Enter Patch’s Deck the House Contest for Your Chance to Win $100,000 for your local schools

Share your photos of your house decked out for the holidays, and enter to win $100,000 for Seneca Valley School District.

Enter Patch's “Deck the House” Contest For a Chance to Win $100,000

Did you decorate your house for the holidays this year? Enter our "Deck the House" contest and you could win $100,000 for Seneca Valley and $500 to pay your electric bills!

Enter Patch's “Deck the House” Contest For a Chance to Win $100,000

Did you decorate your house for the holidays this year? Enter our "Deck the House" contest and you could win $100,000 for Seneca Valley and $500 to pay your electric bills!

It's that time of year again, folks. We’re launching our annual Deck the House Contest to find the most over-the-top holiday decorations in America—the best “decked” house in the country—the one home so spectacularly decorated that everyone in town jokes your holiday decorations could rival Rockefeller Center’s. If this sounds like your house, upload a photo or video of your home to our contest page from Nov. 26 to Dec. 16 to http://deckthehouse.patch.com/contest/cranberry Only residents of Patch towns are eligible to enter. We’ll select 24 regional finalists, and from them, pick one grand prize winner. Patch will pay up to $500 of the utility bill for each finalist, while our national winner will have $100,000 donated to his or her local …

• Videos (1)

Deck Your House and Win $100,000 for the Seneca Valley School District

Get out the lights and holly. Your decorating could net money for our schools.

Patch.com is launching a nationwide contest to find the best dressed home in its Patch communities, and the winner’s school district will receive $100,000, no strings attached. Here’s how the contest works. Today through Dec. 26, you can nominate your home by uploading a photo to the contest entry form on the site. During that same time period you and your neighbors will be able to vote for your favorite festive home. The winning entry will be forwarded to a national Patch judge who will select 24 finalists. Each finalist will receive $500 that they can apply to their December electric bill. From Dec. 30 through Jan. 8 you will be able to vote for the Best Decked House in all of Patch. Patch will award the grand prize winner’s school …

• Photos (1)

Day Tripper

Day Tripper Discovers the Details Behind the Decorations at Hartwood Acres Mansion

Holiday embellishments and candlelight tours mark the holiday season at the historic mansion.

The holidays bring a variety of seasonal activities, and one of my favorite holiday traditions is visiting the Hartwood Mansion at Hartwood Acres. Every year, volunteers decorate the mansion for the holiday season. A few weeks ago, I had a sneak preview of this year’s adornments. It is a must visit for history lovers as well as for those who enjoy the holidays. Hartwood Acres, which is in Indiana and Hampton townships, is part of the Allegheny County Park system. The mansion was once home to John and Mary Flinn Lawrence. Mary was the daughter of William Flinn, a Pittsburgh construction baron in the late 1800s. Even without the holiday ornamentation, the mansion is beautiful. The Lawrences commissioned architect Alfred Hopkins to …

• Photos (7)