Teddy bears, snowmen, carolers and reindeer have invaded downtown Suffolk.

There won’t be any traffic jams at the crosswalks, though — these characters are all two-dimensional.

Suffolk Public Schools art students hit the streets Wednesday to paint wintry scenes on the glass windows of local storefronts. Dozens of students from elementary through high school fanned out across downtown armed with paint, brushes and plenty of paper towels.

“I thought it would be fun and be nice to do for the people,” said Janelle Tanglal, a King’s Fork High School student. Janelle painted a Santa Claus on the window of SunTrust Bank on North Main Street.

“We all just decided to coordinate a scene,” she said. Nearby, classmates were painting snowmen, wrapped gifts and moonlit carolers along a snow-covered landscape.

On Saratoga Street, Kendle Queen excitedly painted a caroling boy with a green sweater, blue pants and a blue and red scarf in the window of the Suffolk News-Herald. She used her mother’s favorite colors, she said.

“That was kind of all about her,” said Kendle, a seventh-grader at Forest Glen Middle School. “I love when she sees my art.”

The students planned ahead of time for their work by visiting their assigned business, talking about ideas and forming outlines on giant pieces of paper. When they arrived Wednesday morning, they only needed to trace their outlines onto the windows and then color them in.

The window-painting has become a yearly tradition in downtown, often done the week before the parade to liven up the windows for the holidays.

“I was just so excited about doing this again,” said Kendle, who also did the painting two years ago.

Jeron Jackson, also a seventh-grader at Forest Glen, painted a boy caroling alongside a bear. He and classmate Marquel Davis split the duties of the joint painting.

“I picked the boy and he picked the bear,” Jeron said. “We got to paint and we get to see our artwork when we drive past.”

To view the students’ handiwork, visit the following:

• Suffolk News-Herald — 130 S. Saratoga St.

• BB&T Bank — corner of Washington and Main streets

• Wachovia Bank — corner of Market and Main streets

• Baron’s Pub — corner of Market and Main streets

• Bank of America — 210 W. Washington St.

• Suffolk Public Schools administration — 100 N. Main St.

• The Plaid Turnip — 115 N. Main St.

• SunTrust Bank — 123 N. Main St.

• Main Street Coffee Shop — 149 N. Main St.

• The Virginian-Pilot — 157 N. Main St.

• The Oysterette — 177 N. Main St.