During December it gets dark in NYC around 4PM. Which is really rough. Fortunately, an outpouring of twinkle lights creates the perfect antidote. It’s hard to find a street sans some sort of nod to “making spirits bright”. Now, if you’re looking for the brightest place in NYC post 4pm (outside the billboards of Times Square)? Head over to Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.
The Neighborhood So Lit, They Nickname it Dyker Lights
Dyker Heights goes ALL OUT for Christmas. A spectacular sight to see. Anyone can go walk around this deep Brooklyn neighborhood and get a dazzling eye-full! However, it’s not exactly easily to get to. We’re talking multiple hours on different subway trains, followed by sizable walks from residential stations. No one has time for that kind of trip in December! Unless it’s their job!
A Slice of Brooklyn has done just that, offering tours of Dyker Heights through out the season.
You’ll get maximum CHEER packed into their 3 hour Christmas Lights tour, and the minimal time spend out in the cold is more than worth cheering about. I was lucky enough to take in their tour this past weekend. Such Christmas joy!
Every single tour guide who works with this company is a native Brooklynite. Which gives the whole operation a neighborhood, family feel. They extend that to every single person who takes one of their tours. Step on one of their tour buses and you’ll feel welcomed like family. There’s a real knack here for personal connection and comradely. It touches everyone on the whole bus and it’s something special.
Think you’ll find anything like that in Rockefeller Center? FUHGETTABOUTIT.
I jumped with glee to find out Marc was leading my tour Friday night! I was lucky enough to stuff my face with Marc on A Slice of Brooklyn’s premier pizza tour and to this time have him as our genuine Rudolph? It was like Christmas came early! “Won’t guide my tour tonight?” Guiding us not through fog, but through the Brooklyn streets, his red A Slice of Brooklyn jacket as bright as any mutant reindeer nose. Marc’s my fave, the perfect tour guide trifecta of charming, hilarious, and highly informed. I’m confident all their guides are as great!
Marc even comforted me during a surprise scary moment on the tour:
“A Times Square Elmo!? WHY IS IT HERE, MARC??? Are they following me!??? I’M SCARED!”
He assured me this Elmo was not a dreaded Time Square creature but actually a fun addition for children. His furry presence arranged by Lucy, the woman who owns the above house and who’s gone down in history for starting the trend for over-the-top decorations in Dyker Heights. This Elmo collects donations for legit charity causes! Wow!
The stories you’ll hear on this tour include some goodhearted neighborhood gossip and an inside scoop on the home owners who make all the displays possible. That Santa above is a giant animatronic puppet, so massive it requires a crane for placement in the yard.
Dyker Heights spares no expense to spread Holiday Cheer. It’s mind-boggling,
This is the home of a man nick-named “Sam the Greek”. Some other houses hire professional decorators to complete their looks (I know, mind boggling). Sam the Greek makes all these himself. MIND. BOGGLING. If you look closely, you’ll see an entire miniature winter village behind glass. Even closer and you’ll see it’s all on top of a koi pond.
I live for details like this! Only in Brooklyn! Sam the Greek’s is the last house you’ll see on the A Slice of Brooklyn Tour, one you almost certainly wouldn’t stumble upon any other way.
As you can see, I had a fantastic time. A huge thanks to A Slice of Brooklyn for inviting me and sharing your holiday magic! You can still find some tickets available now through December 30th but it is selling out FAST. Check their website for scheduling here.
If you’re looking for a unique gift for someone who is hard to shop for, who is visiting NYC soon or lives here and just loves pizza/ chocolate (HELLO EVERYONE), check out my posts on A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tour and their Chocolate Tour. Tickets to events you can experience together make GREAT, MEMORABLE gifts!
I’d love to hear about the memorable Christmas light displays you’ve seen this year or in the past!
Good write! We miss the holiday lights in whole neighborhoods. We had them back home in the Dallas-Ft Worth area. Thanks for the trip!
Tip recently posted…Opening Night
I admittedly hadn’t heard of this until this year, and when I saw Time Out NYC posted about it on FB, I immediately sent to Leo & said “we should go!” Shockingly, he was on board. There were no tours left (all sold out when I checked!) but we drove in from Long Island — over an hour in traffic — a couple of Saturdays ago and was pleasantly surprised by the sights. What a cool thing to do and something I absolutely recommend for anyone who lives close by 🙂
Ali A recently posted…Christmas Songs, Decoded
Wow well thank his certainly looks like it is well worth a visit the lights and all the added extras look amazing. I used to love visiting Oxford Street in London as a child to see all of the window displays and lights.
Oh em gee! all those lights! so many of them ahah! People are really serious about christmas! xx corinne
corinne & kirsty recently posted…A Guide To Instagrammable Paris
Oh my goodness! Those lights are seriously incredible. I love seeing houses that have gone all out for Christmas. My grandma used to drive me and my sister around an estate near where I live that’s had lots of houses with many lights. Great post! Xx
I’ve never seen anything like this, the lights are absolutely spectacular! You are so lucky to live here, what an amazing tour!
Lisa | http://www.lisasnotebook.com