The house on the corner of Colonial Rd. and 81st St. in Bay Ridge is so festively lit for Christmas that it has become a stop for New York City tourist buses.

“I met the director of A Slice of Brooklyn tours and he asked if it would be all right if the buses pulled up here,” said Sam Maloof, who owns the house. “I said of course it would be okay.”

Right on schedule on a recent evening, a bus slowly moves along 81st St. to show off the houses decorated for Christmas. It makes a right-hand turn onto Colonial Rd., parks, and a busload of tourists from Long Island and Canada debark to look at the Maloof residence.

“I see the joy in their eyes,” says Maloof, a parishioner at Virgin Mary Melkite Catholic Church in Park Slope.

“Also many parents and grandparents from the neighborhood come with their kids and they thank me for doing this.”

One of the things that sets Maloof’s house apart from others is his Nativity scene. “We’re a very religious Catholic family and we do this to keep Christ in Christmas. That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “We do this for religious, not commercial, reason.”

Maloof, who is of Lebanese descent, owns a car dealership and real estate firm. He explains that he and four of his workers begin decorating about the middle of October to be ready for Thanksgiving. The house stays lit until Jan. 20, his mother’s birthday, except during very cold winters when he may wait a while before disassembling it.

The electric bill, of course, increases about $500 to $600 a month during the display but for Sam Maloof, it’s all worth it.

“I do it to celebrate the joy of the season and also for the pleasure of the neighborhood,” he says.

Maloof adds that since he began decorating about 10 years ago, he has noticed many more homes in the neighborhood also lighting up for Christmas.

The only problems were two acts of vandalism a couple of year ago but normally the community is very supportive and many of his neighbors stop by to thank Maloof for his effort.