Georgia Family Wins Patch's Deck the House Contest

In this year's Deck the House contest, the second time was the charm.

Joseph Felix's home in Dallas, GA outshined the other 24 finalists to win the 2012 Deck the House contest and $100,000 for the Paulding County, GA school district and $500 towards his electric bill.

After placing second in the nationwide voting in the 2011 contest, the Felix home received nearly 11,000 votes this year to win Deck the House.

The home, with 100,000 computer animated holiday lights choreographed to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," received about 300 more votes than a home in Coventry, R.I., which finished in second place.

In Sarasota, a home entered by Glen M. had the best lights and advanced to the national competition. The Sarasota was a shining example of Deck the House. Maybe next year it will be the winner!

Judging by the 80 comments on the Felixes' Deck the House submission, visiting the home has become a holiday tradition in Dallas, a suburb about 45 minutes outside Atlanta. Many people said they bring their children every year and that the Felixes’ hard work putting together their holiday lights display was worthy of national recognition.

The Felixes' holiday lights aren't just for show. According to their website, Joseph and his wife, Jenny, began using their holiday lights display in 2006 to raise money for Relay for Life, a national cancer charity, collecting $12,000 from 2006-2010. With their Deck the House win, the Felixes now have raised even more money for a worthwhile cause — $100,000 for their local schools.

Patch will give the Felixes their $100,000 prize check for the school district during a local presentation in early 2013.

Big congrats to the Felix family for winning our 2012 Deck the House contest!