Light Up German Village to change holiday tradition this weekend: How to go

For the first time in 29 years, there won’t be a German Village Christmas Walk this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But that won’t stop the historic Hamilton neighborhood from doing its best to brighten the holiday season.

From 6-9 p.m. Saturday, the neighborhood will host Light Up German Village.

“With the Christmas walk, we walk into people’s homes, and things like that, and we didn’t want people to feel uncomfortable ... we didn’t want to put all that money and effort and everything else into it and then have to cancel it at the last minute,” said said Sheryl Silber, co-chair of the event.

“We also didn’t want to put people in the position of trying to make a decision of whether they wanted people in their homes or not, or even in their businesses, because some of our businesses. We’ll do bigger and better next year, but what could we do in the meantime?. What could we do to have something for people? So that’s where we came up with Light Up German Village.”

Residents and businesses will participate, “and light up the village with lights, decorations, and all of that,” she said. “It’s anything from traditional to get creative. A lot of people have kids at home.”

Many people have children at home, so the event offered an opportunity for families to spend time decorating together.

In the pandemic, people are “trying to create some new traditions,” including decorating their homes for the holidays.

A recent study found Americans during the pandemic plan to spend more money than usual this year on holiday decorations, with Ohio among the top five states for people planning to spend the most.

The German Village event also will come with prizes for a scavenger hunt that people can complete without leaving their vehicles. There are only five questions, Silber said. People who participate can win Visa gift cards worth $75, $50 or $25.

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