Archive for November, 2018

How to Display the Best Ever Christmas Lights on Your Home

Friday, November 30th, 2018
Christmas lights

Hanging Christmas lights is a difficult task. But here are nine tips from lighting professionals that will make the job a little easier.

Simple or extravagant, Christmas lights express welcome Christmas cheer. But hanging Christmas lights tends to bring out, well, let’s just say, not Christmas cheer. If you are an annual do-it-yourselfer, you know how difficult hanging lights can be. You know how much time and patience decorating with lights require. And depending on the height of the peak of that roof, the weather, and even your age, it might be wise to hire a professional.

9 Great Tips for Decorating with Christmas Lights

As with any job around the home, the right tools, products, and proper installation yield the best ever results. Here are some great tips from lighting professionals found on houzz.com that will take some of the difficulty out of this festive endeavor.

  1. Add Lights to Shrubs

If you have a yard with a shrub or two, wrap white lights around them. Just a few lights added to your yard shares a lot of Christmas spirit.

Tip: Net lights work well on shrubs. Bulbs are evenly distributed over a lattice of cords. They come in a square or rectangular shape and in a variety of sizes. You can purchase energy-efficient LED or incandescent net lights. LED net lights give off a true-white or bluish-white color. Incandescent bulbs give off a warm or yellowish color. Make sure you purchase net lights large enough to completely wrap around your shrubs.

  1. Deck the Halls on Your Front Porch Only

Festive garlands, strings of lights, and a Christmas figurine look festive without being overwhelming.

Tip: Concentrate your Christmas decorations in one area only, such as your entryway or a garden bed if you have one. Concentrating on one single spot easily gives off the Wow Factor without presenting an overwhelming theme park feeling.

  1. Illuminate Your Tree(s)

Again, if you have a deciduous tree, wrap the trunk and individual branches with white lights. Add lights to a single tree or a cluster of trees for a best-ever display of Christmas lights.

Tip: Swap regular holiday lights for LED mini lights for energy efficiency and cost savings. LED lights allow you to use many more lights per circuit than incandescent lights do.

  1. Light Your Walkway with Luminarias

Luminarias give off a warm and enchanting glow. And they’re simple to do for the impact they provide. Welcome guests this year with an enchanting walkway lined with glowing luminarias.

Tip: You can purchase luminarias or make your own. Add a handful of sand to the bottom of paper bags. Place a tea light or battery-powered candle inside each one. Light the tea lights or turn on the candles just before your guests arrive.

  1. Hang Snowflakes

Glittering snowflakes are a fun twist to traditional string lights. Hang them below the eaves or along the branches of your tree in the front yard.

  1. Wrap Potted Branches with Christmas Lights

No trees or shrubs in the yard of your Brooklyn home? No problem! “Plant” some branches or twigs in your containers and add Christmas lights to them instead.

Tip: Where can you get branches to “plant” in your containers? Ask a friend with trees in their backyard or a florist. Then fill your containers with sand or gravel. Set the branches upright and wrap them with lights.

  1. Create Some Magic with Twinkling Stars

Twinkling white lights, not flashing Christmas lights, add the sparkle and magic of a starlit sky. Wrap branches that overhang a walkway or hang twinkling lights on a pergola to create a starlit canopy.

  1. Christmas lightsHang a Lighted Wreath

Hang a lighted Christmas wreath or swag under your porch light. A wreath with (or without lights) adds a touch of holiday class wherever you hang it.

  1. Outline the Eaves of Your Home

Perimeter lighting along the eaves and roofline of your Brooklyn home is always classic holiday style.

One Final Tip …

And if purchasing Christmas lights year after year is old, consider purchasing commercial-grade LED lights from specialty retailers this year. Because even the most expensive sets of LED lights offered at box stores are low-quality. You’ll pay more up front for quality lights, but you’ll save time, frustration, and money in the long run.

Tip: Last but not least, attach your Christmas lights to your trim with commercial-grade clips. Because doesn’t everyone want those perfectly straight lines, where every bulb is evenly spaced?

A very Merry Christmas to you, one and all!

Charles D’Alessandro, your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent with Fillmore Real Estate. Call (718) 253-9600 ext.206 or email [email protected] to buy or sell your next home in Brooklyn today.



Brooklyn Real Estate Agent

 Charles D’Alessandro

Your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent

718-253-9600 ext. 206

[email protected]

 

The Best Things to Do in New York on Thanksgiving Day

Thursday, November 15th, 2018

The special day for feasting and giving thanks arrives on the fourth Thursday of November every year. And that fourth Thursday will be here next week! Here in New York, we know how to celebrate. So if you’re hosting Thanksgiving in New York, show your guests how it’s done. Or make some of the best memories with your own. Just look at all of New York’s best things to do on Thanksgiving Day!

 

7 Things to Do in New York on Thanksgiving Day

 

1. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon Inflation

On Thanksgiving Day Eve, Macy’s plumps up giant balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And it’s almost as crowded as the parade is! When and where? Macy’s balloon inflation takes place on Wednesday, November 21, 2018, in the streets around the American Museum of Natural History. Inflation begins at 1pm and ends at 8pm. Enter the fray at 73rd Street and Columbus Avenue, then head east to Central Park West, north to 77th Street and make a 3/4 circle of the museum, ending at 81st Street and Central Park West.

Tip: Bring snacks and water since the loop takes at least 45 minutes to complete. Or eat near the balloon inflation at one of the many family-friendly restaurants a few blocks north. Avoid restaurants on Columbus Avenue across from the museum. And call ahead to make sure the one you choose will be open.

 

2. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Wow! This year marks the 92nd anniversary of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And it’s something everyone should have on their bucket list of things to do – at least once. Macy’s always brings a mix of old familiar characters. But this year many new balloons, floats, and balloonicles will be added.

The annual parade takes place in Manhattan. Its route starts at 77th and Central Park West. Then it heads down CPW to Columbus Circle, before making a left heading along Central Park South to 6th Avenue. It continues south until 34th Street, where it makes a right and heads to Macy’s at Herald Square.

 

 

3. Bryant Park Winter Village

Bryant Park is one of New York City’s best parks, and it’s located at 41 W 40th St between Sixth and Fifth Avenues. It’s officially Christmas here in New York since Bryant Park Winter Village opened on Saturday, October 27 at noon. The holiday shops close on January 2, 2019. The Rink and The Lodge will run through March 2019. This 17,000-square-foot outdoor rink is free, but you’ll have to spend $20 to rent skates or bring your own. It’s an absolute winter wonderland you won’t want to miss!

 

4. Radio City Christmas Spectacular

For the past 80 plus years, this famous Christmas holiday event features Santa, wooden soldiers, and the world-famous synchronized precision dancing of the high-kicking Rockettes. This spectacular Christmas event is held at Radio City Music Hall at Rockefeller Center. To get there take the B, D, F or M to 47th-50th/Rockefeller Center, or the 1 to 50th St./Broadway. It runs from November 9, 2018, through January 1, 2019. Get your 2018 tickets on the Rockettes site, at the Radio City Music Hall box office, at the Madison Square Garden, or the Beacon Theatre Box Office. Or you can call Ticketmaster at 866-858-0007. And go see one of New York City’s most iconic holiday shows!

 

5. Double-Decker Downtown Holiday Tour

‘Tis the season to go all out. If you’re really in the holiday spirit, take in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and a double-decker downtown bus tour. This Christmas holiday combo started on November 14, 2018, but runs through Saturday, December 1, 2018. Tickets are $159.99. And you can book this tour online.

 

6. New York City Ballet

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® is performed at W 63rd St at Columbus Avenue in New York. It includes the full New York City Ballet company, two casts of School of American Ballet students, an onstage blizzard, and a Christmas tree that grows from 12 to 40 feet. This enchanting event runs from November 23 to November 30, 2018. The price to attend is $55 to $295 a person. Call 212-496-0600 or visit https://www.nycballet.com to purchase your tickets.

 

7. Turkey Trot – Lakeside at Prospect Park

If you enjoy running through verdant foliage or want to burn off a few calories before your Thanksgiving Day dinner, enter the Turkey Trot of Prospect Park. The 5K Turkey Trot starts at 9am on Thanksgiving Day. The cost to participate is $35 or $40. Call 718-965-8951 or visit http://prospectpark.org to enter.

 

Enjoy Thanksgiving Day and the full New York City experience this year. If you’re a resident, you can enjoy all the fun things to do in New York without the hassle of traffic or travel delays! Take advantage of that and gear up for Christmas in New York with giant balloons, floats, cheerleaders, clowns, marching bands, Broadway performances, and celebrity appearances. (And that’s just the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!)

 

Happy Thanksgiving Day, Brooklyn, from Charles D’Alessandro, your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent with Fillmore Real Estate. Call (718) 253-9600 ext.206 or email [email protected]. Ask Charles about selling your home or purchasing your dream home in Brooklyn today.



Brooklyn Real Estate Agent

 Charles D’Alessandro

Your Brooklyn Real Estate Agent

718-253-9600 ext. 206

[email protected]