One of the best parts of the holiday season is the tradition. There’s something comforting about knowing you’ll have the same things to look forward to year after year – you’ll visit the same people, gather around the same meal, enjoy the same series of events.

Community traditions are part of that too. Each year brings the return of expected sights and sounds, from Christmas parades to toy drives, from religious observances to Santa meet ’n’ greets.

Well, some of that is a little different this year with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s true; many of our traditions, however, are as strong as they have ever been.

Although traditions are a cherished part of the holiday season for so many of us, there’s also the fun of adding something new to the mix. Whether it’s adding a Secret Santa exchange, swapping to a more modern Christmas tree topper or even just trying your hand at a different cookie recipe than usual, adding a little something new can be a great way to spice up the season and keep things fresh.

For the Franklin County Times, that new thing this season is our Christmas coloring page.

We offer something just for the kids each week of the year with our kids page, where our littlest readers can learn facts and enjoy puzzles and games around a different topic in each issue.

But for the past couple of weeks – as well as this week and next week – we’ve brought something special on the scene with a little Christmas coloring contest.

We know from experience that Franklin County kids love a good contest. You can see it in the strong participation in long-running events like the Watermelon Festival contests or those hosted annually by the fire department and the Book Lovers Study Club.

So we thought it would be fun to host a little contest of our own.

If your kiddos haven’t gotten in on the coloring action yet, there’s still time! Our coloring contest first appeared in the Nov. 18 edition, and next week will be the last.

Each week has featured a different fun holiday image kids can color and send in, and we can’t wait to announce the winners – and their PRIZES!

A whole slate of sponsors have helped us make this possible for the community this year, and they have our gratitude. We hope you will show them your thanks, too, by patronizing their businesses this season.

Be sure your child, grandchild, kid brother or neighbor kid checks out page B8 of the paper this week and tears it out for a little coloring fun. Have multiple “colorers” in your household? We have plenty of extra copies of the paper at our office on Highway 43 as well as in paper boxes throughout the county.

There’s no purchase necessary for children to enter our contest, and you can find all the other rules on the contest page.

Let’s get coloring!