

Neighborhood: Eastover

ABOUT THE HOUSE: “We started all of this 15 to 18 years ago and it just grew,” Jan Hall Brown told CharlotteFive. When it comes to holiday decorations, Brown and her husband, Ed Brown, decided to focus on the outside of their home. “It brings a lot of old-fashioned joy to people,” she said.

THE DECORATIONS: 10 years ago when LEDs started becoming more popular, the Browns added lights to the roof. She and her husband are constantly on the lookout for 20-foot inflatables. This year, they added a Ferris wheel made of lights and a display that says, “Let it snow.”

Brown told us she loved seeing CharlotteFive’s top 10 holiday lights homes. “I think the other candidates were wonderful.”

Ed Brown said Monday, “Winning is fabulous. We’re really excited about it. But the key for us is bringing the joy to a lot of people who ride by our house who take in the Christmas spirit.” He added,” “We’re excited that so many people are decorating their yards to provide great memories to individuals who drive by and enjoy the labors of their work.”

The CharlotteFive Holiday Lights Bracket winner. Alex Cason Photography CharlotteFive

The runner-up

Location: 3943 Black Sycamore Dr. Charlotte, NC 28226

Neighborhood: Montibello

ABOUT THE HOUSE: Homeowner Nathan Queen began his holiday display about 11 years ago. His family has been doing a live nativity for 3 years.

THE DECORATIONS: Everything is homemade. “I’m not an electrician, we’re not engineers … everything is plug and play,” he told C5. A QR code out front sends your donation money to Charlotte Rescue Mission’s addiction recovery programs.

“The (CharlotteFive lights) contest was great,” Queen said. “All the entries were fantastic. My family, my friends, were all really excited about it. We were honored to be nominated. Obviously, we wanted to win — we want to win — but we’re excited. There were some really good displays out there. We drove by a couple of them last night. Everybody seems to have their own way of doing it. Some of them are homemade like ours. Some of them are really nice, expensive, professional displays. So you can get a little bit of everything. I think it’s great you guys did the contest that way.”