Carter Oosterhouse and Taniya Nayak host "The Great Christmas Light Fight"

Deck your halls and toss that tinsel because ABC's "The Great Christmas Light Fight" is coming back for its eighth season. This year's premiere will air on the network, Wednesday, Dec. 9. As usual, the show will run for three consecutive weeks, and each week will feature back-to-back episodes for a total of six shows.

The idea behind the competition is actually pretty simple: the goal is for each team to create an impressively elaborate Christmas light display for the judges. Lifestyle expert Carter Oosterhouse ("Trading Spaces") and renowned interior designer Taniya Nayak ("Rachel Ray") will be hosting and judging the series.

Once again, the series will showcase the incredibly imaginative and fabulously executed Christmas light displays that are designed and brought to life by that week's roster of contestants. Each episode consists of four families, every one of them ready to get their holiday creativity flowing.

The show has become a festive fan favorite, getting viewers in the mood for the holiday season. After all, Christmas can't begin until the light fight starts, so it's no surprise that ABC has already picked up "The Great Christmas Light Fight" for a ninth season, airing in 2021.

The family teams chosen for the show are given just three weeks to build their light displays. Putting up the lights with a whole 21 days to do it might not, at first glance, seem too difficult, but there's a catch: the teams aren't allowed to hire any help. Left to design and build the lighting display completely by themselves is no picnic — a lot of hard work is involved in creating their jolliest layouts.

It is not just how good the lights look that decides each show's winner, either. There are three categories that the judges use to evaluate the displays, from their use of lights to the overall design and, finally, how well their display reflects the spirit of Christmas.

Each competing team's work of art is individually featured on the show, with the judges careful to consider each aspect of the design to decide who gets to walk away with the $50,000 grand prize and, of course, the coveted Light Fight trophy (to be personally delivered to their home by the judges).

In addition to the family contests, the Heavyweights special will be returning for its third year as well this season. The specials are an attempt to take Christmas light decorating to a whole new level. This season will feature the first-ever parade of unique sparkling floats — a mile-long drive-by with what's expected to be over a million synchronized lights. Now that's a light show that even Santa wouldn't miss!

But despite all of its good will and merriment, it looks like this is one show that has also made the naughty list. Hand-in-hand with the popularity of "The Great Christmas Light Fight," there's been some controversy brewing.

Taniya Nayak as seen in "The Great Christmas Light Fight"

Many fans believe that there shouldn't be any for-profit prizes allowed in the Heavyweights special, though there have been several doled out in previous years. Other critics feel strongly that the judges shouldn't consider any interior decorations in their evaluations, either — if you can't see it from the road, it shouldn't count. But it's allowed this season and contestants have gone all out. The Season 8 trailer shows one man putting all of his furniture into storage with the idea of turning his house into a fully functional winter wonderland. And while some of the contestants have featured Disney characters in their displays, there's an ongoing battle about whether they're actually considered "Christmassy" enough. Still, since Walt Disney is ABC's parent company, it's unlikely that they'd be too upset by seeing Disney characters in the displays.

Another ongoing popular discussion involves viewers pointing out that not everyone is a Christian — or even religiously affiliated — even though many choose to celebrate the spirit of the season. So, I guess we'll have to wait and see if the judges make any changes to their criteria.

All disputes aside, the show has become a staple of the holidays. This battle of the lights has become the proverbial star on top of ABC's Christmas tree and, as one online reviewer commented, "If you love Christmas, then this show is a must-see. It is great to see how people decorate their homes, but it also shows us how people make their own displays." Could this be the series that brings the joy back to 2020?

Although the show has yet to win any major awards, producer Brady Connell ("Extreme Makeover: Home Edition") was nominated for the Directors Guild of America's "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs" in 2015.

So, what're you waiting for? Pour yourself a cup of hot chocolate and grab your candy canes because this is one Christmas contest you won't want to miss. You better not pout, you better not cry and you better tune in to the Season 8 premiere of "The Great Christmas Light Fight," airing Wednesday, Dec. 9, on ABC.