Halloween was just a few days ago, but already North Texas cities are setting their sights on Christmas.
Some Granbury residents, though, are angry -- they don’t like their towns approach to increasing interest for the holiday events.
The Visit Granbury tourism office thought it had a clever idea -- send out a flyer and work with Granbury Independent School District officials to get students to think of a clever name for the season.
The winner would get a small gift prize, and the catchy seasonal nickname would be used on social media and marketing campaigns to raise interest for wintertime events, performances, concerts and parades.
The bulletin asks, “What to call it?” and asks children to dream up a “shiny new title for the holiday season.”
Some Granbury residents contacted NBC 5 saying the flyer sends the wrong message.
“You can just call it ‘Christmas Season,’ said Betty Keck. “Or, how about ‘Christmas in Granbury.’ And that’s that.”
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The CEO of Visit Granbury said people who are upset or confused by the proposal may mistakenly think the town is trying to remove the word Christmas entirely from its promotional campaigns.
“I think maybe they didn’t understand our intent,” said Teresa Anderson. “The suggestions are to not re-name Christmas in any way, shape or form; but rather to help enhance the Christmas experience.”
She said so far, kids have been sending in ideas involving snow; winter wonderlands; and about looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving New Year’s Eve with family.
Still, some residents said a special campaign slogan for Granbury is unnecessary.
“I think we need to keep our focus on what the holiday season is all about. And what Christmas is all about. It’s about the birth of Christ, our Savior. So I think they need to continue to focus on that,” said Linda Mallon, a 22-year Granbury resident.
Anderson points out that Granbury puts many wintertime events and not all of them revolve around Christ's birth.
In addition to the annual Christmas Parade, there are also theatrical performances with Mary Poppins, Candelight Tours and Special Gallery & Shopping nights.
“It is Christmas season. But in marketing sometimes communities try to be a little more catchy, or try to come up with something a bit more specific to Granbury itself,” she said. “We’re asking for help with the umbrella theme for all our wonderful family-friendly events.”
“That’s fine,” said resident Betty Keck, shopping near Granbury’s historic downtown square. “As long as Christ is in the name. Christmas is a special occasion and that’s the reason.”
The campaign runs until Friday, Nov. 13 and a winning theme will be announced the following week.
Teresa Anderson doesn’t think residents will have any reason to be upset at the winning suggestion, and she hopes the controversy will help unite the community to come out for the Christmas Parade.
