Last night, we went to the American Lantern Festival at Lyman Orchards in Middlefield and it blew our jaded little minds. We’ve seen a lot of Christmas lights in our day, you know, and after awhile it all gets a bit samey-same. What we failed to realize (despite the name giving it away),is that these aren’t Christmas lights, but lanterns. And lanterns are awesome.

The larger-than-life lanterns are made of silk, porcelain, and steel enhanced by thousands of LED lights and, even unlit, are stunning works of art. Truly, they are dazzling and I loved them all.

If you live within driving distance of Lyman Orchard I highly recommend checking it out! At $26.63 per person 13 and up, it may seem a little pricey, but the experience is completely unique for Connecticut and you can spend as much time as you like exploring the half mile of lanterns. If you have littles, there’s definitely enough going on with the lantern display that they shouldn’t be bored.