Community Corner

Experts Map Out Best Holiday Displays in Seal Beach

A small army of children got together and scoured the city for the best holiday displays, creating a map of the winning homes.

Santa may be pretty good about making lists and checking them twice, but he’s got nothing on the kids of Seal Beach.

This month, teams of student judges blanketed the city in the search for the best Holiday light displays. And they found them. The team, led by McGaugh fifth-grader Nathan Thomas, divided the city into neighborhood grids and methodically cruised down each street, looking for the best and brightest display.

This year marks the second year for the children’s Seal Beach Holiday Décor Contest. It’s the brainchild of Nathan’s older brother Patrick Thomas, an eighth-grader at McAuliffe Middle School. Connoisseurs of dazzling holiday displays, the Thomas brothers decided to run a contest as a way to create a map of the best displays in town. With the help of the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce and more than a dozen of their friends from school and from Friday Night Lights flag football, they’ve been able to put together a map of holiday lights to share with all.

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Student judges include: Paige, Hannah and Avery Kropf; Emily and David Olcomendy; Nicki and Zack O’Campo; Eric and Shain Allen; Sophia, Louis and Henry Cogan; Alex Fullerton; Spencer and Cross Lopez; Mina, Griffen and Paige Mizutani; Jeffrey Zeoli; Bradley and Jeffrey Hartwyk; Oliver Schulten; and Nathan, Matthew, and Patrick Thomas.

The map to the right can be customized to guide you to the best dicplays in your neighborhood.

Find out what's happening in Los Alamitos-Seal Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

And the winners are:

 Heron Point

  • Best Use of Color: 937 Heron Circle
  • Best Animation: 927 Heron Circle – Purdue Family
  • Lightest/Brightest: 900 Blue Heron – Lopez Family

The Hill/Coves

  • Best Use of Color:
    • 715 Marvista – Mike Joudy
    • 504 Laguna – Steve and Sandi Riter
  • Best Animation:
    • 1200 Crestview – Todd and Amy Wood
    • 1620 Marlin – George Rios
  • Lightest/Brightest:
    • 712 Beachcomber – Gary Phillips
    • 523 Riviera Dr. – Riley and Gwen Forsythe

Bridgeport

  • Best Use of Color: 235 Clipper Way – Tom and Cynda Logsdon
  • Best Animation: 425 Galleon Way – Nancy and Biagio Zaby
  • Lightest/Brightest: 109 Electric Ave. – Lisa and Larry Totzke

Business/Commercial

  • Best Use of Color: Up, Up & Away Kites
  • Best Animation: California Seashell Company
  • Lightest/Brightest: Temecula Olive Oil Company

College Park West

  • Best Use of Color: 100 Yale Lane - The Olcomendy Family
  • Best Animation: 232 College Park Dr. – Chuck and Eileen Anderson
  • Lightest & Brightest: 400 Purdue Circle – Jerry and Jackie Grandt

Old Town East and West of Main St.

  • Best Use of Color:
    • 126 5th Street – Mark and Denise
    • 227 Seal Beach Blvd. - Diana and Ron Kienast
  • Best Animation:
    • 206 Second Street – The Knighton Family
    • 1511 Electric Ave. - Mitch DeYoung
  • Lightest/Brightest:
    • 208 First Street – The Gordyn Family & 210 First Street – Geoffrey Turner (next door neighbors!)
    • 1407 Electric Ave. - John and Diane Marx

Honorable Mention Award: “Best Street”

  • Riviera Drive

College Park East
The CPENA conducts its own contest – winners throughout the area are noted with a sign in the yard.    


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