The Holiday Lights Trick

“Holiday lights” are a time-honored trick at botanical gardens.

The trick uses all the same structures and landscapes visitors already know. But it adds dramatic lighting after dark, during a season when people might otherwise stay home. Suddenly the familiar place becomes worth another ticket.

The “holiday lights” trick is an experiential overlay. It temporarily changes how visitors experience a permanent place without changing the place itself.

Zoos, castles, theme parks, and other attractions do this all the time. There are two ingredients, one obvious, the other less so.

First, make the familiar feel new by adding simple decor overlays. (Bonus points if you reuse some of the decorations from last year.)

Second, use the slow period itself as the premise. Darkness, winter, late hours, or seasonality become part of the attraction instead of disadvantages. (See also the Evil Smile Excellent trick.)

Museums could easily use this technique more often, with dramatic lighting, soundscapes, projection, performers, flashlight tours, unusual circulation routes, or temporary thematic interpretation layered over permanent galleries. No new exhibition required.

Here’s the thing:

A new exhibition completely changes what visitors experience.

An experiential overlay like the “holiday lights” trick changes how visitors experience what is already there.

And at least once a year, that’s reason enough to come back.

Warmly,
Jonathan

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Holiday lights trick. An attractions strategy that uses a temporary experiential overlay to make a familiar permanent venue feel new, often during a slow season. It generates paid return visits without changing the underlying attraction. Common in botanical gardens, zoos, and castles, but could be applied widely.