Did you know one of the best Christmas lights displays in Austin is Harry Potter themed? That’s right! The Wizarding World is alive and well at the Harry Potter House in the South Austin neighborhood of Circle C.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Harry Potter House Christmas light display in 2024!
First off, we must let you know that 2024 will be the last year for the display. The homeowners posted the following:
After years of putting our hearts into this display, we have made the bittersweet decision to put down our wands, and move on to our next adventure. We have thoroughly enjoyed sharing the holidays with all our friends, family, neighbors and our community—both here in Austin, and those who follow our journey online every year. Thank you for sharing your holidays with our family, and for your support over the years. We will wrap up this season knowing that, with the help of your generous donations, we really have done some good for kids in our community. And more than ever, it would mean the world to us if you would consider donating this final year (Venmo: @DiagonalleyAtx).
Now, here’s everything you need to know about the current display. The yard features a Hogwarts Castle Christmas display honoring the Yule Ball! You’ll see the Great Hall, the Astronomy Tower, and the Marble Staircase Tower. There’s a patronus or two and lots of hidden details. New for 2024, the flying Ford Anglia can be seen in the tree with some giant spiders fleeing the scene. And that’s not all… the display also features a music-timed light show.
Light shows usually run every half hour from 5:30 to 8 p.m. during the weekdays and additional shows will run at 9 and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Located in Circle C’s Vintage Place, across from the park, the home’s cross streets are Slaughter Lane and Bungalow.
The display should be up until the end of the year. When visiting please stay off the lawn and respect the neighborhood and neighbors.
Wondering about the history of the Harry Potter house?
Owner Joel Pace originally created the display for Halloween to cheer up his wife when she was diagnosed with cancer. Since then, each year’s display has gotten bigger and better and a few years back, he started transitioning the display from Halloween to Christmas.
“After my wife recovered, we had a bunch of, you know, family, friends and people in the neighborhood want us to continue it. And we decided to use it for a good cause and start raising money for certain charities that we support,” Pace told KVUE.
The family accepts donations for local charities and does not keep any portion of your donations for materials or expenses related to the project. In 2024, all money collected will be split between Foster Angels of Central Texas, Variety Texas, and ZACH Theatre. Please consider donating. There’s a sign in the yard you can scan to donate via Venmo (account name: @DiagonAlleyAtx).
In case you missed it, the house was featured on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2022.
