Christmas Lights, Toronto, Ontario

Christmas Lights, Toronto, Ontario

We were visiting in Toronto for a day and our hosts thought that it would be interesting to drive around to look at some of the Christmas lights. They had read about a few nicely decorated homes in the Toronto area (probably 100’s but they had heard of a special few), so off we went in search of Christmas tree lights. The first house we looked at was nicely decorated but on a busy street so I decided to forgo setting up my tripod in the middle of the busy street. The second one was on a busy street as well but a residential street where I could set up my tripod across the street and be out of the path of traffic while taking my wide angle shots.

For our last stop, our hosts just gave me directions to follow to a newer residential area, but didn’t tell me what to expect. They guided me through a winding array of streets until I turned the corner and …..

A small glimpse at how one Toronto resident lights up the night sky and wishes everyone the best for the holiday season. According to the owner, Mr DeSario, he is up on the roof about the first of October starting to string the first lights. Like probably everyone else, I asked. “How many lights?” To which he answered, “I don’t know but if I was going to count them I would have to start sooner.”

He and his wife Pat have a collection box to accept donations for the Hospital for Sick Children and raise about $25,000 in donations.

The top part of the display reaches about 3 metres above the roof of their two storey house and the dove is a really nice touch.

Update and trivia: One report that I read indicated that Mr. DeSario’s electric bill for the display was about $1500. Another report I read indicated that they added $800 worth of LED lights in 2008.

The location: 165 Benjamin Boake Trail, North York, Toronto, Ontario (LOCATION MAP)

For a look at the Christmas light display at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario visit my 2010 blog entry here: 2010 – Christmas light display – Upper Canada Village, Morrisburg, Ontario

My four blog entries of my Toronto visit with about 80 images are now completed.
My first blog entry for this Toronto trip is here: Travel to Toronto, Dec. 2011
My second blog entry for this Toronto trip is here: Lowe’s Toronto Christmas Market
The DeSario home is here: DeSario home
My midnight activities are here :-): Late night

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