(CNN)  -- Thousands of lights dance across the field as holiday music plays in the air. Cars slowly wind their way through displays of elves, candy canes, reindeer and snowmen. Children ooh and aah. Adults smile peacefully. More than 8 million lights create dozens of displays at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Miles away at home, you're on a ladder, in the freezing cold, untangling an impossible string of broken red and green bulbs. Holiday decorating isn't always all it's cracked up to be, but the professionals have it down to a science -- providing memorable experiences filled with wonder and joy.
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Ozark Mountain Christmas draws more than 1.5 million visitors each year
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The Biltmore Estate decorates its 250-room country castle for the holidays
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See millions of lights at The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights
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Christmas at Rockefeller Center in New York is a tradition for many
Jennings Osborne's daughter wanted one thing for @placeholder in 1986: to have their whole house covered in lights.