Tis that time of year for: Rows...

Tis that time of year for: Rows of houses drenched with blinking lights of all colors. Rooftops loaded with Santas on sleighs--or surfboards. Yards filled with motorized toys that sing or dance or fly. Streets packed with creeping cars of gawkers.

Elaborate Christmas displays have blossomed in neighborhoods throughout the Southeast. Here are but a few examples:

* Long Beach: The upper-scale Naples area is saturated with brightly lit houses and exotic displays along the Rivo Alto Canal. From 2nd Street on Naples Island, turn toward the ocean a few blocks and find a place to park. This neighborhood is best viewed on foot from the sidewalks along both sides of the canal. It makes a big loop and can be a long walk if you want to see it all. Wear comfortable shoes and dress warmly at night.

* Cerritos: Thirty homes on Castle Place and Kings Row Avenue in Cerritos are decorated as a group with brilliant displays of lights and Christmas scenes. The neighborhood is so popular among sightseers that sheriff’s deputies have created a special traffic lane on westbound South Street in the vicinity of the San Gabriel River to direct the flow of cars in a continuous pattern through the two streets.

* Commerce: A group of homes on Boris Avenue and Bartmus Street alongside the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) are decked out with lights for the holidays. From the northbound I-5 use Washington Boulevard exit, right on Telegraph Road, right on Washington under the freeway, right on Fidelia Avenue, right on Jillson Street, left on Boris and left on Bartmus.

* Downey: The city’s traditional Nativity scene, featuring life-size figures and animals, is at the First Baptist Church of Downey, 8348 E. 3rd St., (near City Hall). The Nativity scene, sponsored by the Downey Christmas Assn., a private organization, was moved from City Hall after a Superior Court ruled earlier this year that such a display on city property “conveys a message of endorsement of religion in violation of the (Constitution).”

* Whittier: Several homes in the 6000 block of Acacia Street have been decorated to the hilt. From the 605 Freeway, take the Whittier Boulevard exit, Whittier Boulevard to Magnolia Avenue, north on Magnolia to Broadway Road, east to Acacia, then turn left.