Hudson Holiday: The lights fantastic

Everyone has their own way of celebrating the New Year: Some prefer to sit by the fire, play board games and watch the ball drop in Times Square on TV, while others crash into it drunk as loons, with confetti, a kiss from a stranger in a crowded room and...

By Susan Froyd

December 30, 2010

Audio By Carbonatix

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Everyone has their own way of celebrating the New Year: Some prefer to sit by the fire, play board games and watch the ball drop in Times Square on TV, while others crash into it drunk as loons, with confetti, a kiss from a stranger in a crowded room and a teary-eyed rendition of "Auld Lang Syne" -- followed, perhaps, by a cab ride home through the wee hours just in time to pass out on the couch. Some folks sit at their desks, pounding out resolution lists; some get tangled up in lists of the year-end variety. But my suggestion to you this year is to spend at least part of your New Year's Eve at Hudson Gardens, drinking in the Museum of Outdoor Arts-sponsored Hudson Holiday lighting display.

Lonnie Hanzon's holiday spectacle is a light show like no other: completely over the top, not to mention simultaneously old-fashioned (horse-drawn carriage rides and an outdoor model train) and avant garde (electric sheep and light-projection orbs). There's a gift shop with refreshments, and for a price, you can even add a shot of something nice to your hot cocoa in celebration of the turning of the decade. Insider's tip: Dine first on an old-fashioned spaghetti-and-meatballs spread at Romano's Italian Restaurant, 5666 S. Windermere Street in Littleton. You might have to wait for a table, but you'll be glad you did.

Page down for more information and a taste of what you'll see at the gardens: Carousel horses and sheep among the stars and spikes: Shrubs alit with blossoms: A choreographed suburban holiday light show with whimsy to spare: A dollhouse village awash in color and detail: A glittering train winding its way through the dark: An inflatable wonderland: A carnival caravan of mechanical dioramas: A glittery apothecary: A time-shifting phone booth: And a TV trip via the wayback machine: A steampunk reverie: A moment with a pretty ballerina: The bubbling candy factory: Electric sheep: A distant blue tree with shooting stars: And hobbit-hole towers:

Cheers! Hudson Holiday will be open from 5 to 9 p.m. nightly through January 2 at the gardens, 6115 South Santa Fe Drive; admission is $6 to $9. And may your New Year be colored with magic and wonder.

Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

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