9. Dyker Heights

Every year homeowners in Dyker Heights make the streets glow with their festive lawn displays. The lights, inflatables, projections, and animatronic figures dazzle over 150,000 spectators who visit the Brooklyn neighborhood each year. All twenty-two blocks in the neighborhood participate, but 83rd through 86th Streets (between 11th and 13th Avenues) are considered to be the “showstoppers.” The tradition of residents excessively decorating their homes started in 1986 when Lucy Spata’s extravagant display, put up in honor of her mother’s love for the Christmas holiday, inspired her neighbors to also pull out all the stops. The lights stay on until midnight on weekdays!