It’s that time again! The holidays are just around the corner and some of us are already getting excited about participating in the 30+ year tradition of Prestonwood’s Nite of Lites celebration.

For our new residents who don’t know, Prestonwood Forest has been spotlighted in all local newspapers (major and minor), all local television stations, The Travel Channel, and last year, our wonderful neighborhood was spotlighted on Fox News which broadcasts nationwide! That was quite an honor for all of us and now it’s up to each and every one of us to uphold the reputation that Prestonwood has obtained by being the “Christmas Lights Neighborhood”.

This year's Nite of Lites officially begins on Saturday, December 13th and will end on January 3rd.

Judging on Saturday will begin around dusk. To be eligible for any of the great prizes that we have received for this year’s event, you will need to have your lights and displays ready by the time the judges start their rounds on Saturday evening. See below for lights on, lights off time table.

We know that putting out lights and displays is a lot of hard work. We also know that once the creation is finished, you want to show it off. We welcome you to start turning your lights on the first weekend of December but, please, follow the time table below. Following this schedule will help lessen the traffic flow late at night (when all the mischief occurs.) Furthermore, our extra security coverage is planned around the Nite of Lites time schedule.

Lights On
All Days - 6:00pm

Lights Off
Monday thru Thursday - 10:00pm
Friday thru Sunday - 11:00pm

This year, we will announce the awards, distribution of prizes and delivery of yard signs differently than in years past. Winners will be notified on Sunday afternoon, December 14th. We will award the prizes and deliver yard signs at that time as well as take pictures of the winners and their displays for posting on the Prestonwood Forest web site (prestonwoodforestonline.com) and in the Prestonwood Press. We feel this is a more considerate method than last year because when presenting awards, which was very late at night, we had to wake some of the winners from their winter's naps!

After last year's Nite of Lites, a request was made that the winners be able to keep the yard signs so that they could display them in upcoming years. The PF Board of Directors voted unanimously to implement this request and will increase this year’s Nite of Lites budget to cover the cost of the signs. So, starting with this year, all winners will not need to return their yard signs to the Committee and will be able to proudly display the signs each year!

Categories to be judged this year are: Best House, Best Block, Runner-up Block, Best Mailbox, Best Door and Best Lamp Post.

So far, great prizes have been contributed by the PF Maintenance Association (cash), High Sierra Management (cash) and many area businesses have donated gift cards, including Wal-Mart, Sam’s Wholesale Club, local restaurants and Cypresswood Cleaners - and we are expecting more great prizes!

Next year we would like to add some new categories. Some suggestions already submitted are Best Cul-de-Sac, Best Entrance (this is to include the front porch, door and sidewalk) and Best Garage Door. These are just some new ideas and we would like to hear from you if you have any ideas or suggestions on how to make the great tradition of Nite of Lites even better!

To help judge the Nite of Lites competition this year, we are seeking volunteers. We need a panel of eight to ten judges or possibly twelve. If you or anyone you know (non-residents are a bonus!) would like to donate his or her Saturday evening to participate by being a judge for the Nite of Lites, please contact me or Tina. A dinner for will be hosted before the judging officially begins so that we can discuss the rules, guidelines and criteria for the contest.

Thank you to all of the residents that have participated for so many years. Remember that PWF has elderly and infirm residents that would love to participate in the Nite of Lites tradition but are unable to decorate, so please, help your neighbors. If you would like to volunteer to help a resident decorate, or if you need help decorating, please call Tina or me. We will try to pair up those that need help with those that want to help.

Good luck to all those that are vying for an award and a special THANK YOU to all the residents of non-Christian faiths who show their neighborly spirit and participate each year.

We wish you all a safe and joyous holiday season!

Russell May and Tina Lizmi
Nite of Lites Committee
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