Light up the key

1900 and 2000 blocks of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Seaplace staffers Wendy Cichowski and Gicela Tapia didn’t even wait for Thanksgiving dinner to settle to begin preparing the condo’s holiday display. They began planning the decorations in late summer and completed it the first week of December.

“I think it’s a fabulous display,” General Manager Bill Deskus said. “There’s all kinds of different decorations with different colored lights and different kinds of lights. We wanted to do something that people of the Key will enjoy.”

Both entrances of Seaplace are decorated with colorful, festive lights. The gates and security booth are strewn with lights, and there are candy cane and reindeer displays.

3380 Gulf of Mexico Drive
Santa Claus won’t have trouble finding George and Sandra Ceshker’s home at 3380 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Decorated with several blow-up figures and multicolored lights, this residence stands out with its fun, distinctive display.

Sandra Ceshker has decorated her home every year but one since moving to the Key 18 years ago. She said the inside of her house is even more decked out than the outside.

“I hope I sparked some people out there to start competing and decorating,” she said. “It’s so much fun to drive by and see these lights, but it’s even more fun to be inside and see people react to it. It makes people happy, including me.”

3380 Gulf of Mexico Drive
Santa Claus won’t have trouble finding George and Sandra Ceshker’s home at 3380 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Decorated with several blow-up figures and multicolored lights, this residence stands out with its fun, distinctive display.

Sandra Ceshker has decorated her home every year but one since moving to the Key 18 years ago. She said the inside of her house is even more decked out than the outside.

“I hope I sparked some people out there to start competing and decorating,” she said. “It’s so much fun to drive by and see these lights, but it’s even more fun to be inside and see people react to it. It makes people happy, including me.”

1000 and 1100 blocks of Gulf of Mexico Drive
Beachplace has been looking blue since the beginning of December. Residents, however, are not sad — the condo’s holiday lights are predominately the color blue. The security booth, sign and palm trees are decorated in blue and white lights, and there is also a reindeer and blue tree on display.

Office staffers Keena Kolesa and Karen Darnell, the shining stars behind this year’s decorations, began planning Nov. 1.

“They really put a lot of thought into these lights,” Office Manager Linda Pontarelli said. “They look festive and worked really hard. I think they deserve to win.”

4300 and 4400 blocks of Gulf of Mexico Drive
The entrance to Longboat Harbour bursts with a multitude of colors.

Both the entry and exit sides are decorated, and residents are greeted with a blue tree and two reindeer along with multicolored lights on the bushes and on the ground.

The maintenance workers at Longboat Harbour set up the lights during the days following Thanksgiving.
“We think they look pretty,” administrative assistant Lolita Valencia said. “Everybody so far has liked them. We love for people to drive by and see how nice it looks.”

4949 Gulf of Mexico Drive
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches.

Positano has a different take on the Christmas tree this year.

The property’s decorations are simple compared with other winners, but what stands out is its palm trees.
Trimmer’s Décor put the white lights on the trees in November, and, unlike most trees, which are decorated with lights only on their trunks, each individual palm frond is lighted.

“I think they’re beautiful,” security officer David Plummer said. “We have people stopping out here all night long taking pictures of the lights. There’s no other trees out on the island that look like this.”