Holiday Indoor Decorating Contest winners impress
Central Ohio residents really know how to get into the holiday spirit!
That was apparent from the nearly 250 entries received for the Holiday Indoor Decorating Contest by Oakland Nurseries and The Dispatch this holiday season.
A panel of judges from the newspaper and landscape and garden business chose the top three winners featured below. Congratulations to them and thank you to all who participated!
First-place winner
∙ "The Sleigh Has Arrived" by Pam Gruenwald of Baltimore, Ohio
Gruenwald will receive a $500 Oakland Nurseries gift card.
Pam Gruenwald, 68, and her husband, Mark, 69, capture the warmth and love of the holiday season with their decor. The stockings and colorful presents represent their nine grandchildren, who range in age from 17 months to 8 years old.
The children not only gather at their house to open presents but play a game. Their grandparents hide a gingerbread ornament, and the first child to find it will get the first bite of a giant, homemade gingerbread cookie.
"Decorating's a lot of fun when you've got all these little ones," Gruenwald said. "We just really get into the holiday spirit. And we have a wood-burning fireplace, which helps, because there's nothing like a wood-burning fireplace at Christmas."
More:Old House Handyman: How one couple revitalized a 200-year-old eyesore in Granville
Second-place winner
∙ "Cozy Kitty Christmas" by Arielle Noesner of the Northwest Side
Noesner will receive a $100 Oakland Nurseries gift card.
Arielle and Kevin Noesner may have a stunning, 11 1/2-foot tree and a beautiful wreath above their mantle, but the real star of the holiday season is their 11-year-old cat, Gus, especially when he is relaxing in his Christmas house.
"I've been telling people that Gus won us second place," said Arielle, 33. "He loves sitting out by the tree."
A lover of crafting, Arielle also is thinking of immortalizing Gus's paw print with a salt dough ornament (made from flour, salt and water) this year.
"If there's some sort of handmade or DIY Christmas activity, I'm going to do it," she said.
More:Insulation and storm door replacement among the Miller family household projects
Third-place winner
∙ "It’s A Wonderful Life!" by Tomasean Kesig of Delaware
Kesig will receive a $50 Oakland Nurseries gift card.
There's one major takeaway from Tomasean and Drew Kesig's festive photo: They know how to stick to a color scheme. From the tree ornaments to the pair of spray-painted skis fashioned with a floral centerpiece, everything in their room is color-coordinated.
Tomasean said it was important to hide their typical blue decor. For example, she covered the nautical picture above the mantle with plaid wrapping paper.
"I think the (red) curtains helped, to be quite honest," she said. "When you have your normal, everyday colors blended in and then you throw Christmas on top, it can just be noisy and cluttered. So, if you have that consistent color theme, it just does better."
@miss_ethompson
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Dispatch, Oakland Nurseries choose holiday decorating contest winners
