How to Run a Neighborhood Christmas Decorating Contest

If your annual outdoor Christmas displays rival those in the movie "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," then organizing a Christmas decorating contest in your neighborhood might be just the thing to get you in the holiday spirit. Follow these steps to channel your inner Clark Griswold and create some Christmas memories to remember.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Determine different categories for participation and judgment. For example, you might divide the contest into Most Creative Use of Lights, Best Yard Display and Overall Grand Prize Winner categories.

2. Circulate a flyer announcing the contest throughout your neighborhood in early November. Ensure you include details such as your contact information, the date when the decorations need to be up and the different categories for judgment.

3. Select an impartial judge or judges to determine the winner of the decorating contest, and then supply them with the categories for judging. To ensure fairness and impartiality to all families who are participating, you might consider asking your town supervisor or village mayor to select the winners.

4. Collect a small donation from each of the participating homeowners to purchase the judge or judges of the contest a token gift for giving your neighborhood their time during the busy holiday season.

5. Ask local businesses to supply prizes for the winning homes. Consider asking garden stores or tree farms to donate a free Christmas tree for the grand prize winner, and local bakeries to donate Christmas cookies for the other category winners.

6. Decorate your own house with as much pizzazz and color as possible. Incorporate music, if your electrical lines will allow it, and as many twinkling lights as your house can hold. The adage "go big or stay home" clearly applies here.

7. Instruct the homeowners to hang a clearly visible sign on their doors on the night of judging, to designate their home as a contest participant. This way, the judge(s) will know to complete an assessment of their decorations.

8. Consider hosting an informal hot chocolate and cookies open house in your home for all participating families following the judging activity. The winners can be announced and prizes awarded.

Tips & Warnings

• To stretch your neighbors' creativity, you might consider setting a theme for the Christmas decorating contest. Ideas could include "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," "Santa and His Reindeer" or "Cartoon Characters."

• If your neighborhood has a formal homeowners association be sure to check the association bylaws to determine if it is okay to hold an event like a decorating contest.

• Monitor the traffic surrounding those houses participating in the contest so curious neighbors viewing the decorations don't disturb the neighbors who aren't participating.