It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

The stockings are up, the mince pies are out and Elf is being shown on the TV 24/7. Celebrations this year have come in all forms: while some are hosting Christmas parties and others are taking part in a Secret Santa, Dunraven Secondary School decided to run a “Design your own Christmas card competition”. There were over 50 entries, but only one could win: Kelly Hoang, with her stunning sketch of one of the most Christmassy creatures out there: the reindeer.

The competition was judged by a formidable panel of judges who went through each and every entry to pick out the crème de la crème. It was in these studies that they discovered Kelly's design, but don't be fooled: she wasn't the only successful one, as in second place came Dayanna Cushicondor with a “less is more” approach, closely followed by Grace Sheldon, who is also in year 11 at Dunraven Secondary. There were also two runners up: Olivia Duncan and Harry Fraser, both of whom are only in KS3. There were, of course, many other entries which didn't quite make the cut, but hopefully they will be back next year with new designs and new hopes of winning.

However, even though Kelly came in first, I think that we are all winners here; all those who entered got to improve upon their artistic and creative skills; all those who still haven't begun their Christmas shopping will be able to purchase a copy of the winning design; even just thinking about it gets you into the Christmas spirit, which in my books is a most definite win!

Merry Christmas to you all, and a happy new year.