{"id":368012,"date":"2025-12-19T23:59:57","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T13:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=368012"},"modified":"2025-12-20T00:03:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T14:03:40","slug":"christmas-spirit-lights-up-maidenwell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2025\/12\/19\/christmas-spirit-lights-up-maidenwell\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Spirit Lights Up Maidenwell"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mark and Nicola Pitt, at left, with some of the Maidenwell residents who worked hard to decorate the town (Photo: Submitted)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

December 19, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maidenwell residents have impressed the judges of the annual Santa Claus Lane initiative with their exceptional Christmas spirit.<\/p>\n

“Santa Claus Lane” encourages residents to work together to create a festive atmosphere in their street.<\/p>\n

It is part of the Christmas Spirit Initiative organised by South Burnett Regional Council CEO Mark Pitt and his wife Nicola.<\/p>\n

Mark said deciding the 2025 winner was difficult due to the quality of the entries.<\/p>\n

Maidenwell won because of the extensive collaboration between neighbours and their written submission.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an exceptional turnout from the entire village \u2013 all the houses and businesses lit up, making it a whole of community effort,” Nicola said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Everyone got involved and it was certainly great to see the spirit of Christmas alive and well and punching well above their weight in terms of size and display!<\/p>\n

“An extraordinary job, and on a side note, I certainly got a giggle out of Mrs Claus\u2019 washing on the line!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Christmas Spirit Initiative is a private project of the Pitt family.<\/p>\n

It consists of three categories: \u201cSanta\u2019s Workshop\u201d (for businesses, sponsored by Ken Mills Toyota), \u201cChristmas Cottage\u201d (for individual houses) and \u201cSanta Claus Lane\u201d (for neighbours banding together in co-operation to create a festive display).<\/p>\n

The other category winners were announced on Wednesday (see separate report<\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the seventh year the Santa Claus Lane category has been judged.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aim to inspire residents to collaborate with their neighbours, creating a shared display that supports and benefits the wider community,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n