Christmas lights and decorations aren’t a big thing in Joburg. A huge percentage of the city’s houses are behind high walls, and a huge percentage of the city’s residents leave town for the Christmas/summer holidays. So most Joburgers don’t bother with outdoor Christmas decorations, but I recently learned about a notable exception: Moray Drive in Bryanston.

The Moray Drive Christmas display, masterminded by Bryanston resident Danielle Goff, a.k.a. Mrs. Claus, has apparently been an annual tradition for the past 18 years. I only found out about it a couple of weeks ago, thanks to a post by my friend Kennedy of Microadventure Tours, and Thorsten and I drove up to Bryanston this week to check it out. Bryanston is quite a trek from Brixton but the drive was totally worth it — this is a true Joburgian experience.

Visiting the Christmas Lights/Decorations of Moray Drive

I wanted to check out the decorations in daylight and the lights at night. So we drove up at around 5:30 p.m., took a stroll up and down the street as the sun went down, then grabbed dinner and came back again after dark. There are lots of different things to see both before and after dark so I recommend this approach if you are a true Christmas enthusiast.

The entire display stretches for about three or four blocks — between Cumberland Avenue and Logan Avenue — but the serious stuff is concentrated around 55 Moray Drive, which I assume is Mrs. Claus’ house. Read more about Mrs. Claus, who seems to be a very colorful person, in this article by the Sandton Chronicle.

We found a few parking spaces at the far end of the display, near the intersection of Moray Drive and Logan Avenue, and meandered our way up from there. The decorations pick up steam as you get closer to Mrs. Claus’ house.

The pièce de résistance of the entire street is definitely the Mrs. Claus hut and surrounding display in front of 55 Moray Drive. Words don’t sufficiently describe it.

And then we came back later for the lights, which are fabulous and not to be missed.

I rate this Joburg Christmas experience a 10 out of 10. Go check it out if you’re around during the holidays. Follow Mrs. Claus on Facebook for more information.

Thorsten and I are leaving town for an exciting road trip tomorrow. (Yes, I’ve become one of those Joburgers — checking out on 15 December.) So this will probably be my final post of 2023, but I’ve got a ton of exciting content planned for early 2024. Thanks for reading! Happy holidays.