Last year, I loved booking more sessions in holiday lights! Being surrounded in dreamy lights during the holiday season has become one of my favorite things I look forward to, and getting to photograph my clients in them made me so happy. I’m sharing my top favorite places in North Carolina with fantastic backdrops for holiday lights during the Christmas season.

1. Daniel Stowe Botanical gardens during their annual holiday festive lights display is a must see. Our session here was one of my absolute fav sessions of the season. The lights here are a whimsical, beautiful spectacle that spans for acres. You can grab hot cocoa and stroll through the gardens.
2. McAdenville ‘Christmastown USA’ is a quaint town with a neighborhood that has several rows of homes that participate in lighting up the night with dazzling holiday displays. You can simply get in your car and just ride through, or you can park in the town and take a walk. My family and I have enjoyed McAdenville’s Christmas lights for the past 3 years now.
3. Camp North End in Charlotte is always fun to visit as there are new art installations each season in the middle of the eclectic, industrial style the area has to offer. I like the fun colorful Christmas trees they put up and the new overlays each year.
4. Kannapolis Village holiday lights was a first for me to visit this year. There are food vendors, a train, and a carousel here, and I loved getting a few photos on the carousel.