Wacky and tacky may not be the first words that come to mind when considering the holiday season. But a Birmingham-based nonprofit is helping people embrace the “kitsch” in Christmas while raising money to help children with limited incomes attend science and nature camps next summer.

It’s the annual Wacky Tacky Christmas Light Tour, put on by Fresh Air Family, an organization that offers outdoor activities around the state to help expose children and families to Alabama’s natural beauty.

Santa’s outhouse as part of Wacky Tacky Christmas

On the evenings of Dec. 15 and 16, the organization will provide guided tours on big yellow school buses of the “best of the worst, and the wackiest” Birmingham-area Christmas light displays. Participants are encouraged to don their wackiest and tackiest Christmas sweaters while enjoying what the organization joyfully describes as an “anti-Norman Rockwell” Christmas tradition.

“This is the fourth year we’ve done it, and it just keeps growing,” said Verna Gates, Fresh Air Family executive director. “The first year we started with two buses. Then it grew to eight. And last year we had 20 buses.”

Gates said money raised from the event, which includes tacky snacks and drinks, supports scholarships for children attending the organization’s summer “Gross-Out” camps – a field-biology program that lets kids get just a little dirty while learning about animals and science. Gates said more than 40 percent of children in the program, offered around the state, receive some financial assistance.

Fresh Air Family also offers some 400 educational day trips and hikes around the state year-round for families, as well as in-school education programs.

This year’s tacky tour features a broad spectrum of over-the-top holiday displays, including a Santa trailer park, tree-top Santas, and the ever-popular “Auburn House,” which features both of the state’s collegiate rivals plus a blow-up leg lamp, made famous in the holiday movie classic, ”A Christmas Story.”

There’s even a Hanukkah display on the tour, for those celebrating a different holiday this season.

Gates said buses run every 20 minutes, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., both evenings. The tours begin at Avondale Brewing Company in the South Avondale neighborhood of Birmingham. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for children 12 and younger. Fresh Air Family members pay $20 for adults and $7.50 for children.

Gates said groups can also reserve their own buses through Fresh Air Family. Last year, participating groups included a church, office parties and a book club.

To learn more and to reserve your spot, visit the Wacky Tacky Christmas Light Tour. To learn more about Fresh Air Family, visit their website.