By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Pelham Beautification Board recently awarded residents, business owners and firefighters for helping to light up the city during the Christmas season.

During the Pelham City Council’s Jan. 8 meeting, Beautification Board member Mosely Johnson presented commemorative glass mugs to the winners of the five categories in the city’s annual Christmas decoration awards.

Beautification Board members chose the winners after touring the city in the new Pelham Senior Center bus one night in early December.

“We were in hog heaven in that bus,” Johnson said, drawing laughter from the crowd gathered for the council meeting. “We had a lot of very beautiful houses.”

Christopher Hyatt’s house at 105 Green Wing Circle took home top honors in the residential category. Hyatt’s house featured icicle lights hanging from the roof and around the house’s wrap-around porch, illuminated garland on the porch banisters, wreaths in the windows and reindeer and Santa and Mrs. Claus characters in the front yard.

“It was a beautiful home – very well decorated,” Johnson said.

Riverchase Carpet and Flooring, which occupies a vintage former gas station building on U.S. 31, won the commercial category. The business featured a large, decorated Christmas tree on its roof and garland hanging above the front doors.

Pelham Fire Station No. 3 on Shelby County 52 won the fire station category. The station was decorated with icicle lights hanging from the roof and red and white lights wrapped around the doors, windows and truck bay doors.

In the “power express” category, which goes to houses best resembling the Griswold’s house from the movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” David Phillips at 12 Red Fox Drive took first place while Willie Grimes Jr. at 2041 Parkview Road finished runner-up.

Phillips’ house featured tens of thousands of Christmas lights and decorations ranging from Santa in a hot-air balloon to a sign counting down the days to Christmas.

“This lit the whole neighborhood up,” Johnson said, noting the Phillips’ next-door neighbors’ only decoration was a sign reading “Green with envy” pointing toward the Phillipses’ house.

Grimes’ house, which sits atop a mountain near Pelham’s northern city limits, was outlined in lights and featured dozens of decorations placed throughout the yard.