See holiday lights, support the food bank, plus Christmas decorating trends

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated with additional locations.

Delaware Online/The News Journal asked readers who love decorating their home and yard for the holidays to join in a fundraiser for the Food Bank of Delaware. For a donation to the Food Bank, we are highlighting those homes on a map so people can drive by to see the special holiday displays.

"All of us at Delaware Online and The News Journal are excited to encourage residents to decorate their homes to not only spread holiday cheer but also help the Food Bank of Delaware feed those in need throughout our state," said Delaware Online/The News Journal executive editor Michael Feeley.

Suggested routes for all the stops on our Delaware holiday light map

Want to hit all of the places?

For places north of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, MapQuest's Route Planner suggests the following order of stops for the shortest drive time. The total drive time for the 56-mile route is one hour and 40 minutes.

• 42 Emerald Ridge Drive, Bear, Delaware 19701

• 2264 St. James Drive, Wilmington, Delaware 19808

• 465 Haystack Drive, Newark, Delaware 19711

• 137 Fairhill Drive, Wilmington, Delaware 19808

• 6580 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin, Delaware 19707

• 1901 Rockland Road, Wilmington, Delaware 19803

• 221 Pinehurst Road, Wilmington, Delaware 19803

• 2115 Exton Drive, Wilmington, Delaware 19810

• 2126 Coventry Drive, Wilmington, Delaware 19810

• 303 Second Ave., Wilmington, Delaware 19804

• 507 Boxwood Road, Wilmington, Delaware 19804

• 2525 Newell Drive, Wilmington, Delaware 19808

For places south of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, MapQuest's Route Planner suggests the following order of stops for the shortest drive time. The total drive time for the 70.7-mile route is two hours and 4 minutes.

• 131 W. Lucky Estates Drive, Harrington, Delaware 19952

• 208 Ludlow Lane, Felton, Delaware 19943

• 33 Seldon Drive, Smyrna, Delaware 19977

• 11 Felix View Court, Smyrna, Delaware 19977

• 240 Ebenezer Church Road, Townsend, Delaware 19734

• 400 Rederick Lane, Middletown, Delaware 19709

• 530 Wheelmen St., Middletown, Delaware 19709

• 204 Baldy Lane, Middletown, Delaware 19709

• 126 Green Forest Drive, Middletown, Delaware 19709

• 103 Cazier Drive, Middletown, Delaware 19709

• 106 Cazier Drive, Middletown, Delaware 19709

How to add your home to the holiday light map

To put your house or business on the map, fill out the form below. If the form isn't displayed, you can use this link.

The cost to be listed on our holiday lights map is $15. Delaware Online/The News Journal's Needy Family Fund will match up to $5,000 of donations. So the more houses we have on the map, the more we're helping our neighbors in need. Donations can be made even if you don't want to be included on the map.

“As we embrace the joy of the holiday season, let us also embrace the giving spirit of Delawareans," said Cathy Kanefsky, Food Bank of Delaware president and CEO. "Together, we can ensure that all of our neighbors have the nourishment they deserve this season. The true spirit of the season is not in the gifts we exchange, but in the way we give back.”

Submit your spectacular display today!

What are Delaware's popular holiday decorations, hot new trends?

Holiday decorating is a matter of what suits your taste, with many people sticking with charming, old-fashioned designs while others choose items that are more eye-catching, like synchronized light shows and large inflatable figures of Santa and children's favorite cartoon characters.

At Homestead Gardens, formerly Ronny’s Garden World, in Smyrna, the top-selling holiday decorations include traditional ornaments and lights but also new trends.

“A lot people are looking for red velvet items and we’ve also sold a lot of snowflake white ornaments and ones that look like they’re frosted with snow,” said Gabrielle Ayala, hard goods and deco manager.

Carmella DeLuca, customer service manager, said red and white decorations are the most popular.

“People go nuts for ornaments with designs like peppermint twists," she said. "Gingerbread houses with snow are another favorite."

“We’ve also had a wave of younger people, usually first-time home buyers, who are looking for more neutral colors — gold, copper and earth tones,” DeLuca said.

Another trend this year has been “minimalist” decorations — simpler, less flashy — for example “decorations made of cloth, yarn or twine, not beaded or glittery,” DeLuca said.

Some of their best-selling brands of ornaments and decorations are from Bella’s and Glenhaven, while the Lifelike brand of tree is their most popular, especially the Kensington design.

“People like how full the Kensington is. It has very dense foliage and a lot of branches, so there’s no holes or open spots,” said DeLuca.

That brand of tree works well with one new trend, ornaments on thin, foot-long rods that can be stuck into the branches like a flower arrangement, instead of hung with hooks. These ornaments are usually larger and so decorating can take less time if you fill the tree with fewer, larger ornaments – and you don’t have to worry about finding hooks.

A new favorite the past couple of years has been celestial lights by Season’s Designs that are figures like a penguin or Santa Claus in a chimney top that are about 2 to 3 feet tall and lighted from the inside, so the whole figure glows.

Another hot seller has been the infinity light by Melrose, where it looks like the lights around Santa or a reindeer go back endlessly.

As far as best sellers online, Amazon.com lists dozens of trending holiday decorations including:

• An illusion doormat by WPOZD that looks like the Grinch is emerging from a black hole,

• Transparent gift boxes, lighted from the inside and wrapped with red bows, for indoor or outdoor use, plastic on a metal frame, by Funpeny,

• Three inflatable snowmen that look like they’re carrying each other on their shoulders, decked out with scarves, hats and candy canes, by Joiedomi.

How do your decorating habits compare with other Americans?

When do you decorate for the holidays? How much do you spend? Real tree or artificial?

See how you compare in this study about holiday decorating by Lombardo Homes using a survey of 1,000 Americans ranging in age from 18 to 77 with an average age of 43.

Average amount spent on decorations this year:

$140

When do you decorate for the holidays?

• Before Thanksgiving: 14%

• Week after Thanksgiving: 48%

• First week of December: 23%

• Second week of December or later: 15%

Are you spending more, less or the same on Christmas decorations in 2023 compared with 2022?

• More: 7%

• Less: 27%

• Same: 66%

Do you prefer a real or an artificial Christmas tree?

• Real: 33%

• Artificial: 67%

When do you take down your tree?

• Dec. 26: 5%

• Between Christmas and New Year’s Day: 22%

• Jan. 2: 22%

• After the first week in January: 51%

Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.

Looking for holiday info?: Welcome to our 2023 Christmas Guide, one-stop for a perfect winter holiday season

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Add your house to our holiday lights map and support the Food Bank