Nominations are open for Dorchester's Christmas shop window awards until Monday 7 December. The winner gets £500 and the five most-nominated shops £100 each.

Dorchester shoppers can now nominate the best Christmas window in the town centre. Nominations for the Christmas 2026 Shopfront of the Season Awards opened on Monday 9 November and close on Monday 7 December.

This season’s theme is windows. The organisers say they are “looking for the best Christmassy window display”, according to the awards page run by Dorchester Town Council and Dorchester Business Improvement District (BID).

What the shops can win

The two bodies jointly fund the prizes:

  • The winner gets £500, a certificate and a digital winner’s badge, and is invited to be a guest judge next season
  • The five businesses with the most nominations get £100 each and a finalist’s certificate

Any town-centre business can be nominated. Once nominations close, a panel judges the top five.

How shops are judged

The criteria are the same each season. A shopfront should be:

  • sympathetic to the town’s heritage and conservation area
  • accessible and inclusive
  • inviting and welcoming
  • well maintained
  • an attractive and distinctive window display

Who has won before

The awards run every season. The previous four winners were:

Season Winner Street
Summer 2026 Fudge’s Wool and Haberdashery Durngate Street
Spring 2026 Wedding Time Bridal Salon and Men’s Formalwear High East Street
Winter 2025 Creative Image Studios Antelope Walk
Autumn 2025 Serenity Nails and Beauty High West Street

The summer winner was judged by the Mayor of Dorchester, Cllr Les Fry, who chairs the town council’s Town Centre Action Group, and Dorchester BID chairman Neil Strudwick. The Mayor called the shop “a very worthy winner”, with “an intricate woollen knitted window display”, the awards page says.

What it means for you

  • To nominate a shop, use the nomination form before Monday 7 December. You can nominate any town-centre business whose window stands out.
  • If you run a shop in the town centre, the winner and finalists are chosen from public nominations, so it is worth telling your customers.

Sources