Christmas entry forms now available at chamber office

Apart from the Christmas tree that’s the center of attention — complemented by Christmas carols, hot chocolate by the fire and visions of sugar plums surely dancing in the heads of expectant children — a festive yuletide parade is the highlight to the holiday season.

Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce is again hosting the city’s annual Christmas parade, as well as the community-wide “Deck the Yard” home decorating contest and the storefront decorating competition.

But participating in each of the three contests is not as easy as pulling Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer out of storage or untangling the big wad of lights left from last year. The chamber wants to know who you are and what you’re doing.

That’s why entry forms are now available at the chamber office, 101 N. Wheeler Avenue, for the parade, the yard/home decorating and the storefront decorating contests.

While the home and storefront competition is wide open when it comes to decorating — Clark Griswold, eat your heart out! — the parade has a theme: Your favorite Christmas movie.

With a plethora of cinematic Christmas favorites from which to choose, participants should find there are plenty of possibilities. Among the many favorites are surely “White Christmas,” “It’s A Wonderful Life,” “Elf,” “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “A Christmas Story,” “Home Alone,” “Polar Express,” “Prancer,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” “Holiday Inn,” “Scrooged,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “A Christmas Carol,” “Last Christmas,” “The Santa Clause,” “Deck the Halls,” “Christmas With the Kranks,” “Jingle All the Way,” “Santa Claus,” “The Nativity Story” and more Hallmark movies than you can shake a candy cane at. And then there’s the question: Is “Die Hard” really a Christmas movie? To be sure, the possibilities are limited only by your yuletide imagination.

Sallisaw’s Christmas parade is Dec. 9, with floats divided into four categories: Business, school and school organizations, churches and non-profits, and farms.

Completed entry forms are due at the chamber office by noon Dec. 7, and all parade entries — not just floats — must have an entry form. Judging for home/yard and storefront entries will be Dec. 11, so be sure to leave your lights on.

Decorating contest winners will be announced Dec. 13 at the chamber’s monthly membership luncheon at First United Methodist Church.

For questions, call the chamber office at 775-2558.