"If you've ever dreamed of going full Clark Griswold, this is your moment." That's how the City of Loveland pitches its Griswold Christmas Light Contest, and the rest of the page stays in that mood. Residents can win a Jelly of the Month Club, and there's a warning about staple guns on ladders.
The City's event listing is more serious about who can enter. Only homes and businesses inside the City of Loveland's corporate limits qualify, and the listing adds that "having a Loveland mailing address does not necessarily mean a property is located within the City limits."
Most of Loveland's December belongs to anyone who shows up. Small Business Saturday, the tree lighting downtown and Christmas in Loveland don't check addresses. The light contest is different, because its result is announced on the same night the tree is lit. So the boundary rule decides who has a chance at being named a winner under the tree.
The Line on the Entry Form
The 45140 ZIP code covers far more ground than the City of Loveland does. We covered that gap in an earlier post on the Loveland address puzzle, where a "Loveland" address can sit in any of three counties. Taxes are where that split usually comes up. This fall it also decides who can enter a holiday decorating contest.
The City lists eligibility as "Loveland residents and businesses located within City corporate limits." The address on your mail doesn't settle it.
If you aren't sure which side of the line your house is on, the county map tools can help before you register:
- Clermont County: The General Online Map lets you search and identify county GIS data. The county's GIS home page lists Municipal Boundaries among its downloadable datasets.
- Hamilton County: The county's maps and GIS page links to the CAGIS Internet Map Server, its interactive county map.
- Warren County: Warren County GIS offers public access to GIS data and takes map requests online or in person.
For a home near the edge of the city, checking takes a few minutes and saves you from putting up a display that can't win.
What Gets Judged, and By When
Homes and businesses compete in separate categories, with prizes in each. The resident winner gets the Jelly of the Month Club, which is the movie joke, plus what the City calls "other prizes that are more useful." The business winner gets "an illustrious, illuminated sign declaring your victory" and something practical as well. Runners-up get a smaller prize.
The two contest pages list different end dates. The registration form gives the contest window as October 1 through November 27, 2026. The City's event listing runs it through November 29. Both pages agree that judging begins the week of November 29. The safe deadline is the earlier one, so get your registration in by Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving. If you plan to decorate over the holiday weekend, register first and finish the display later.
Registration also asks whether your display should appear on a community light tour map. If you opt in, your address goes on a public route that neighbors and visitors can drive. If you'd rather keep it between you and the judges, you can opt out. Every house that opts in adds a stop to the route, so the map grows with each entry. It's also one more reason to confirm you're inside the city limits before you register.
The Reveal Happens Under a 60-Foot Pine
The contest page says the winners will be "announced at the Tree Lighting Ceremony on Saturday, December 5, 2026, right before the tree is lit."
This year's Christmas Tree Lighting Festival is the 6th annual, hosted by the City of Loveland and the Loveland-Symmes Firefighters Association. The tree is a pine more than 60 feet tall, standing along the Little Miami Scenic Trail near West Loveland Avenue, with about 2,500 lights and 250 ornaments. The City's Public Works Department and the firefighters association decorate downtown for the season.
West Loveland Avenue is also where the trail crossing got its new red light this fall. On festival night, the City says portions of West Loveland Avenue and nearby streets will be closed. If you're driving in, plan to park a few blocks out and walk.
The City hasn't posted a start time or full program for 2026 yet. For reference, the Loveland Beacon's preview of the 2025 festival listed hours of 4 to 8 p.m., with the tree lighting and a drone show at 8 p.m. That was last year's schedule, so check the City's festival page for this year's times before you go.
A Week Later, Railroad Avenue Becomes a Carriage Lane
The tree lighting is the City's event. Christmas in Loveland, a week later, is run by local businesses. The Little Miami River Chamber Alliance listing sets this year's event for Saturday, December 12, from 2 to 6 p.m. It's free, and the Chamber describes it as Loveland businesses saying "Thank you for your wonderful support!"
The 2026 listing names these stops:
- Horse-drawn carriage rides line up on Railroad Avenue across from Nisbet Park. Part of Railroad Avenue will be closed for the rides, and a small fee applies.
- The children's train runs at the Loveland Museum Center, and a free trolley connects downtown to the museum.
- Santa and Mrs. Claus will be on Karl Brown Way, where kids can make a craft with Mrs. Claus. Local businesses will run holiday activities and giveaways nearby.
- A holiday market with more than 25 local vendors will set up near the live Nativity by Fleet Feet.
The Chamber says it will post a map with the full details closer to the date. For a sense of how much fits into one afternoon, the Loveland Beacon's 2025 write-up listed carolers through downtown, music at Fountain Green, three free Loveland Stage Company performances and a free ornament to decorate at Whistle Stop Clay Works. Those were 2025 activities. The 2026 listing already covers the carriages, train, Santa and market, and the map will fill in the rest. Last year's event also moved to an earlier time block because of weather, according to the Beacon, so check the posted hours that morning.
Christmas in Loveland isn't limited to city residents. Anyone in 45140, and anyone from outside it, can ride the trolley, visit the market or line up for a carriage on Railroad Avenue. The light contest is the one holiday event with a city-limits rule.
Loveland's December, in Order
The events are close together and connected, so here's the sequence from the City and Chamber listings:
- Friday, November 27: Last day to register for the Griswold contest on the registration form. The City's event page lists November 29.
- Saturday, November 28: Small Business Saturday in Loveland.
- Week of November 29: Judging of registered homes and businesses takes place.
- Saturday, December 5: The 6th annual Christmas Tree Lighting Festival downtown, with contest winners named just before the pine on the trail lights up.
- Saturday, December 12: Christmas in Loveland, 2 to 6 p.m., throughout historic downtown.
The light tour map from the contest should be a good guide for evenings between those dates. It will only include homes inside the city limits, and only the ones whose owners chose to share their address.
At Ragan McKinney Real Estate, we know which Loveland streets sit inside the city line, and which sit just outside it with the same 45140 on the mailbox. If you're wondering which side your home is on, for the contest or for the bigger questions that come with a property, let's connect. We're glad to help you check before the November 27 deadline.
