Hi friends, welcome back! I recently made the trek out to Dyker Heights to see all the festive holiday lights. This was my second year going and it seemed there were even more houses participating in the fun than last year. The lights usually go up after Thanksgiving and are on from dusk until about 10pm. Over 100,000 people flock to this neighborhood to see these displays, so it’s no surprise ice cream and hot chocolate trucks are ready for patrons at the most popular intersections.
The Dyker Heights lights started in the 1980s by a resident named Lucy Spata. Her house is the most iconic and located at 1152 84th Street. You really can’t miss it between the bright lights, crowd, and tree announcing the decorations.
The most decked out homes are on 83rd through 85th Street between 11th and 13th Avenue, but I found great displays on my walk from the subway station. If you’re coming from Manhattan, you can take the 2/3 to Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Ctr and then transfer to the Coney Island bound D train to 79th Street. From there it’s about a fifteen-minute walk, but there are plenty of lights to see along the way. In total it took me a little under an hour to get to the main lights.
This house is currently for sale if you want to join in on the fun, but it’s cost you $3.8 million!
As I was walking up 78th Street between 14th and 15th Avenue I stopped to take a picture of this awesome display. The owner was outside and he said it took him seven 16-hour days to do it, but he enjoys doing it. He said the street goes all out for Halloween too so I may have to check that out next year!
I thought it was funny this house found a use for the giant Halloween skeleton.
There’s a large variety of decorations, some are more modest with garland and lights, but others go big with inflatables, music, and figurines. It’s fun getting to see the full array and admire how unique each home is. I read on another blog that it’s rumored some of these decorations cost upwards of $20k! There is a company that does a lot of the homes which you can tell from the signs in the yard.
I spent about an hour walking and fifteen minutes, but I definitely didn’t see every house. You could easily spend two hours here wandering through all the streets.
I went on a Monday night and it was surprisingly pretty busy by 6pm. I saw quite a few tour groups that I tried my best to avoid. I was thinking a tour might be a fun way to see the lights, but then you are looking at the same house with a big crowd and have to stay together. I enjoyed going wherever I pleased and wandering the streets at my own pace. I did notice people being disrespectful and walking up to people’s doorsteps to get a picture, so if you go, just remember these are people’s actual homes and admire them from the sidewalks.
While it’s definitely a trek to get to Dyker Heights, I always think it’s worth it to see these festive displays and get some holiday cheer 🙂 What do you think about these displays?
