Candy Cane Lane

Fun family Southside tradition! If it is nice outside, park the car a few blocks away and walk around the neighborhood. Much more interactive and enjoyable experience! Make sure to donate to the MACC fund! Thank you to the neighborhood for participating in this longstanding event. :)

Well worth the drive. It is massive how this neighborhood comes together and decorates. So many different displays and lights. We never saw the same thing twice. Actual address is a bit confusing. With at least 4 streets and 2 blocks long it doesn't matter where you start.

A great holiday tradition in Milwaukee. It awesome to see all the houses decorated in such a festive and fun way. I applaud all the great effort put into it.Highlights of the tour: Snoopy decorations, the NASCAR yard, and the yard that "tryed".

In my previous hometown, my family had the tradition of taking one evening during the holidays, grabbing some festive fun cocoa or coffee, and driving around town to gaze at Christmas lights.So, of course, we wanted to continue this tradition in Milwaukee. Our first Christmas here we failed completely. This holiday season we were determined!But, here's the thing. You kinda need to know where the good spots to find festively decked out houses are located.A quick search online brought up some buzz about Candy Cane Lane. A quick search on Yelp brought up this Yelp page. Yahtzee!So, in the car we piled, cocoa in hand to check out Candy Cane Lane.What a delight! The participating neighborhood is easily spotted by the white and red candy striped trees. We wandered through the neighborhood and were dazzled by the darling displays. Does every house in the 'hood participate? No.Do I care?Also, no.I fully appreciate those that do. There's everything from holy displays, cartoon themed displays, and, of course the gloriously tacky. There's a little something for everyone.Special shout out to the Golden Girls themed yard. You're amazing. Thank you for being a friend.We went later on a Sunday evening (9ish) and easily made our way through with no backlog of vehicles. But, I hear it can get a little busy (like bumper to bumper). So, you may want to choose your time wisely. It runs 11/23-12/26. So, you've got a month of evenings to choose from. Oh! And, it's an entirely charitable display. Born with the express purpose of raising funds for the MACC fund. What's not to love about that?Get to it!

It's been many years since I've been back to Milwaukee for the holiday to visit family. We decided to take a trip down memory lane and head over to Candy Cane Lane. It was a first time for my wife. We had nothing better to do and were in the Christmas spirit.Maybe I'm just getting older and it isn't as special, but to me it seemed like they were slacking this year. Sure, some of the houses went all out, but it was only about 15% of them. 10% did nothing. The rest were half assed attempts. It used to be 75% all out.It's cool they collect donations to go to a good cause. It's nice that a lot of drivers go without headlights. It certainly was a lot less crowded that I was anticipating.One of my good buddies from high school lives in the middle of one of the streets in the heart of Candy Cane Lane. I remember how much he hated Christmas because it took him an extra 15 minutes to come and another to go during the holidays. I always laughed at him.I don't see myself making a recommendation to check this out to anyone else in the near future. Perhaps if there are little kids around that could sway my view.

Christmas tradition: checkVariety of decorated homes/Griswold's Christmas: checkBringing together a community: checkCollecting for a cause: checkFree: checkCandy Cane Lane has been around for as long as I can remember... okay, I'm getting old and my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be but let's just say it has been around for 30+ years. Christmas is all about traditions. This was something we did as a family. Now I'm doing this with my kids because it's fun to "believe" and it is amazing the families in this small pocket of homes in West Allis (92n and Oklahoma) that is proud to have people drive up and down their road or better yet, walk the side walks to look at their lights and decorations. Santa and Mrs. Claus may be there as well greeting kids and each car, and handing out candy canes (donate for a good cause). If you haven't been here, look for the trees decorated as Candy Canes and the long line of cars patiently waiting their turn.If you like this, you may like Country Christmas at the former Country Springs now Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee just off of I 94 ($20 per car load). But Candy Cane Lane is the true Christmas spirit.Thank you to those homes that are providing this holiday tradition for all these years. Thank you for every home in the area that puts up with the traffic.

It's a West Allis tradition of going to see Christmas lights that started a looooong time ago. In fact, I remember when it was in the neighborhood just northeast of 84th and Oklahoma! Since it has moved to it's present day location, however, it seems to have grown in popularity by leaps and bounds! The boundaries of Candy Cane Lane are marked by trees wrapped up like candy canes and spans about 12 blocks, from Oklahoma Ave. to Montana Ave. and 93rd to 96th streets. On a busy night (especially if there is snow on the ground), expect to move at a snail's pace. Not so great for the driver, but awesome for the passengers who get to really get a good look at the houses and take nice pictures.The current neighborhood has chosen the MACC Fund (Milwaukee Area Childhood Cancer) and Food For Families as it's charities of choice and collects canned goods as well as cash donations at either the intersection of 94th and Manitoba or 94th and Dakota, so expect delays there.Not all the houses participate, but most do, even if it's just simple lights around an outdoor tree.The highlights for me this year were the inflatable Chewbacca (I thought he'd be taller....he was only 3 feet tall!) and the leg lamp from A Christmas Story, with a box marked Fragile out in front.Don't be a Scrooge, pack up the fam, grab the hot chocolate and cookies, and drive on over to West Allis to enjoy the season that only comes once a year!2/2016

Get the family out for some holiday spirit! Crank up the heat, roll down your windows, and turn up the Christmas music. That's how we do it. The idea may seem a little cheesy or corny, but it's not. There's quite a diversity of holiday decorations and themes. The majority of the neighborhood participates. A lot of the home owners spend a lot of time and money to make the drive worth while. I love the wow factor and the sense of humor some of the residents exhibit.It's a local tradition and a fund raiser for the MACC fund.

Candy Cane Lane is a long standing Milwaukee tradition. It's easy to find, just look for the trees wrapped like candy canes lining the streets near 92nd and Oklahoma. The displays range from "Wow, did you see that!" and "Hey, I tried to keep up with the Jone's, to "Bah Hum Bug." But if you are looking for an area of town to get in the Christmas spirit, this is one of the places to go. Participation seems to vary from year to year, but the key houses that I remember from many years ago seem to be still going strong. I appreciate that the neighborhood pulls together for a great cause like the MACC. You can tell that some people really go all out for the kids. My favorite display includes cut outs from Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, awesome job guys. I have been coming since my teen years, and now I bring our own daughter each year. See you guys again next year.

This was extremely underwhelming. We drove a little over a half an hour to check out Candy Cane Lane and I don't think we will be doing this again. Maybe we went too early this year but I feel like a lot of people didn't even have decorations out. It is very neat that they raise money for MACC Fund. I also feel like it is very confusing which roads to go down. Even though they do have candy cane wrapped trees, I feel like there is people in every which way with no direction.