Toronto Christmas lights are all ablaze as the big day nears. And, as per a tradition that we got started last year, what follows is a collection of photos of some of the best and brightest displays. I shudder to think at what the electricity bills are for these elaborate scenes, but always enjoy my trek across the city to scout out the most outlandish set-ups.

It's tough to choose a winner out of this bunch -- which is why I haven't tried -- but I'm always a fan of the house on Somerset just north of Geary. Speaking with the owner last night, he revealed that his display includes between 45,000 and 48,000 lights and takes about two months to put together. Wow. And his might not even be the biggest display in Toronto!

Here are the photos (with captions above each image).

Somerset Avenue

Brock Avenue (near Dundas)

Caledonia Road

Lansdowne (just south of Bloor)

Bartlett Avenue

Shaw (south of Dupont)

Christie Pits

From the blogTO Flickr pool

Location: North York
Photo by AC'63.

Location:Glenlake Avenue
Photo by bigdaddyhame.

Location:Little Portugal
Photo by Joanne Dale.

Location: Parkdale
Photo bybackintheworld.

Location: Benjamin Boake Trail
Photo by MSVG.

Location: not specified
Photo by MSVG.

Location: You know...
Photo by whalechunks.

If you have photos of crazy Christmas light displays, send them to the blogTO Flickr pool.