Dyker Heights, Brooklyn: The most festive place at Christmas

IF YOU thought your Christmas lights were the belle of the neighbourhood ball, take a look at this New York City suburb.

Supplied dyker

IF YOU thought your Christmas lights were the belle of the neighbourhood ball, take a look at this New York City suburb.

Half an hour’s drive from Manhattan, in an area in Brooklyn called Dyker Heights, something special has evolved: A winter wonderland that would certainly put Clark Griswald to shame.

Since its inception in 1984, when Lucy and Angelo Spata — whose displays are arguably the biggest and the best — began decorating their home, the rest of the neighbourhood soon jumped on board. Now, they are known as the best Christmas lights in America. And possibly, the world.

“Most people that live here like it, because it gives the neighbourhood an identity,” a resident on the block told news.com.au.

“Most of the people that visit are nice and polite, so it just makes Christmas a little bit more fun.

“A lot of people do it because they don’t want to be the only house on the block not decorated. It looks awful when everything is so bright, and then there’s one dark spot in the middle of the neighbourhood.”

The lights have become so popular, they attract more than 100,000 visitors every year.

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