Every year, Dover High School has a door decorating contest during the holiday season. It was a competition between the homerooms. There was much inspiration that can be found from each masterpiece as well as lessons to learn about what works really well and what does not.
The real question is: what is the trick to winning? This year, there were 4 winning categories: Best Overall, Best Dover Spirit, Funniest, and Best Content Area.
Mrs. Willoughby’s homeroom came up with a noteworthy door, winning the title of Best Overall.
The design of this door was simple. The color scheme consisted mainly of 3 colors: black, light blue, and white. Two notable parts of this area were the snowflakes that were in the window. Each one was handmade and different, but still beautiful. Then the largest, most noticeable part of the design was the snowman, because it was made completely out of clear cups. Its 3D design made this door stand out from the rest of the doors. This 3D design is likely what caused this door to make an award.
Mr. Compton’s homeroom of 3410 had a very Grinchy theme and won the title of Funniest door.
Mr. Compton’s homeroom used the sparkly red background. The live action Grinch played by Jim Carrey was in the center of the door. There were also whos with name tags below them. The name tags list the “who” name. Another creative aspect of this door was the wrapping paper involved. Showing the Grinch bursting through the wrapping paper likely caused this door to step into a 3D feel and perhaps what caused it to win.
Mr. Shankle’s homeroom was very directed towards its prize: Best Dover spirit.
This door used pictures of students on the ornaments, all on a Christmas tree. Symbolically, this could represent that students are ornaments, and the tree is the school. The lights are the connections between us. The words: “Making Dover’s Spirit Bright” also draw the attention that this door is made specifically for this prize.
Mrs. Stratton’s homeroom of door 1507 won the Best Content Area award.
This door had a lot of 3D props used within its design. It had a variety of colors and pictures. The nutcracker was also Dover- themed. It had one of the most unique designs because of the toys on the floor and the fake snow.
The question remains: how do you win the door competition? First, come up with a plan ahead of time. It is so much easier to make a door with a plan. Second, prep difficult items ahead of time. It is doubtful that Willoughby’s cup snowman was created during the 45 minutes of advisory. Third, use an impressive design that goes beyond the door. Three dimensional feels likely helped 3 out of 4 of these designs win, and the 4th door definitely still looked nice. Please note that there were other doors with 3D props that did not win.
Another good strategy is to try to align with the theme. The one door that did not have any 3D designs literally said in words “Dover’s Spirit,” which was also a theme.
Another smart option is to design a door that makes a good reaction. The Grinch door definitely caused a laugh due to being well-known. However, not all well-known humor was effective. The famous term “6-7” was used on many doors. This term certainly is known to give people a laugh. There were about 3 different doors that used this saying, and once you’ve seen this joke enough, it kind of gets old. Therefore, avoid using over-used popular content, and try to come up with one that is less used.
Last, but definitely not least, have fun. While going for the gold is great, remember that only so many doors can win the competition. It matters more that you had an enjoyable experience and got to be creative.
