The Advertiser’s 2023 Mega Christmas Competition has closed
From photos with Santa to festive house displays and everything in between, the Mega Christmas Competition with SA’s best festive picture snaps has closed.
Lifestyle
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Christmas is almost here and the results for The Advertiser’s 2023 Mega Christmas Competition has closed.
South Australia had been voting across four categories, including their favourite Santa photo, best christmas lights display as well as for the cutest baby and cutest pet.
Over 100 finalists have been selected for the festive photos which bring a cheeky smile to the face and a warm feeling over your heart.
But there can only be one winner in each catergory - which will be announced at a later date - to win the biggest prize.
Four families will get the hot tickets for the Adelaide Strikers v Melbourne Stars Big Bash match at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, December 31, starting at 7.15pm.
YOU CAN STILL MEET SOME OF THE COMPETITORS
The Bennet Family and their Santa photo
Among the finalists is a photograph of the Bennett family from Burnside.
Each year Fen and Paul Bennett take their children Liam, 8, Alannah, 5, Isabella, 3 to meet the man in red.
Ms Bennett said Santa photos were always a challenge with three young kids but their 2021 attempt took the Christmas cake.
“This picture summed up our experience – one smiled, one ran away and one screamed non-stop,” she said.
“Every year we take a Santa photo and every year it’s like this – it’s almost impossible to get a photo with all three smiling.”
Ms Bennett said chocolate bribes worked well but with a toddler there was only a small window of time to work with.
“Oh, it’s like 10 minutes and then the screaming starts” she said.
“Three kids means it’s always unpredictable and chaotic but we wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Then there’s the Roper family from North Adelaide who have been visiting the Magic Cave at David Jones since 2001.
Mum Jackie Roper said since then the family had from two members to four with Angus, Orlanda, Arlo and Amelie now all old enough to smile for the camera without tears.
“Even with our youngest being 15, it is still a family tradition, we have learnt to get in early so this year we were among one of the first families to visit,” she said.
“I reckon Santa was happy to see my kids, they all had a great laugh.”
The Machado Family and their Lights
Among the finalists is a meaningful display at 8 Birchwood Rise, Blakeview
At 26 truck-driver Shannon Machado went to see his doctor about a headache that wouldn’t go away.
“I had really severe headaches and I was throwing up and I went to my doctor and he sent me for an MRI scan,” Mr Machado said.
“I had the scan and then they sent me straight to Royal Adelaide – they said I had a bleed on the brain.”
Doctors discovered a brain tumour four centimetres deep into Mr Machado’s brain, meaning its removal would come with a lot of risks.
He had just become a father and said finding out he might have brain cancer with a wife and a little girl at home was scary.
It turned out the tumour was not cancerous.
Four years on, the father of two said he hoped it stay that way.
“I have yearly MRIs just to make sure it’s not growing, not getting any bigger, that’s why I have scans,” Mr Machado said.
“If it gets bigger, then … there’s a lot of risks to take it out, so they just monitor it to make sure it’s stable.”
That Blakeview family’s massive Christmas light display complete with a 10ft fibreglass nutcracker, a nativity scene and fairy floss for sale raising money for Carrie Bickmore’s Carrie’s Beanies for Brain Cancer.
Meet Baby Benji
Among the finalists in baby Benji Botterill who has had a very festive start to life.
Netley mum Stacey Pyle was watching the Christmas Pageant on TV and decorating the Christmas tree when her waters suddenly broke.
“Pageant day was actually the same day as the due date,” she said.
“We’ve been to every other pageant, even through Covid we were lucky enough to go to the ones at Adelaide Oval.
“It’s not just for the kids, both my husband and I love Christmas, he wears Christmas shirts to work.
“So this was the first year the kids didn’t get to go and I felt a little bit guilty they had to stay home because we had a midwife appointment that morning.
“But I said, ok well let’s do the other tradition, let’s put up the Christmas tree and have Christmas snacks and that kind of thing.”
Ms Pyle and husband Luke Botterill moved to Adelaide five years ago with their two children Ava, 11, and Grayson, 12.
It was only six weeks ago that they became a family of five.
“The midwife came in the morning and said the baby’s doing his own thing, he’s not going to come,” Ms Pyle said.
“So we started watching the pageant and putting up the Christmas tree.
“My husband was getting everything out of the shed.
“We got the tree up and then I started to feel a bit of cramping.
“I mentioned it to my daughter but my husband wasn’t around because he was taking the storage containers back out to the shed.
“So I just laid down on the rug underneath the Christmas tree, on the lounge room floor.
“Within two minutes, my waters broke and I jumped up to get off the rug.”
Ms Pyle tried to make it to the bathroom.
“I called out to the kids to get some towels and suddenly no one could remember where the towels lived,” she said.
“My husband came out of the shed and he was shocked my waters had broken.
“We called the midwife and let her know.”
Ms Pyle said the story took a slight turn from there, Benji had wrapped himself in his cord.
“It was a very close call,” she said.
Luckily Benji arrived unharmed just after midnight – one day after pageant day and the family couldn’t be more thrilled.
“He is the best Christmas gift we’ve ever had,” the proud mum said.
MEET WINNIE THE POOCH
Among the finalists is Winnie the therapy dog who visits children on the ward at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Three years ago, owner Cathie Thomas decided to share her beloved miniature poodle with the rest of the world.
“She became a therapy dog because she just had the most beautiful temperament and a very sweet nature,” she said.
“She is very gentle with children and she has the look of a teddy bear.
“She has no idea the difference she makes in people’s lives.”
Six year old Winnie has been on the job for two-and-a-half years and visits children recovery from injury or illness every second Wednesday.
“There is a girl, who has been in hospital for ten months,” Ms Thomas said.
“We’ve visited her for about three months. Winnie knows she is in a lot of pain and she lies next to her and falls asleep on her.
Ms Thomas said Winnie turned people’s entire day around.
“She doesn’t know that she’s doing anything special but she’s changing their day, even if it’s only for a few minutes to take their mind off the hospital situation.
“I’ve had nurses who’ve come up to Winnie and given her a cuddle and said, I really needed this today.
“Not that Winnie does anything special but she is so willing to give her love to others.
“She shares it with everyone, even those that didn’t know they needed it.”
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