New Yorkers are known for going all-out. We've got the world's tallest buildings, the world's largest menorah, and the best holiday activities on the planet.
It's true that Manhattan wins in the category of storefront displays and public Christmas trees, but the outer boroughs slam dunk over Manhattan when it comes to decorous homes.
We'll just go ahead and say it: NYC's outer boroughs have got to have the most dazzling, stunning, brightly lit holiday light displays in the entire country.
Should you go to Pelham Gardens in the Bronx? Should you go to Jamaica Estates, Queens? How about Staten Island?
You could go to any of these places, but if you want to go to Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, we recommend you do it in style. TailBus will bring you there, hassle free, from Union Square. You'll also get to guzzle champagne and cocktails the entire bus ride.
We have a better idea. How about you try and see all those places. We really want to know how much sensory stimulation can you handle?
If the answer is a lot, read on to discover the 6 neighborhoods with the most brilliant holiday light displays in NYC.
1. Pelham Gardens - the Bronx
Via The New York Times
The Christmas House of the Garabedian Family is a beloved Bronx tradition. The Garabedian family has been decorating the exterior of their home every year for the past 29 years with nearly 200 animated figurines.
The figurines don't just sit there. They dance to upbeat holiday music. Just about every inch of the Garabedian's house is decorated with Disney characters and dolls; dolls that Gary Garabedian re-mounts and then dismantles every evening.
The Garabedian house is exorbitant, but it's also beautiful, inviting, and bursting with holiday spirit. Everyone remembers their first trip to the Garabedian house. Many describe it as both magical and true to the meaning of the holidays.
Only the Grinch or Scrooge would refer to the Garabedian's house as over the top. Also, Mariah Carey shot part of her "All I Want for Christmas Is You" video in front of the Garabedian house, so if it looks familiar to you, that's why.
2. Whitestone - Queens
Via YouTube
If you haven't seen Kevin Lynch's house in Whitestone, you are truly missing out. Like, to the point that you should get in your car and drive there tonight. The house has half a million lights and thousands of plastic statues adorned wherever the Lynches can fit them.
They start decorating in September.In 2013, the Lynch's won the reality TV show Great Christmas Light Fight on ABC. The Lynch Family won $50,000 from the competition.
"I was jumping, screaming. I went crazy," said Kevin Lynch. "After the show was over, every single one of my neighbors was on the block. People are coming by, honking their horns."
What did the Lynch family do with their winnings? Well, they spent it on their Christmas decorations, of course. Last year, their decorations were upgraded with LED lights to make the display brighter.
"You can see this house from pretty far away now," Kevin Lynch said. "My goal is to see it from space. We're not there yet, but we're getting there."
We can't even imagine what the Lynch's electricity bill must be, but we do know that their house is worth a visit.
3. Jamaica Estates - Queens
Via DNAinfo
Located at the intersection of 80th Drive and Chevy Chase Street, Anthony Gurino's holiday lights are worth a trip.
Anthony Gurino's property is so massive, it takes up an entire block. It even has its own Facebook page, on which Gurino wrote, "The lights are on, and it is so exciting to finally see everyone's smiling faces as we celebrate in the spirit of Christmas," on November 27th.
The Gurino's house is also interactive. It includes a coffee and hot chocolate station, and free cookies for all. They've got holiday music playing on a loop, of course, and you can even get close enough to marvel at the house's window displays.
"My grandfather is really carrying on the tradition of my grandmother. She passed away many years ago now. And he likes to give to the community too," Anthony Gurino's grandson, also named Anthony Gurino, said.
Last year, the family enlisted Christmas carolers to come sing for visitors, and they also set up a Toys for Tots donation box.
,4. Dyker Heights - Brooklyn
Via NYCGo
Everyone knows the Christmas lights in Dyker Heights are impressive. Impressive isn't even a strong enough word. Visiting Dyker Heights during the holiday season is about as close as New Yorkers will get to visiting the North Pole.
In Dyker Heights, residents deck out their home with some of the most extravagant Christmas light displays in the country. So much so that over 100,000 people visit the area to get a glimpse of the radiant Christmas cheer every year.
If you want to be one of those 100,000, you could always do it in style. You could always do it while popping champagne on a TailBus party bus.
Otherwise, however you get there, you'll find yourself perusing block after block of jaw-dropping displays that are, simply put, famous worldwide. So famous, in fact, that PBS even produced a documentary on it.
If you're going on your own, hit 11th to 13th Avenues between 83rd and 86th Streets. That's the truly magical area.
5. Canarsie - Brooklyn
Via NY Daily News
If you visit Canarsie, Brooklyn, you might stumble upon the decked-out law office of Brooklyn's Democratic Chairman Frank Seddio.
According to AMNY, Seddio's holiday decorations are so luminous, they can be spotted from planes above. Seddio purchased the house from Frank Guarino, who'd been decorating the house in this flashing holiday tradition since 1963. Seddio used to help Guarino decorate when he was a teenager.
Every year, 20 family members adorn the house with Dinsey-inspired animatronics, a talking Christmas tree, and a mechanical blimp that soars atop the house.
"I love coming up with new ideas," Seddio said. When Seddio's light display opened on December 7th last year, there were live animals for Seddio's Nativity scene, a choir, and 2,500 people in attendance.
6. Staten Island
Via Silive
Joseph DiMartino ignites his Staten Island lawn every year. In 2012, more than 16,000 people visited the display. DiMartino uses his display to raise funds to donate to the Nalitt Institute's Outpatient Children's Cancer Unit at Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze.
Why did DiMartino create the elaborate Christmas display to begin with?
He did it in memory of his wife, Debra Ann, who was a victim of the 2001 September 11th attacks at the World Trade Center. DiMartino's wife loved children, so DiMartino's goal is to donate $500,000 to the hospital.
So far he's donated $120,000.
"We are New Yorkers. We are strong and everyone was there for me on the day and months after, and I realized it was time to give back to the community and what better way to do it around Christmastime and raise money for sick children," DiMartino said.
DiMartino's Christmas wonderland lights up every year with thousands of lights, animatronic dolls that dance, ride a carousel, and twirl on an ice-skating rink. He's also got Victorian dolls, carolers, and a workshop that centers around a large Santa Claus.
"It puts a big smile on my face. It's a great feeling to make people happy," DiMartino said. So, NYC, we've only got one question for you: will you be the one of the people DiMartino makes happy this holiday season?
Check out 7 Must-Do Events to Cross Off Your Holiday Bucket List.
[Feature Image Courtesy AM New York]