A Message from First Lady Cathy Justice

Greetings from the Governor’s Mansion!

It is my pleasure to invite students from your school to “Deck the Halls with Santa Claus” by creating a special Christmas ornament for the 2024 First Lady Student Ornament Competition. Students are encouraged to draw inspiration from their most beloved image or memory of Santa as they craft their ornaments!

All classrooms are welcome to participate by creating and submitting an ornament. Please share this opportunity with your school’s art teacher or any teacher interested in turning this into a class project. All ornaments will be displayed at the West Virginia State Capitol Complex during the 2024 holiday season and categorized by grade levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each ornament will be individually judged, and one winner will be selected from each division. Grand prize gift cards will be awarded to all four divisions.

The winning individuals, groups, or classes will be invited to participate in the State Capitol’s annual holiday event, the Joyful Night Celebration. Joyful Night details will be provided at a later date. In January 2025, the four winning ornaments will be donated to the West Virginia State Museum for their permanent collection.

We wish you a wonderful school year and truly appreciate your participation in this holiday tradition.

First Lady Student Ornament Competition

CHARLESTON, WV — First Lady Cathy Justice is inviting all West Virginia students to participate in the twentieth annual First Lady Student Ornament Competition.

All kindergarten through 12th grade students who are public, private, or home-schooled are encouraged to create a “Santa” themed ornament for the tree, which will be on display at the Culture Center in Charleston during this year's holiday season.

Ornaments will be classified in four divisions according to grade: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each ornament will be individually judged and four winning classes will be selected, one from each division. In January 2025, the winning ornaments will be donated to the West Virginia State Museum for a permanent collection.

The ornaments and the Christmas tree will be unveiled in conjunction with Joyful Night, the annual holiday celebration at the State Capitol held in early December. The four winning classes will receive a gift card to help purchase supplies for their class.

Ornaments must be received by November 22, 2024, to be eligible for judging.

Design Information

• Only one ornament per class is allowed for judging.
• The ornament should represent the “Santa” theme.
• The ornament must be no larger than 10 inches tall and can be three-dimensional.
• For the construction of the ornament, use lightweight materials such as paper, foam board, cardboard, felt, or paper mache. 
• Be creative! Decorate your ornament with items such as glitter, photographs, crayons, paint, aluminum foil, or paper.
• You must write the following:
• Teacher’s name
• School and class
• Email address
• Phone number
• Mailing address

If the information is not written on the reverse side of the ornament, it will be displayed on the tree, but not eligible for judging.

• Attach a five-inch loop of string or ribbon to hang the ornament on the tree.
• The ornament will not be returned.
• The ornament must be received no later than Friday, November 22, 2024 at the Department of Arts, Culture, and History. Post marked ornaments received after this date cannot be judged.
• The winning class will be notified the week beginning December 2nd.

Please submit your Santa class ornament by Friday, November 22, 2024, to: 

Elizabeth Yeager
Department of Arts, Culture and History
The Culture Center
1900 Kanawha Blvd. East 
Charleston, WV 25305

With their submission, students MUST include their contact information (phone, email, mailing address, teacher name, school and class). 

For questions please contact Elizabeth Yeager by email at [email protected].