Courier Cares Christmas Lighting Contest opens for 2022, seeks entries

$1,000 cash to 1st-place winner; submit your address, photos for lights list; public picks winners

The Courier Cares Christmas Lighting list and contest is on again — for the fifth consecutive year.

This year, the contest is offering $1,000 cash for first place, $500 for second, and $250 for third.

Entries are being accepted from anyone in the Quad Cities beginning Thanksgiving Day; you need not be a subscriber.

The deadline for entries is noon Monday, Dec. 12.

The Courier Cares Christmas Lighting Contest is free and open to everyone, said Tim Wiederaenders, editor of The Daily Courier and Prescott News Network.

The Courier is compiling the list of homes displaying Christmas decorations; for a complete list of the rules, visit CourierContest.com; click on “Rules” at the bottom of the page.

“It is a great way to embrace the Christmas season — giving back to the community, at least through a lighted display. I love driving to see what people are doing,” Wiederaenders said.

Beginning on Dec. 13, the public will get to vote online for the prize winners, he said. And, a printable map will be available for free on The Daily Courier’s website — dCourier.com. As entries are submitted they will be added to the map.

The contest is open to everyone in western Yavapai County — the quad-city area. The Courier urges everyone to enter, whether they’re interested in or eligible for the prizes or not, so readers will have plenty of homes to view during the holidays, Wiederaenders said.

To put your home’s address on the list, visit CourierContest.com; again, the deadline to enter is noon Monday, Dec. 12. Voting begins at noon Tuesday, Dec. 13, and ends at noon Monday, Dec. 19. The winners will be announced on dCourier.com and in The Daily Courier.

All entries must include the full street address, the nearest cross street on each side of the house, a brief description of the décor, hours when your light display generally is turned on, your name, and phone numbers where Courier employees can reach you during the day.

Prior first-place winners may not win the contest again for two years; however, they are allowed to submit their address for viewing. To clarify, only the first-place winner is ineligible to win again for two years. Past second- and third-place winners are allowed to win.

The Courier will not publish any phone numbers. Please list your name as you would like it to appear on the online map and in the newspaper, e.g., “Bob and Mary Smith” or “The Smith Family.”

In addition, the Courier is urging people to send photos of their homes, which also will be displayed online, so entrants have a better chance of winning. Many readers might choose winners based only on photos, Wiederaenders said.

Send the high-resolution photos through the online form, email them to twieds@prescottaz.com, or mail prints directly to Tim Wiederaenders, c/o The Daily Courier, 8307 E. Highway 69, Suite B, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314. Photos will not be returned.

If anyone has questions, they may call Wiederaenders at 928-445-3333, ext. 2032.

Tips for display success

1 – Have fun with it. Serious, clean lights on one house and whimsical decorations on another have both won in the past.

2 – While some people take this contest very seriously, the goal is entertainment – for passersby as well as camaraderie among neighbors.

3 – Don’t be afraid to ask people to vote for you, a prior winner said.

4 – LEDs, LEDs, LEDs. As opposed to old incandescent bulbs, LEDs use about 5% of the electricity that traditional bulbs use. They may be a little more expensive, but they are safer, saving energy, and last longer.

5 – Buy the lights after Christmas, if you can, when they are on sale.

Ryan Blauvelt, Dewey’s “Clark Griswold” who won the contest in 2018 and 2019, told the Courier: “It’s about the spirit of the season.”

— Prescott News Network