Calling All Griswolds! Show Off Your Home With Our Contest!

It’s that time of year again!  The radio stations are playing carols, the stores are bustling with holiday shoppers, and in some areas, the snow has started to coat everything in a soft blanket of white. 

And then there are those lights. 

A quick trip to any hardware store reveals aisles upon aisles of holiday lights, extension cords and other paraphernalia to light up your house so that it can practically be seen from space.  In some neighborhoods the whole street gets into it, complete with animated reindeer and flashing (sometimes even musical) lights.  In my parents’ neighborhood, it’s all about keeping up with the Joneses.  Every year the neighbors try to outdo each other. Their homeowners association even came up with a "Griswold Award" — named after my favorite holiday movie — for the home with the most wattage.  My parents were the much deserving recipients of this award last year, I’m proud (and a little embarrassed) to say.

While looking through some of the photos homeowners have uploaded on Zillow, a few of us noticed many people were posting pictures of their homes decked out for the holidays.  This gave us the idea to start our own "Griswold" contest.  Are you one of those people who lives for the month of December, who dreams of ways to literally outshine your neighbors?  Or perhaps you are a master tree decorator and your living room has never looked better.  Now you have the chance to show that hard work off to more than just the neighborhood!

Show us what your home looks like decked out for the holidays — both inside and out! All you have to do is claim your home if you haven’t done so already, and upload photos to your home details page. The photo upload tool is located in the edit home facts function. Zillow allows you to post unlimited photos, so the more the better!  Then e-mail us the link to your updated page (or your address, so we can look it up). Contest submissions are being accepted now through Jan. 1, 2007.  A panel of Zillow judges will review all submissions and post the winner’s page on the Zillow Blog (don’t worry, we’ll keep your name private). Please read our rules and eligibility before submitting. 

And if bragging rights weren’t incentive enough, we’ll even send the winner a $100 gift card to Home Depot so you can stock up on even more lights and cords for next year.  Happy Holidays, and please be safe when putting up those lights!

*Photo courtesy of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Fan Site