ROCKLAND — Store windows are sparkling this month, with the holidays in full swing, and in Rockland, judges for the annual Main Street Window Decoration Contests decided that one of this year’s three first place awards goes to Snowdrop Confections. There, at 377 Main Street, the Winter Wonderland scene in the storefront windows draw admiring gazes.

Gourmet candy store owner Kimberly Jean Snow admits that a toy lobster doesn’t exactly fit the winter holiday theme in her display window. But, she wanted the lobster anyway, and this is coastal Maine, after all.

“This year I thought I’d have a reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh, and have a lobster leading the way,” she said.

The five members of city council also appreciated the red crustacean amidst a snowy forest scene as they judged the window during the Parade of Lights Saturday, Nov. 28.

The contest has been happening annually for several years, according to Gordon Page of Rockland Main Street Inc.

“Every storefront in the downtown district was eligible to participate,” he said.

“Other people really stepped up this year. Last year it didn’t seem as if as many were decorating, but this year it’s really nice,” Snow said.

The other winners were Rockland Cafe, and Distinctive Tile and Design.  

Snow spent 13 hours over the course of two days setting up the display. Although Snow spends this amount of time on every display she creates throughout the year, the Christmas display draws more visitors into the shop.

Snow’s 20-year-old Santa Claus is a popular stop for picture taking. And, the two chairs positioned next to the display? With wives sometimes taking up to half an hour choosing from the assorted specialty candies, the chairs are for the husbands as they wait.

Items in the Winter Wonderland display are a mixture of old and new, some pieces more than 25 years old, according to Snow. The matting underneath resembling an icy shimmer is actually the wrappers from some dipping dots ice cream.

“I thought, ‘I’ll save that foil. I never know what I’ll use that for’,” Snow said.

Snow’s favorite flower has always been the Snow Drop Crocus, which is one of the first flowers to push up through the snow in the springtime. Eventually she married Jeffrey Snow, and together they opened Snowdrop Confections at 377 Main Street.

If one looked hard enough, one could probably find some snow-capped candies along the shelves.