EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — State Rep. Vince Perez, D-El Paso, wants students, artists and community members to think ahead a bit and get into the holiday spirit.

Perez is hosting annual District 77 Ornament Competition, which is part of the 2026 Texas House District Ornament Project. The winning design will be painted onto District 77’s official ornament and hung on the Christmas tree inside the Texas House Chamber this holiday season.

Every year, each of the state’s 150 House districts sends one hand-decorated ornament to the Capitol.

The tree will stand in the House Chamber from Dec. 1 through Jan. 2, 2027, and every ornament is photographed for the House’s annual holiday album. Last year, Indira Johnson, then a senior at El Paso High School, represented District 77 with a sunset over the Franklin Mountains and the star on the mountain shining above it.

“I’m proud to continue this tradition for a second year,” Perez said. “Indira set the bar high last year, and this is one more way for El Paso’s voice to be seen and heard at the Capitol. Show us the El Paso you know, and we’ll make sure Austin sees it.”

This year’s competition is open to students in House District 77, including those in the Austin, Bel Air, Bowie, Chapin, Coronado, Del Valle, El Paso High, Jefferson, Riverside, and Ysleta feeder patterns and at Father Yermo Schools, Loretto Academy, and Cathedral High School, as well as local artists and community members in the district.

Entries are design sketches, not finished ornaments. Participants should draw or paint a concept for a round glass ornament and email a scan or clear photo of it to Rep. Perez’s District Office at District77.Perez@house.texas.gov by Monday, Oct. 26.

Each submission should include the artist’s name; school and grade, or organization if applicable; a phone number (a parent or guardian’s for students); and two or three sentences on what the design says about El Paso. Designs should reflect the culture and character of the district and be respectful of the Texas Capitol.

The winning artist will be notified on Wednesday, Oct. 28, and will have one week, through Wednesday, Nov. 4, to paint the design onto District 77’s official ornament, which the office will provide. Perez’s office will deliver the finished ornament to the Speaker’s Office in Austin ahead of the Nov. 12 deadline.

Questions about the competition can be sent to the District Office at District77.Perez@house.texas.gov.