Naperville deco content all about pane

What's behind some downtown Naperville businesses' windows may win the designing shopkeepers a prize.

The Downtown Naperville Alliance is sponsoring a contest that rewards downtown shops for dressing up their windows.

In October, the group sponsored a lecture by Amy Meadows, senior manager of window displays at Macy's State Street store, detailing how to go about designing a window display to attract customers during the holiday season.

"She was able to give them hints and tips," said Patti Roberts, the Alliance's executive director. "She actually did a whole workshop for some of the merchants."

Meadows is coming back to judge displays Monday. More than 50 shops will be judged, even those who didn't participate in the program, Roberts said.

Meadows advice was to create window displays that educate, entertain and entice.

Alliance gift certificates will be awarded to the top three finishers, who will be announced in January.

Shopkeepers were also encouraged to incorporate a polar bear figure in their window displays to create unity in the displays throughout downtown. The bear, nicknamed Leon, is featured in several displays but may be a little tricky to find in some.

"We have an aquarium in our window," said Louise Byrom, a sales associate at Costello's Jewelry Co. at 33 W. Jefferson Ave. "We put Leon in a little scuba outfit and put him inside a tube in the aquarium, and the other day a little girl came in with her mother and told us she had found Leon all squished up in our fish tank. It was very cute."

The polar bear figurines incorporated in the designs will be given out as prizes once the displays come down, Roberts said.

"If kids find them in the displays, they can sign up to win one and we'll have a drawing later on," she said.