SAYREVILLE
Contest winners light up
borough with decorations
Staff Writer
SAYREVILLE –– Although decorating his house has long been a labor of love for Anthony Katz, he decided that this year he would try to get a return on his investment by entering his townhome in the borough’s house decorating contest
VERONICA YANKOWSKI The Katz home in Sayreville was among the winners in the borough’s house decorating contest.
Up went the hundreds of lights, about 600 of them in total, Katz said. Up went the various lawn ornaments, including lighted lollipops, candy canes and other little figures — some of which were handmade. And don’t forget the gingerbread house and accompanying gingerbread people, which, according to the Katzes, were the most costly — about $350 for the set, according to Katz’s wife, Janet.
"The neighbors call him Clark Griswald," Janet said, referring to the name of Chevy Chase’s holiday lights-crazed character in the movie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
But unlike that character, who had great frustration attempting to get the many strings of lights working, Anthony Katz’s experience was a rewarding one.
"I have a ball doing it," he said.
The Katzes’ home won in the townhouse-condominium category.
Although this was the first year he entered the borough’s contest, he said he has decorated his house with the same enthusiasm every year. This year’s process took him about three days.
His children, Michael, 9, and Emily, 5, were the most excited about being one of the borough’s winners.
"I’ll definitely enter the contest next year," Anthony said.
The contest is advertised on the borough’s Cable TV access channel, according to Michael Sedlak, head of the borough’s Recreation Department. All borough residents are invited to enter the contest’s assortment of categories.
Another contest winner was the home of Matt and Patricia Salvatore. For the Salvatores, the decorating begins in early November and consumes about three or four days.
"He’d start earlier, but I won’t let him put them up until after Halloween," Patricia said.
This year, the Salvatores added more than $300 worth of decorations to their collection of holiday fare, Patricia said. As with the Katzes, some of the Salvatores’ decorations are handmade. Mostly the wooden ones are handmade and handpainted, Patricia said.
The other eight winners of the house decorating contest are the Woznicas, Grover Avenue; the La Branches, Main Street; the McArthurs, Pinetree Drive; the Maggis, Jackson Avenue; the Grossmanns, MacArthur Avenue; the Aperawics, Cori Street; the Moltegs, Hoffmann Avenue; and the Berardicillis, Driftwood Drive.