“Come Home — Fast! It’s Good News!”

Every now and then when the PCH Prize Patrol arrives at a winner’s home, the person who answers the doorbell is not the winner. So we hear exclamations like “Oh, no, she just went out shopping!” or “OMG, he’s at work!”

The person opening the door seems afraid that the Big Check – worth thousands or millions of dollars — might be given to someone else, and that is not a happy thought! After all, the absentee may have been entering the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes for years and praying for a Prize Patrol visit.

We say, “Relax! Don’t worry! We’ll wait!”

But this person finds it hard to relax facing a video-camera, balloons, roses and faces that look familiar thanks to years of PCH TV commercials. Anxious words are uttered: “Is this for real?”

We assure the person at the door that we are “for real,” then announce that we can surprise the winner at work or in a store or wherever.

“Well, I can call ‘em and tell ‘em to come home right away” says the door-answerer.

“OK,” we say. “But don’t ruin the surprise. And, for heaven’s sake, don’t frighten them into thinking that something terrible has happened. This is good news!”

“I gotcha” is the nervous response.

Before you know it the winner comes screeching into the driveway and almost faints when the Prize Patrol van is seen. “I can’t believe it!” or some such words follow, and another “winning moment” is videotaped for TV viewers to see.

You can see some of our recent “winning moments” if you click here on the PCH Prize Patrol YouTube Channel.

The main point of this blog is: Don’t worry about being home on prize award days. If your sweepstakes entry turns out to be the lucky one and you are a Big Check winner we will find you.

But first things first. Do you enter the PCH Sweepstakes every chance you get? You can’t win if you don’t enter. Just do it every day – just like many of our winners have done. Remember, there’s only a few days left to enter to win big this October!