The Mikowski brothers insist they don’t have a competition going, but onlookers would be hard-pressed to believe that. Dave Mikowski lights up his place on Kimberly Lane near Long Lake with an estimated 15,000 lights. Not to be outdone, his brother Rob has his own display at 143 E. Ninth Street. Both displays bounce merrily along to the sounds of Christmas. You can listen to the music by simply tuning your car radio to 99.5 FM when you’re in the neighborhood.

They agree Rob’s was first. “I won the Old Town Association award (for best holiday display) in 2000,” says Rob. Dave, who had been living in Alaska, finally gave in and started decorating. “I’d been the Grinch,” says Dave. “About seven or eight years ago I bought a house and put up a string of lights. I thought, ‘That looks pretty good.’ I don’t know what really got me. I hate attention, and so does my brother.”

They hate attention so much they light up their respective neighborhoods, and to escape the spotlight, they both started Facebook pages for their home displays. Dave’s is at “Christmas on Kimberly Lane,” while Rob’s is “’Tis the Season to be Merry.” “I wanted people to see it,” Dave admits.

Their shows both incorporate music, with the lights synced by computer to a playlist of favorite holiday songs. The shows run from 5:30pm until 10pm weeknights and 11 on Friday and Saturday. On Christmas Eve it will run until midnight.

Of course the Mikowskis aren’t alone in taking the holiday to the next level. Ricky Chamberlain of Kingsley says his décor stretches through almost a third of his ten acres. “I have a lot of room, so I spread it out,” says Chamberlain. He’s been putting up lights for the last decade, but says he “stepped it up the last six or eight years.” That’s one way to put it. He put up a 550-foot fence just to decorate. “It’s not real high tech. It’s just a big splash of light,” he says, though he admits, “some have motion.” For those interested in taking a look, Chamberlain’s house is located at 2539 Walton Road, about a mile off Blackman Road, just south of Kingsley.

Janean Jones and her business partner Mary Douglas keep spirits bright at their home on the northeast corner of Woodmere and Carver. “It gets grander each year,” says Jones. The two run a lawn service business, which sometimes – like this year – doesn’t give them a lot of time to decorate before the snow flies. They too eschew the likes of lasers and projectors for simple lights...lots of them. “It makes people happy, puts a smile on faces,” says Jones. They even decorate their neighbor’s home, though more simply: A sign that says “Ditto.”

Traverse City Mayor Jim Carruthers and his neighbors go all out. They even host a holiday block party in their shared alley between Tenth and Eleventh Streets, bordered by Pine and Locust (pictured above). “It’s a very social alley,” he says. “It’s all about the holidays and good cheer.” He says somewhere between ten and 15 homeowners participate. And if someone moves in who doesn’t know about the tradition? “When people move in, the neighbors tell (them),” he says. It’s been such a hit that other alley groups are taking up the challenge.

As the various displays become more popular, traffic can sometimes be a problem. “We’ve had bus tours of old folks. It can be bumper to bumper,” says Carruthers.

One way to get around that is by bike. El Grupo Norte is planning its second holiday bike tour on Wednesday, Dec. 21. “It’s a lot of fun,” says Ty Schmidt, the CEO of the non-profit organization that encourages bike riding. Last year the group had about 60 bikers participate. They go through Central neighborhood, Old Town, Boardman, decorated alleys, and end by going down Front Street.

The bikers start at the Workshop Brewing Company and return there at the conclusion of the tour. “We’re quite a parade. It snakes several blocks,” he says.