Mailbox Decoration Challenge
For months now, the days have been getting shorter and the nights longer. We might imagine that in ancient times people would fear that if the trend continued, the sun would go away entirely. Then when the trend reversed at the winter solstice, there was great relief and a cause for celebration! Lots of our modern celebrations involving decorations are clustered around this time, whether for the solstice or to celebrate significant events. Halloween and Dรญa de los Muertos, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, St. Luciaโs Dayโฆ and Christmas of course!
Tradition
Throughout history and all around the world, people have celebrated the โreturn of the lightโ with midwinter festivals. For most of us the celebration of Christmas brings an especially meaningful and joyous feeling. Joy to the world!
Halloween, check. Sure, that was fun! Next in line, building up the holiday spiritโฆ Happy Thanksgiving! Then weโll see about bringing out the Christmas decorations.
We put up bright decorations and lights, and we hear the familiar songs of the Christmas season everywhere. Weโve been through Halloweeen, and now itโs almost Thanksgiving. Next comes the most widely-celebrated holiday in our year. Traditionally we start the jolliness right after Thanksgivingโฆ
Mailbox Decoration Contest
Show your festive spirit! Letโs make Southern Gables more festive this year by adorning our mailboxes or entrances with holiday decorations.
Prizes!
We will award prizes of $50 each for three winning entries submitted by Association members. (If you are not a member, the prize will be $30 and an Association membership through April 2024.)1 It will be exciting to see the creative and imaginative displays that will brighten up our streets, and maybe light them up after dark.
When?
November 23 to December 4, 2023. You can start early of course, but we thought it would be nice for us to wait until after the Thanksgiving dinner before (figuratively) calling out On your marksโฆ Get setโฆ
Go!
How to Enter
Decorate, and then just email us to let us know youโre in. Send your address and a photo of your beautifully decorated mailbox (or entry area if you donโt have a mailbox) to SGNA.Lakewood@gmail.com during the contest period. We will choose the winners by a vote at our quarterly Board meeting on December 5.
Get ready for some friendly competition and the chance to showcase your festive spirit!
We encourage everyone to participate and add their special touch to our neighborยญhoodโs holiday ambiance. The more the merrier! Donโt miss out on this fantastic opportunity to make our SGNA neighborhood shine. We canโt wait to see your amazing decorations and celebrate the magic of the season together! Happy decorating!
- Membership dues are $20, payable in May. You can join any time of year for the period remaining until the next May (or the one following, if paid in April)
Winners! We have winners! Among all the entries for our Mailbox Decoration Contest we have selected winners, each to receive a prize of $50. Denise Raper on W Iliff Lane, Greg Hobbs also on W Iliff Lane, Doug & Judy Whitten, and Laura Pilner on W Iliffโฆ what! Where? W Iliff Lane! Itโs the Iliff Lane Magic! An Ugly Christmas Sweater, the Grinch crashing into a mailbox, and a Christmas Pepppermint Extravaganza. You can see pictures on our Facebook or Nextdoor announcement, or cruise down W Iliff Lane and see them for real! Congratulations to all our winners, and a great big thank-you to all of our mailbox-decorating neighbors who entered the contest. Every single entry brightens the street for your neighbors and makes the mail carrier smile.
Turkey in the neighborhood! Our neighbor Ruby loves festivals.
Like this, right?
Umโฆ maybe not.