It's Christmas Eve and, all over the city, homes are adorned with lights and holiday decorations. While some look fantastic, others are outright gaudy (it's a matter of opinion, I suppose). Many are so confused in theme that they become hard to interpret. Nevertheless, the keen/crazy homeowners with the most enthusiasm/budget/spirit tend to try to outdo themselves and others every year. In some parts of the city, neighbours pool their efforts to make their part of the street, in their part of the city, a seasonal, local tourist attraction of sorts.

A few weeks ago, we polled our readers on Twitter, asking for tips on where we might find the wackiest or most impressive holiday light displays in Toronto. Derek and I then got out and about with our cameras and visited as many as we could this week. So without further ado... here are some of the most impressive Christmas light setups in Toronto...

Purple and red are the palette of choice at

1486 King St. West (at Dowling). Several wreaths adorn the facade of the home, and the owners even get the car involved by filling their jeep with lights and teddy bears:

Definitely one of the most excessive and eclectic setups in the city is on

Brock at Frankish (across from McCormick Arena). Pretty much every religious and commercial icon of the Christmas holidays is represented here, including the manger scene, Santa, snowmen, reindeer, angels, bells, penguins, gingerbread people and more. The neighbours next door have a much more modest but complimentary light setup.

Along

Gladstone, just south of Dundas there are several homes that have gotten into the collective lighting spirit, many focusing on reindeer as a common theme.

This house, on

Dufferin at Bank, has a windowed veranda full of white lights - with religious and Santa Claus iconography sharing the spotlight.

I think I found the home of Frosty the Snowman here on

Gore Vale south of Dundas.

And the Archdiocese of Toronto at

Grace and Mansfield have setup up a full-size nativity scene, complete with lambs and the Three Wisemen on camels.

Already pretty wacky without the Christmas adornments, this house near

Caledonia and St. Clair actually has a sign instructing visitors to "knock on the door if [they] would like to see the Nativity set." I wonder how many people actually take the homeowner(s) up on this offer. Judging by the amount of traffic chaos I've seen it lead to, I would have to think it's more than a few...

But my personal favourite is this winter wonderland near

Somerset and Geary (also featured in the lead image). If sapping as much energy as possible was the goal, I think it's safe to say "mission accomplished." But, hey, I may be poking fun, but damn it if it wasn't a blast to check this place out.

Across the street, there is also a pretty impressive display, complete with Christmas carols playing out of a hidden speaker.

More tasteful is this set-up on

Bartlett south of Davenport. There's something quite wintery about the blue lights, even in the absence of snow.

And, of course, there's the holiday tiger at

Bloor and Christie.According to Toronto Life's urban decoder, "the Korea Town Business Improvement Area lights him up every winter to symbolize, according to Korean mythology, well-being and prosperity." The decoder also reveals that Baekho is "made out of more than 1,300 pounds of aluminum and 22,000 orange and white LED bulbs... and came with a $50,000 price tag..." Wow. That's, um, pretty expensive.

To see the above photos in full-screen detail, check out high resolution slideshows here and here.