There's nothing like a good display of Christmas lights to get you in that festive mood.
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And Highlands businesses have jumped on board an idea to bring plenty of Christmas cheer to the region this year.
The Festival of Lights kicked off last week and already there are plenty of shops with festive displays on show.
Michaela Bolzan from Creative & Co came up with the idea after travelling to Italy over the past years where she was amazed by the beautiful displays of Christmas lights she saw, from the smallest towns to bigger cities like Milan.
And now in its inaugural year, Michaela said she hoped the festival would grow to become an important annual event on the Highlands calendar.
"I know of people who have had dinner here and then gone out for a walk around the town which is what we're wanting," she said.
"It's so lovely to see the community spirit coming out. It really does put a smile on your dial."
As well as appreciating the beautiful displays, residents and visitors are encouraged to get involved by voting for their favourite light display.
BDCU Alliance Bank will award $1000 to the most popular display.
Businesses that are involved have posters with a QR code in their store which customers can scan.
People can also vote online at https://shchamber.com.au/Competition or text their vote to 0480 022 576.
Voting will close on December 18.
Michaela said if any businesses or community members wanted to participate, it wasn't too late to be a part of the festival.
"At this time of the year I say the more the merrier.
"I really hope we can grow this over the coming years and the Highlands can become a sort of Christmas highlight not only for us locals but to start to draw in people from out of the area."
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