BRIGHT IDEA: SANTA'S RUNWAY

Where:   Marietta, Georgia
How It Happens:   The action begins in November, when families up and down Krissy Longyear's street start hoarding gallon milk jugs to create a flickering Christmas Eve runway designed to guide Santa's sleigh to their neighborhood. The weekend before Christmas, they meet at one of the homes to form an assembly line that would put even industrious elves to shame, cutting holes into some 200 jugs and filling each of them with sand and a votive candle. Then, on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, they come together to load the homemade luminarias -- and the neighborhood kids -- onto a flatbed trailer or pickup truck. With grown-ups walking alongside and the whole crew caroling merrily, they make a circuit of the entire neighborhood, lining up the jugs at regular intervals.

Truly Magical Moment:   At dusk, the neighbors gather again to fire up the runway and share hot chocolate and holiday treats. "For the kids, the runway has become a major part of the holiday," says Krissy. "They're convinced that Santa couldn't find his way without it."

BRIGHT IDEA: A SNEAKY SECRET SANTA

Where:   Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania
How It Happens:   It all started three years ago, when one of Karen Galaydick's neighbors surreptitiously slipped an illuminated plastic Santa onto a friend's porch, along with a note to pass him along. Soon, he was being shuttled in secret onto front steps and rooftops, and up the occasional tree, adding a dash of holiday merriment wherever he appeared. He's become a favorite of the neighborhood kids, who put special effort into sneaking him around. "You never know where he's going to appear," says Karen. "Sometimes, he even shows up during the summer." Gives new meaning, we think, to "You better watch out."