One of my favorite memories from childhood is coming home from my grandparents’ home on Christmas Eve.

Driving through Candy Cane Lane into downtown Seattle to see the Bon Marche star and giant Christmas tree, I always wondered how they got the lights on all of the broadcasting towers.

Now that I am older, I know how they got the lights up there but the thrill of a good holiday light display still gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

I also remember my father climbing on our roof, sending me up a tree with a strand of lights and searching through cardboard boxes for one more replacement bulb to make our house look like the one from Christmas Vacation. I think every house on our block dimmed a bit when he threw that switch.

I have lived in quite a few neighborhoods in the Seattle area and each has its own flavor when it comes to decorating for the holidays. Even though it is a bit rundown, Candy Cane Lane is still a favorite of mine.

The Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma has “Zoolights” and it is spectacular. Don’t miss Santa’s big arrival and tree lighting at Country Village in Bothell at 7 p.m on Dec. 3.

And it seems like Bellevue’s Snowflake Lane is taking over as the best family place to go on the Eastside during the holidays, with a parade, lights and snow from November to January no matter how warm it is.

We at the Reporter have discovered some amazing light displays in Kirkland during the past few years.

One that everyone knows about is the blue house next to Lake Washington High School. The 30,000 lights put up by Jerry Shipman has dazzled passersby’s for nearly four decades.

Another light display that really shines is Barbara and Bob McConnell’s in the North Juanita neighborhood. Their 40,000 lights are choreographed to music and you don’t even have to get out of your car to experience the flickering bursts of electricity moving about to holiday favorites.

But in the past three years we have made it a point to get out and photograph as many holiday houses as possible. Each year we go out, drive around and take pictures of the “best and brightest.”

It is a hard job but someone has to do it. And each year we post a big slideshow on www.kirklandreporter.com and print some of the best houses in the paper.

This year we got a head start and we want to improve on years past. Let us know where the best houses and streets are in Kirkland by dropping us an email at editor@kirklandreporter.com.

Send us a general address – doesn’t have to be exact if it is your neighbor’s house or an entire street – and we will try to get a photo and let people know about it.

Or, we encourage you to submit a photo of a beautifully lit Kirkland home via that same email address. We will include them in the slide show and maybe even in the paper, as space allows.

Many Kirkland fathers, me included, will be wrestling with Christmas lights, extension cords and attempting to find the dead bulb this week. But we do it to bring a little joy to someone’s holiday season.

So when you’re standing in the street, like myself and Clark Griswold, with your feet numb and your fingers about to fall off, remember to let us know about your creation. Happy holidays!