Dyker Heights Lights 2015
When I moved to New York in 2013, my first boss mentioned that I might like the insane Christmas lights displays put on by the residents of Dyker Heights in Brooklyn. I took her advice, and it has since become one of my favorite holiday outings.
This was the third year in a row that I went, and although the displays don't seem to change much from year to year, I think this is one tradition I'll hold onto for a while. The houses of Dyker Heights are insane enough on their own, but when you drape them in garland, snowmen, pine cones, nativity scenes, inflatable snow globes and every color of light imaginable, well then you get something truly magical.
As with most things, I look for, and appreciate the creepy things the most. I especially love when beloved figures such as Santa or Jesus manage to take on a sinister vibe, whether on purpose or by accident, it's always a delight. This year I revisited my favorite no-eyed choir boy (he had one eye last year)—and one-eyed choir girl—and was terrified by a teeth-baring Santa. But it was definitely the awkward animatronic Santa-and-child tableau that took the prize for strangest decoration of the night.
Of course I loved any statue that looked as if it came from the Magic Forest—a little old, a little busted, a little off—and the Jesus-holding-Christmas-lights was a personal favorite. I definitely recommend going to see the lights on a weeknight—the crowds can get quite overwhelming on a weekend—and definitely go by foot. I appreciate anything that's completely over-the-top on a very personal level (I'm pretty much Clark Griswold) and if you could declare a neighborhood as your spirit animal, I'd have a hard time finding a better match for me than Dyker Heights at Christmas.
