I tried taking pictures of these things for the challenge but they looked like crap. (I tried taking the pics outdoors and that's what made me decide to do the indoor bird shot lol) Yours are more colorful. Well, I hope you got to use these in some festive adult beverages :)
Read your notes. Just goes to show you can never predict with certainty what an entry will do. It got a 6 from me. I think sub-5 was harsh, but that's how popular opinion works out, I suppose.