Lighting region's festive spirit

I hope you've got your Christmas list sorted because, as of today, it's only 20 days until Christmas.

Well-organised households will be well into their shopping and have the Christmas cake tucked away in a cupboard happily soaking up brandy.

My household is not well organised - I don't even have a tree yet, and I'm relying on Saturday  night's New Rags Christmas market in Masterton to help me to start crossing things off the present list.

But apart from the market, and the Masterton Christian Childcare's Christmas Wonderland in Queen St, I'm not really feeling the Christmas spirit in Wairarapa this year.

Where's the decorations? The lights and bells and boughs of holly? It would be nice to create a magical, festive atmosphere that attracted people into our town centres at this time of year, but there doesn't seem to be much going on.

The other day I received an email headed up "Queen St Christmas lights launch", and thought perhaps there was something on the way after all.

It turned out to be about the Christmas lights being turned on in Queen St, Auckland - and they were quite spectacular. But there's no reason why our Queen St - and the shopping strips around the rest of Wairarapa - can't also be spectacular.

The Christmas Lights competition is again under way, and we'll soon be telling you where you can see the best lighting displays, from both businesses and homes. Last year I was charmed and impressed by the efforts of all the entrants and how they were willing to open their homes to strangers.

Well worth a look to help put you in the Christmas spirit.