By: Maria Allard | Roseville-Eastpointe Eastsider | Published December 12, 2025
ROSEVILLE — St. Nicholas rode right down Santa Claus Lane during the Roseville Neighborhood Watch Group’s sixth annual Holiday Lights on Wheels Parade Dec. 6.
During the two-hour parade, about 40 cars and trucks — decorated with twinkling lights, inflatable Christmas characters and more — dashed through the streets bringing season’s greetings. The convoy included Roseville police, the Midwest Jeep Junkies and Sinister Jeeps clubs, and a Roseville Community Schools bus.
The parade was created in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It became such a popular event that it returns every year. With horns honking, the vehicles jingled all the way through different parts of the city where spectators watched from their homes and front lawns. The parade always drives through the parking lots of various senior adult care facilities, including American House I on Common Road.
“It’s a huge event here,” American House I Executive Director Chris Jackson said. “They’ve been talking about it all week. They talk about reminiscing with their families, and putting the kids in the car to go see lights.”
Life enrichment director Angela Martin buys glow sticks for everyone so they can wave at the drivers as they pass by.
“It really is cool to see all the vehicles in succession,” Martin said.
Some residents preferred to view the parade from the dining room or library, while others took in the colorful lights from their apartments. Resident Richard Golibart, 78, dressed for the occasion by wearing a Santa Claus hat and a necklace with jingle bells. This marked the first time he saw the parade.
“I’ve got a beautiful view. To me it brings back memories with the people I talk to here. Grade school, high school, things we did in our youth,” Golibart said. “I’m the oldest of seven children. Back in the day, Christmas was so much about, ‘You better be nice because Santa Claus is coming.’”
One of the best gifts Golibart ever received was a transistor radio.
“I could listen to my own music,” he said. “It was such a big thing.”
While waiting for the parade, Darrin Mikus; his wife, Margaret; and her mom, Kathy Cinnamon, gathered by Golibart in the dining room.
“The buzz is alive here,” Mikus said of the parade. “They’re all excited to see it, so you know it’s good.”
“It’s just a good time for everyone,” Cinnamon said of the holidays. “Everyone seems to be in a better mood welcoming all their friends and family.”
One memory for Golibart was the time his mom made meatloaf for dinner.
“She had set this meatloaf up in the kitchen. It wasn’t a big home, but we had our dining room that fit all of us kids,” Golibart said. “Well, the dog smelled the meatloaf when we were away from the kitchen and took a bite out of it. It ruined the dinner.”
“But it made a great memory, right?” Mikus, 60, said.
Mikus’ family traditions include “Secret Santa,” time with the grandchildren and playing a variety of Christmas music at home. And it’s not a Merry Christmas unless he watches the classic film “It’s A Wonderful Life.”
“It’s a long movie, but I love seeing it in the black and white,” Mikus said. “It just has such a good meaning of what Christmas is all about.”
With their glow sticks in hand, Karen Auch and Sharon Lyon stayed warm and snug inside the dining room waiting for the holiday parade. Auch got into the spirit of the event by wearing a Santa Claus headband, while Lyon opted for a Christmas tree style.
“You got to catch the face on one of the buses,” Auch, 77, told Lyon as the parade made its way to the parking lot. “The face on the bus is great.”
“It’s nice to be social,” Lyon, 91, said. “I think this is a nice thing they do. They put a lot of effort into it.”
“It warms your heart they’re willing to take the time to drive through,” Auch said. “They got a lot of lights on their cars. It’s very festive.”
“There’s Santa up there,” Lyon pointed out, waving her glow stick. “There’s a snowman in each of the windows.”
Lyon’s father was a World War I veteran. The holiday parade reminded her of the Veterans of Foreign Wars parades she saw as a kid.