There are many things that Cayman does very well and one of them is Christmas light displays. The decorations start going up in early December. By mid-month the island is ablaze. House after house after condo after condo after shopping mall after hotel – dense strings of lights are shaped around palm trees, buildings and structures to create brilliant colourful displays. An evening drive through residential neighbourhoods and along Seven Mile Beach is a quick way to get in the holiday spirit.

Two perennial favourites are the displays at the Bodden home in South Sound (photo above) and at the Crighton property in Red Bay. The entire house and yard are strung and additional lighted structures are built to add to the array. Thousands of strings of lights take days to install and require a dedicated storage unit for each of these homeowners who clearly love The Christmas. Visiting these properties is a tradition for many local children who are mesmerized by the lights. We enjoy walking the grounds and watching the children staring up at the tall displays and running around the lighted reindeer, mechanized gingerbread houses and candy-cane lined paths.

Seven Mile Beach is lit up like a county fair with decorations and lights of every color draping the condo landscaping, hotel entries and shopping plaza store fronts. The national Christmas tree is installed at Camana Bay which is also the site for the Parade of Lights (boats circle the harbour competing for best decoration). More to come on this.