Organized by Santiva Chronicle Media, LLC. Entries open Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 9 a.m. and close Sunday, December 13 at 9 p.m. Voting opens Wednesday, December 16 at 9 a.m. and closes Sunday, December 20 at 9 p.m. Winners will be announced Sunday, December 27. All times are Eastern. Submissions or confirmations received at or after a closing time are late.

Prize details will be published by November 14, before entries open. Entry and voting are free. No purchase, donation, paid advertising relationship or newsletter subscription is required.

1. Displays must be physically located on Sanibel or Captiva. Entrants must be at least 18 and be the resident, owner or authorized representative. Seasonal residents and renters may enter with the required property permission.
2. Choose one category. Residential covers homes, condos and residential community displays. Businesses & Organizations covers commercial displays and displays entered by churches, other houses of worship and nonprofits.
3. One entry per display and one category per entry. Do not submit the same display through multiple people or organizations. Enter a home business display in the residential category if the display is at a home.
4. Contest administrators, tie-break judges and their households are ineligible. Prize donors may enter if they have no role in administering or judging the contest. Donations and advertising do not affect eligibility or results.
5. At least two eligible displays are needed in a category to award both places. With one eligible entry, only first place is awarded; with none, no award is made in that category.

1. Exterior, porch, balcony and storefront-window displays are welcome. Small displays have the same opportunity as large displays. Creativity, holiday spirit and overall presentation matter more than size or spending.
2. Submit 1–3 current photos of the actual display, including a nighttime overview. Ordinary cropping and exposure correction are permitted. Adding lights or objects digitally, AI alterations and misleading composites are prohibited.
3. You must have permission to submit all photos and any identifiable people in them. Obtain a parent or guardian’s permission for identifiable minors. Avoid private information in the pictures and public description.
4. Displays must remain substantially as photographed during voting, subject to weather or necessary repairs. Follow applicable Sanibel or Lee County requirements and any property rules. Keep access routes clear, avoid glare onto neighboring properties and beach illumination, and respect wildlife. The contest does not authorize otherwise prohibited lighting or access.
5. Publishing a residential street address is optional and does not affect eligibility. Only addresses separately authorized by entrants may appear in the public lights guide. Suggested viewing is 6–9 p.m., where permitted. Visitors must stay in authorized public areas, respect privacy and avoid blocking roads or driveways.
6. The Chronicle reviews entries before publication and may request corrections or proof of authority. To correct an entry or replace photos before the entry deadline, contact the Chronicle with your entry reference. Do not create a duplicate entry.

1. Anyone 18 or older may vote, including residents, visitors and supporters elsewhere. You may vote in as many categories as you like.
2. Each person may cast one vote in each category for the entire contest, up to 2 votes total. Entrants may vote for themselves.
3. An email confirmation link is required. A vote counts only after the voter opens the link and presses Confirm my vote, before the voting deadline. Links expire after 30 minutes or at closing time, whichever comes first. Opening a link alone does not cast a vote.
4. Only one confirmed vote per verified email address in a category is accepted. Using additional email addresses does not give a person additional votes. Confirmed votes are final.
5. Sharing an entry link and asking people to vote is allowed. Purchased votes, bots, automated submissions, multiple identities, and gifts or rewards offered in exchange for votes are prohibited. Social media reactions and newsletter clicks are not votes.
6. Running vote totals are hidden. Sharing an internet connection does not itself disqualify different people. The Chronicle may review suspicious activity, exclude invalid votes with a recorded reason, and disqualify entries involved in manipulation.

1. The two eligible entries with the highest valid, confirmed vote totals in each category receive first and second place. Each display can receive only one place.
2. Three independent judges appointed before voting will resolve ties affecting an award. Each scores the tied displays on creativity, holiday spirit and overall presentation, each from 1 to 10 with equal weight. The highest combined score takes the higher place. If still tied, compare creativity totals, then holiday spirit totals; if still tied, the judges record a majority decision on overall presentation. A judge with a connection to an entry must recuse and be replaced.
3. Provisional winners must respond within 48 hours of notification and confirm eligibility. If an entry is ineligible, a winner declines or does not respond, the award passes to the next eligible display, applying the same tie procedure where needed.
4. Prize descriptions, stated retail values, donors and redemption restrictions will appear in the prize section before entries open. Organization prizes belong to the winning organization. Winners receive a certificate and Chronicle recognition. Any applicable taxes or costs expressly excluded from a prize are the recipient’s responsibility.
5. Prizes are not redeemable for cash through the Chronicle. If a confirmed prize becomes unavailable, the Chronicle may substitute a local prize of equal or greater stated value and will disclose the substitution. A contribution does not give a donor access to private entrant or voter data.

By entering, you retain ownership of your photos and grant the Chronicle a nonexclusive, royalty-free permission to reproduce the submitted photographs and public display information for this contest’s coverage, promotion and archive. This does not give sponsors a right to reuse them.

Contact details are used to administer entries, verification, eligibility and awards. Contact email, phone and full administrative name are not shown in the public gallery. The street address is shown only with separate permission. Verification and audit records are used to review results; the public page does not identify voters or display running totals.

Newsletter signup is optional and separate. Declining it does not affect entering, voting or winning. An email used to confirm a vote is not automatically subscribed. Optional newsletter subscriptions are handled through the Chronicle’s Mailchimp audience and its unsubscribe process. Contact the Chronicle with privacy or correction requests.

The Chronicle may pause the contest or extend a deadline when a material technical interruption or severe weather makes the published process impractical. Any change will be posted prominently on this page and applied consistently. Rules will not be changed selectively to favor an entry. Keep your entry reference and confirmation messages until results are final.

The Chronicle administers eligibility and the published rules, reviews voting records, and records tie and disqualification decisions. Questions or concerns should be sent through the Chronicle contact page, identifying the display or entry reference where available.