Canarsie Holiday House Offers Smiles, Tradition and New Additions

A Brooklyn holiday tradition continued with much fanfare.

On Sun., Dec. 2 at around 5 p.m., Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Frank Seddio and his family hosted the annual lighting of their extravagant holiday display. Dubbed Canarsie’s Christmas house, the home at the corner of Flatlands Avenue and East 93rd Street sports around 50,000 lights and numerous other decorations.

“It was fabulous,” said Seddio. “Even though we had rain most of the day, it stopped when we were ready to start the two-hour program. We had a slightly smaller crowd because of the rain, about 1,000 people.”

Despite the rain, the vibes were great and spirits jolly.

There were musical performances by the Chorus of P.S. 115 and the choir of Holy Family Church. And of course, there was a special appearance by Santa Claus. There were also new additions to the winter wonderland in Canarsie.

“We have a whole brand new display and set-up this year that’s really unique,” Seddio said, “with Mr. and Mrs. Claus sleeping after all his hard work.”

The displays also feature a new Santa Claus in the workshop, a hot air balloon that goes up and down around 80 feet, and a skating rink populated by Smurfs.

Seddio said that the festive holiday home was almost featured on the ABC show “The Great Christmas Light Fight,” a competition special featuring decorations from all over the country, with the winner taking home a prize. Scheduling conflicts prevented it from coming to fruition.

“We watched the show and saw the people who won and we definitely would’ve won,” Seddio said with confidence.

The display, which lasts throughout the holiday season, means a lot to the community and Seddio gets great pleasure in keeping it going.

“Some people ask me why I do this,” he said. “It’s to look in the eyes of a five year old and see the joy and the awe. That’s the best Christmas present you can get.”

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