The sunny skies and chill in the air were perfect conditions for Selma’s Christmas parade, rolling off with the theme “It’s a wonderful life.”

The parade, which was organized by the city of Selma’s Planning and Development Office in partnership with the Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce, drew large crowds along the downtown streets well before the first float rolled by.

Shebra Kidd, of the Downtown Selma Association, said everyone gave 110 percent to make this year’s parade memorable.

“The floats were really neat and everything went really well,” she said. “The high school bands and the floats were really great. It was tough to choose a winner.”

Following the parade a panel of judges made the difficult decision for first and second place winners in each division. In the business division Tiny Tot Daycare took first prize and Pine Belt Wireless Radio Shack took second.

In the nonprofit division Gateway Baptist Church took first place, while New Cedar Grove Baptist Church took second.

The Dallas County High School took top honors, and, Kidd said, special thanks go out to the Concordia College band for their participation.

“We didn’t have an award for college bands, but we were so happy to have them there,” she said. “They really put on a great show and we thank them for their participation.”

Everyone attending the parade had their own personal favorite displays. For 7-year-old Jaden McMillian, it was just the presence of Christmas spirit.

“It was really good and I liked all the Christmas stuff,” he said. “My favorite part was seeing the Boy Scouts and the karate dudes.”

Kate Lee, who is 8 years old, said there was no question who the star of the show was in her eyes.

“I liked seeing Santa Claus the most,” she said. “But I liked seeing the karate guys and the bands too.”

Santa, and Mother Nature brought their A-game to the parade, Kidd said.

“Mr. and Mrs. Claus are always a favorite and that was the case again this year,” she said.

“Plus, the weather held out, so it was just a wonderful day.”