Olympic gold medalist and sports broadcaster Tara Lipinski is taking on a different kind of winter competition as HGTV prepares to launch BIG BARGAIN HOLIDAY SHOWDOWN, a Christmas decorating contest with a $500 budget and a 48-hour clock.
“Now I’m trading the ice for a whole new type of winter competition to prove you don’t need a Santa-sized budget to make some serious holiday magic,” said Lipinski in HGTV’s announcement.
The six-episode series premieres Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV. Instead of asking contestants to renovate an entire house, the show gives each team one room to turn into a winter-themed wonderland.
Two teams of friends, relatives and neighbors compete in each episode, with $500 apiece and just two days to pull their ideas together. That means clever projects, bargain shopping and practical design decisions have to do the heavy lifting, not an unlimited decorating allowance.
DIY experts Ashley Dixon and Clinton Tharp will help the teams bring their plans to life. The challenge leaves room for custom creations and inventive shortcuts, while the deadline promises to keep everyone moving.
The first episode pits two friendly design-business rivals against each other with a White Christmas theme. Their assignment calls for frosty rooms and glittering crafts, giving viewers a chance to see how different decorators tackle the same idea under the same constraints.
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Later episodes will take on 12 Days of Christmas, Naughty and Nice, Santa’s Workshop, Retro Christmas and Tartan Christmas. The lineup offers plenty of room for contrasting tastes, from nostalgic decorations to a more traditional plaid-filled look.
Holiday artist and designer Stephen Brown, founder of Glitterville Studios, and interior designer Pelar Fullilove, founder of 37th Burleigh, will judge the results. They will name a winner who receives bragging rights, a cash prize and a surprise from Santa.
HGTV has not specified the prize amount in its announcement.
Lipinski knows a thing or two about performing under pressure: NBC Sports’ biography notes that she won Olympic gold at the 1998 Nagano Games at just 15. She later moved into broadcasting and became a lead Olympic figure skating analyst in 2018.
“I’ve spent my whole life being judged on ice,” Lipinski said.
Here, she will host while the designers handle the judging. The change puts a familiar winter-sports personality in the middle of a decidedly different seasonal showdown, with home decorators chasing a winning room rather than a medal.
For households that prefer streaming, each new episode will arrive on HBO Max the following day, beginning Wednesday, Nov. 11. The schedule gives viewers a way to catch up without tuning in for the Tuesday-night broadcast.
The budget is a useful part of the premise for anyone who enjoys decorating but does not want the holidays to become a spending contest. Viewers can watch how teams stretch a limited amount of money and decide which ideas might suit their own homes.
Of course, the competition’s two-day deadline need not become anyone else’s Christmas to-do list. The fun will be seeing what imagination and teamwork can accomplish with one room, a modest budget and a very determined group of decorators.
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