HERE IN THE Bay Area, quality, not quantity, defines the holiday lights and home-decoration scene. Some steadfast locals refuse to be satisfied with stringing up a few measly strands of blinking lights to express their holiday spirit. Instead they build ornamental temples, ostentatious towers of electric Babel to which thousands of seasonal visitors can make a photoelectric pilgrimage each December.

The East Bay offers the best neighborhood cruises, as more people tend to adorn their homes there than in San Francisco, where decorated houses are less common – but more tackily grandiose.

Alameda, however, takes the cake hands down for tacky decorated homes. For proof simply troll Holiday Tree Lane (the 3200 block of Thompson Avenue), where 52 brightly lit homes pay homage to Santa, Rudolf, and PG&E. These charming midcentury homes are guaranteed to appeal to your parents' atavistic sensibilities by conjuring memories from a time before electricity shortages and energy rations. Another block in Alameda worth your time is the 3300 stretch of Central Avenue, which resembles a string of electric gingerbread houses, with characters from holiday lore standing guard out front.

Oakland makes for some excellent neighborhood jaunts as well. For two blocks of Picardy Drive (off Seminary Avenue; start at the 5800 block), each house, yard, and tree is completely covered with lights and larger-than-life ornaments. The 2900-3000 block of Millsbrae Avenue (also off Seminary) offers yet another fascinating display of neighborly unity in decorative coordination. And whatever you do, do not miss the giant talking Santa and his unusual celebrity helpers at 2718 Carmel St. or the nearby homes whose residents attempt to outdo one another each year in a game of pyrotechnic show-and-tell.

San Francisco, while comparatively bare of feverish ornamentation, boasts a few must-see homes for over-the-top displays of incandescent idolatry. And beyond a doubt, 3650 21st St., in Noe Valley, shines at the top of the list, its cascade of giant toys, stockings, wrapped gifts, and Christmas figures nearly tumbling out into the street. The lavish decorations and towering trimmed tree almost make you forget there's an actual home behind this gargantuan holiday scene. After encountering this display, anything else might seem diminished, so perhaps first pay a visit to 68 Castro St., whose luminous wreaths, bright bows, and towering Santa have greeted neighborhood holiday strollers for years.

Lastly, after cruising around and dilating your pupils with the radiant spectrum of red, green, and white lights, walk through the Union Street shopping district, where store owners present a charming display of softly lit trees and festive storefront decorations. The bustling cafés and boutiques evoke a quaint holiday comfort slightly reminiscent of being trapped in a snowball, minus the snow (and the frostbite).

FC