A Woodstock neighborhood is celebrating a victory after lighting up the night with 33 massive Santa Clauses as part of a national contest.
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In a bid to ignite the holiday spirit this year, Home Hardware Stores challenged Canadian neighborhoods to decorate their streets with its 3.6-meter (12-foot) inflatable Santas.
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The Bower Hill Road community, in west Woodstock, jumped on board, winning the contest for being the best-looking neighborhood.
As soon as 12-year-old Leona McMahon heard about the contest she said she wanted to win it.
“I encouraged my neighbors to join by going door to door offering some extra Santas we bought,” she said. “When I heard our street won, I was freaked out; I was so happy.
“It’s an epic display.”
Bower Hill Road resident Mandy Davies said she and three other residents bought four of the Santas on sale, not even knowing about the challenge because they didn’t read the box it came in.
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“We put them up because we liked them,” Davies said, adding another neighbor alerted them to the contest. “Most of the street didn’t do it for the challenge; they did it because everyone wanted to participate.”
She said she’s excited about the win, but also excited the street came together as a community
“And because of it, one of our neighbors had a little open house so everyone could get together,” Davies said.
The inflatable Santas, adorned with a maple leaf and LED lights, cost $100 each.
The prize for winning the contest is a community barbecue with Broil King and Home Hardware swag bags.
As well, Home Hardware is giving them $500 to donate to the charity of their choice.
The competition was the brainchild of Amy Jodoin, a Home Hardware manager who bought all of her Christmas merchandise, after driving through an Oakville neighborhood with 10 oversized Santas last year.
“I thought: ‘Wow, that looks amazing,’” she said. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t this be great timing, because its post-COVID, to get families back out to the street, collaborating and co-operating and being festive together?’”
“What we liked about Woodstock street was . . . it captures the essence of what this contest was all about.”
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