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Holiday window contest

A People's Choice vote for your holiday windows

Photograph each decorated storefront, put the windows side by side on one page, and print one QR code for the window map and the shop doors. Shoppers compare every window before they vote, then pick one favorite.

Your poll

Up to 6 windows. One QR code. A clear winner

38/140
Contest ideas:
Who should vote?

Anyone with the link can see these photos. Do not add private or sensitive images

Waiting for your pick

Which image draws more attention to the watch

Shop window with a snowman and festive ornaments
Shop window with a snowman and festive ornaments · Pexels
Christmas window display with Santa figures
Christmas window display with Santa figures · Pexels
Store windows framed with Christmas garlands
Store windows framed with Christmas garlands · Pexels

Contest rules you can copy

A rules template for a downtown window contest. Replace the parts in brackets.

[Organization] Holiday Window Decorating Contest

Who can enter: any [downtown] business or nonprofit with a street-facing window, one entry each. Free to enter.
Theme: [theme, or any holiday theme].
Register by: [November 20] at [email or form].
Windows done by: [November 27]. Every window is photographed that evening with the lights on.
Voting: anyone can vote at [link] or by scanning the QR code on the window map and the shop doors, from [November 28] to [December 20]. One vote per person.
Awards: People's Choice goes to the window with the most votes. [Judges' awards: Best Theme, Most Creative.]
Winners announced: [December 21] on [social media and the newsletter]. Prize: [plaque, newsletter feature].
Safety: keep doors, sidewalks and fire exits clear. No open flames.

How downtowns run it

Real window contests from last season, and how people voted in each.

Downtown Wichita, Kansas, 2025

The 2nd annual Window Wonderland let people vote once a day from November 28 to January 1, by scanning a QR code at each business or on the contest website.

Source

Carlsbad Village, California, 2025

Visitors voted from December 3 to 16 by scanning the QR code posted in each decorated window.

Source

Downtown Pleasanton, California, 2025

Shoppers picked up a window map and scanned a QR code on each window to vote for the Best Holiday Decor award.

Source

Downtown Sioux City, Iowa, 2025

22 businesses and nonprofits decorated storefronts, and the public voted once a day through a Google Form from November 24 to December 22.

Source

Downtown Missoula, Montana, 2025

Five window categories, each decided by community votes in an online survey.

Source

Judging criteria for a window contest

With a public vote, people weigh all of this at once. If you also have judges, give each criterion 1 to 5 points and announce People's Choice as a separate award.

Holiday spirit

The window feels like the season at a glance.

Creativity

An idea people stop for, not just garland and lights.

Seen from the street

It reads from across the sidewalk and from a passing car.

Fits the business

It uses the shop's own products or story.

After dark

Lighting that works in the evening, when most people walk by.

A season plan that works

  1. Early November

    Invite businesses and share the rules and the decorating deadline.

  2. Before Small Business Saturday, November 28

    Windows done and photographed. Open the vote the day the window walk starts.

  3. All of December

    Put the same link and QR code in every newsletter and social post.

  4. A few days before Christmas

    Close the vote, announce the winner and hand out the award or window plaque.

Good for

Who runs these contests

  • Downtown and Main Street window contests
  • Chamber of commerce storefront contests
  • Small Business Saturday window walks
  • Shopping center display contests

How it works

How to run the vote

  1. 1

    Photograph every window the same evening

    Straight on, lights on, from across the sidewalk. Six windows fit one vote; with more, let judges pick 6 finalists or run one vote per block.

  2. 2

    Print one QR code for everything

    On the window map, the shop doors and your social posts. Every code opens the same page with all the windows.

  3. 3

    Keep the vote open for the season

    Voting runs 24 hours, 3 days, 7 days or with no end date, and you can close it yourself when you are ready to announce.

  4. 4

    Announce the winner

    Your author page shows the count live. Close the vote and share the winner image with the shops and the local paper.

More than 6 windows, one vote a day, totals hidden until you announce the winner, or your logo and a sponsor's on the poster? See the contest pack

Want us to set up the page and the QR poster for you? Write to us

Photos that keep the vote fair

  • Shoot every window the same evening, with the shop lights and the window lights on.
  • Stand straight in front of the glass, not at an angle, to cut reflections.
  • Whole window in the frame, in landscape, from the same distance for everyone.
  • Put the business name in the photo's title, not on the photo, so the pictures stay clean.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do we handle more than 6 windows?

Judges pick 6 finalists for the People's Choice vote, or you run one vote per block and a final with the winners. The contest pack takes up to 30 windows on one page.

Does every window need its own QR code?

No. One code opens a page with all the windows, so people compare before they vote. Print it on the map and put the same code on every door.

What stops a shop owner from voting fifty times?

One vote per browser and network, and votes that arrive seconds apart from one link are flagged for you to review. You decide which to remove. It does not check identity, so for a big prize add judges too.

Can people vote once a day, like some downtowns do?

In the contest pack, yes: one vote per person per day. The free vote allows one vote per person for the whole contest.

Should shoppers see who is winning?

By default they see the standings only after voting, so an early leader does not pull votes. In the contest pack, totals stay hidden until you announce the winner.

Where do I get the QR code and a poster?

On your author page open “More options”, then “QR code”: “Print a notice” gives a page with the photos and a code to scan, “Show on a screen” puts the code on a TV or projector.