Do you believe it is Christmas week? I don't know where the time went, let alone the whole year! I had the experience of touring the Dyker Heights holiday lights in Brooklyn. I did not take the tour with Tony at A Slice of Brooklyn tours, but I would recommend for you to do so.
The neighborhood tradition first began in 1986 when Lucy Spata started decorating her house. Although her neighbors weren't thrilled, many of them started decorating their houses as well and this neighborhood tradition was born. I was sad to learn however many of the homes use a service to do the decorating. It can cost up to $25,000 to have their homes decorated, these are mostly very large homes so they take a lot of decor. I feel the joy of the holidays is decorating yourself, and using traditional items passed down from generations. I suppose everyone feels different about this, as I know of services where they will decorate the inside of your home as well.
Well, let's see these famous lights:
I loved this house. I am not a big fan of lots of plastic items in front of a house. I like lights and such, and I actually think less is better. Those toy soldiers were just so darn adorable!
This mailbox opened to find good old Woodstock inside! Love the Peanuts gang and this is such a fun decorative item!
I personally thought this was a bit much. It wasn't too crowded which was great until we got to the main street with all the very big displays. I was very lucky with weather as it was about 55 degrees which is not normal for December in NYC.
This home was probably one of my favorites!
I really loved those stars on the porch. Very pretty!
I really thought this house was just too much. Could have been toned down quite a bit.
This was very moving as a display for 09/11, and had all the flags of the countries where the victims came from at the bottom of the photo.
I hoped you enjoyed a taste of what you will see at this famous holiday light display in Brooklyn. I don't know if I would go back, maybe in a few years, it is something to see for sure!
A Slice of Brooklyn Tours runs trips for this the whole month of December, and for $50 you can have someone who really knows Brooklyn show you around. They leave from Union Square, which I love, and then take you back when the tour is finished. Every tour I have done with Tony has been amazing, and I can't say that enough.
So, what do you think of holiday lights? Simple or over-the-top - what is your preference? I like simple myself, and I love the light displays. It is fun to see the holiday spirit in my hometown as well as in Brooklyn.
I will also tell you these photos were taken with my new toy - the Sony A6000 - and I was very impressed! It is one of the mirrorless cameras, and I do plan a review of it after the holidays. Carrying around a large DSLR can be a bit of a pain, and it's nice to have a smaller camera with lots of power!
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