The Sea Isle City lifeboat next to the Promenade is surrounded by holiday decorations.
As it does every Christmas, Sea Isle City dressed up for the holidays with elaborate displays of garland, wreaths, toy soldiers, Santa’s glittery sleigh, a 30-foot-tall artificial tree and more eye-catching decorations.
However, Sea Isle officials weren’t particularly pleased with the job that was done overall this Christmas by its professional decorating contractor, so now the city is switching to a new company.
“We want to up our game,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said in an interview while explaining the change.
At its meeting Tuesday, City Council approved the hiring of Mosca Design of Youngsville, N.C., as the new decorating company.
Under the terms, Sea Isle will pay Mosca $100,000 for the installation, removal and storage of holiday displays. The city will pay an additional $200,000 in 2025 to have Mosca upgrade the displays with the creation of new Christmas decorations that will be spread across town.
City Business Administrator George Savastano told the Council members that the annual cost for Christmas decorations is expected to level off at around $70,000 starting in 2026.
In explaining the switch to a new decorating company, Savastano said the previous contractor fell short of expectations by the city.
“Quite frankly, we haven’t had the service we expected,” Savastano said. “We have not been pleased with our past coverage.”
Motorists entering Sea Isle on the John F. Kennedy Boulevard corridor are greeted by wreaths and bows on the decorative lamp posts.Both Savastano and Desiderio emphasized that Sea Isle wants to expand the holiday displays to decorate all parts of town, not just along the John F. Kennedy Boulevard entryway, where they have been concentrated for years.
Desiderio said city officials will “put our heads together” to come up with themes for the new decorations created by Mosca.
This Christmas, the city placed 3-foot bows on utility poles from 33rd Street to 93rd Street to spread holiday cheer to other parts of town normally not decorated each year. Decorations were also put up in Townsends Inlet in the southern end of the island.
“It’s a great way to celebrate the holiday. We want everyone to enjoy them,” Desiderio said.
Traditionally, the city’s old-fashioned decorations create an atmosphere of nostalgia and whimsy. Visitors come to Sea Isle to admire the displays during their holiday getaways at the shore, Desiderio said. The decorations are another way to make the business district more inviting to holiday shoppers, he noted.
Year after year, the Victorian-style lamp posts lining the JFK Boulevard corridor are draped with green garland and wreaths trimmed with red and gold bows. Christmas lights and snowflakes twinkle along Landis Avenue downtown.
The 30-foot-tall artificial tree overlooking Excursion Park traditionally serves as a backdrop for holiday photos.Twin toy soldiers straight out of the “Nutcracker Suite” stand guard at the front entrance of City Hall, resplendent in their colorful uniforms and top hats.
Across the street from City Hall, giant gold, silver, green and red Christmas balls decorate the lawn at the Sea Isle City Welcome Center. Santa’s sleigh is parked on the other side of the Welcome Center, as if waiting to take flight on Christmas Eve with the help of Rudolph and the other reindeer.
The centerpiece of the holiday display is a 30-foot-tall artificial Christmas tree overlooking Excursion Park, just steps from the beach and ocean. Topped by a white ornament, the tree is decorated with red, green and silver balls.
Although Christmas passed by more than four weeks ago, the decorations are still up. Mosca is expected to remove the decorations this week now that its new contract has been approved.
