One Hill Country city is a finalist in a festive face-off and needs your vote: Newsweek magazine is hosting a contest to determine the Best Christmas Town in the U.S., and the city of Fredericksburg has made the list of finalists.

"Whether you're looking for a balmy coastal yuletide or Jack Frost nipping at your nose, you're sure to find the perfect spot to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year on our list of top Christmas towns and cities," the magazine's introduction says. "We've rounded up the places that really know how to trim their trees, deck their halls and make everyone feel the magic of the holidays."

Fredericksburg is a strong contender, strung with festive lights and naturally settling into a nostalgic Christmas aesthetic thanks to its well-preserved Germanic buildings. Its obvious trump card is the tiered wooden tower — a so-called German Christmas pyramid — that pops up annually at the town square, or the Marktplatz von Fredericksburg.

"Head to the Hill Country for Christmas parades, including one dedicated to Santa, and gifts at the holiday markets," suggests the city's blurb in Newsweek. "During the Nights of Lights, which run from the end of November to the beginning of January, you can enjoy a nightly tree lighting, a 26-foot-tall German Christmas pyramid and caroling. There’s even an ice-skating rink to bring some winter magic to the Texas wine country."

Fredericksburg has some tough competition, though, in the North Texas town of Grapevine. It dubs itself the "Christmas Capital of Texas" — even got that phrase trademarked. It does Xmas up big with annual events such as Santa's North Pole Express, a hugely popular 45-minute train ride that winds through Grapevine with Christmas sing-alongs, Christmas characters and photos, and interaction with Santa — one of more than 1,400 Christmas events that the city hosts across 40 days.

As Newsweek puts it: "The Christmas Capital of Texas, Grapevine spreads holiday cheer like no other city. You’ll find hundreds of seasonal events, from magical rides aboard the North Pole Express to frigid slides carved out of tons of ice at Gaylord Texan. Besides plenty of shopping and family-friendly fun, the icing on the Christmas cake is the life-size village that you can walk through to take Christmas card-worthy photos."

Beyond Grapevine, the Newsweek list has 16 entries and most are holiday heavy-hitters. For example, one finalist is a city in Indiana called Santa Claus; another finalist is literally North Pole, Alaska. That's hard to top.

To wit:

• Aspen, Colorado — known for its 12 Days of Aspen winter wonderland
• Frankenmuth, Michigan — home to Bronner’s, the self-proclaimed “world’s largest Christmas store”
• Healdsburg, California — the perfect place for a Sonoma wine country Christmas
• Leavenworth, Washington — "Christmastown," AKA the Village of Lights
• Ogunquit, Maine — hosts a bridge and boat lighting ceremony, when the waterfront is set aglow with thousands of lights
• Newport, Rhode Island — nighttime boat parade along Newport Harbor with boats draped in twinkling lights
• North Pole, Alaska — major attraction is Santa Claus House, a massive Christmas shop that sells ornaments, gifts, decor, sweets, and signed letters from Santa postmarked from the North Pole
• Prescott, Arizona — has one of the world’s biggest gingerbread villages
• Santa Claus, Indiana — the only post office in the world with Santa's name. Also home to Santa Claus Museum plus one of the oldest and largest Santa statues in the world
• Santa Fe, New Mexico — they do a winter wonderland train ride with cocoa, cookies, and visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus
• Solvang, California — Danish Christmas in Southern California’s wine country lets you in on Danish Christmas traditions like hunting for gnomes
• Stockbridge, Massachusetts — The town recreates artist Norman Rockwell's famous painting Stockbridge Main Street during the holiday
• Whitefish, Montana — magical small town does sleigh rides, craft fair, and gingerbread contest
• Williamsburg, Virginia — Colonial Christmas in Williamsburg with 18th-century shops

Grapevine and Fredericksburg are going to need more than their millions of lights, larger-than-life decorations, and animated characters. But one factor in Fredericksburg's favor is that this is a Readers Choice. There's lots of Texans out there who can cast a vote.

You're allowed to vote once per day until polls close on September 26 at 11 am. The 10 winners will be announced on October 3.