Does anyone adore Christmas more than this Manhattanite who decks the halls in a very grand way?
The most wonderful time of the year is actually most of the year at Frankie “Christmas” Bianco’s downtown home, because it stays decorated for the holiday for eight straight months.
The Lower East Side resident, 54, has no fewer than 13,751 lights, which he spends more than 200 hours putting up immediately after Labor Day and keeps displayed until April, according to a viral apartment tour of his one-bedroom by popular Instagram documentarian New York Nico — a tour whose video fetched some 183,000 likes over the past two weeks. The clip shows a dazzling display of lights and ornaments draped from the ceilings, a collection of glittering Christmas trees, a shower curtain in his bathroom with an image of candy canes and a “Merry Christmas” sign above his bed showing Santa’s smiling face.
The tradition of going all out spreading Christmas cheer — no matter the time of year — began when he was 18 and has only gotten more over-the-top over the past 15 years.
“My love for Christmas started with my mother many years ago when she couldn’t decorate our home due to an illness so I stepped up and did it for her,” Bianco told The Post of his Yuletide obsession’s origin. After that first year, he only went bigger and bigger with the ornamentation. “For the record my mom is still with us and going strong,” he added.
For Bianco, Christmas is more of a mentality than a holiday. Courtesy Frankie Christmas
Bianco’s holiday cheer-filled bedroom. Courtesy Frankie Christmas
Only from May to August the apartment stays stripped of Christmas ornaments. They return in September and remain through April. Courtesy Frankie Christmas
Even the bathroom is decorated to celebrate Christmas. Courtesy Frankie Christmas
Installing the lights takes more than 200 hours. Courtesy Frankie Christmas
Bianco has 47 snowflake tattoos. Instagram/@newyorknicoIn addition to turning his home into a veritable indoor Dyker Heights display, he has also adorned his body with Noel-themed illustrations. Bianco has 47 snowflake tattoos, a enormous back tattoo of Santa Claus and close to a dozen other Christmas-inspired ink pieces, according to Nicolas Heller, the “unofficial talent scout of New York City” and New York City native who’s behind the New York Nico account. Curious how many days there are until Christmas? Ask Mr. Bianco any day of the year, and he is certain to know.
“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” gets the gold for his favorite Yuletide tune and “Miracle on 34th Street” is his top seasonal film due to Kris Kringle’s line, “Christmas is not a day, it’s a frame of mind,” he told Heller in the clip.
The virality of the apartment tour brought intense joy to Bianco, who loves nothing more than sharing the holiday spirit.
“This has been an amazing experience this year. Just the thought of the amount of Christmas cheer that has been spread it’s overwhelming,” he told The Post. “I’m beyond happy and grateful for all the people who have reached out to me and I’m extremely motivated to go bigger next year.”
