Christmas spirit begins at home
May Court Club's Homes for the Holidays this weekend
Posted By Nicki Cruickshank
Posted 2 months ago
The holiday season starts now. The May Court Club of Barrie knows the best way to bring out the spirit of Christmas in the city is to start at home.
The club's 18th annual Homes for the Holidays tour takes place tomorrow and Sunday from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., showcasing five local homes decked out with Christmas decor and cheer.
"It's a definite tradition for people who come out to it. For many, it's their Christmas kick-off," said Marian Wild, the club's chairwoman. "It's growing in popularity every year."
Residents get a chance to tour beautifully decorated houses and pick up a few holiday decor ideas to use at home.
"Each house is assigned a house mom, who helps co-ordinate all the decorations with the florists so the homeowners don't have to lift a finger," Wild said. "The house mom's also there to look after the house when the tour's on, and help take everything down after."
This year's tour features five homes in the Barrie area: 2 Midves Cres., 12 Pinehurst Dr., Minesing, 59 Burton Ave., 78 Berczy St. and 88 Lion's Gate Blvd.
"There's always a different set of homes, and we try to offer a variety of styles," Wild said. "It's not just the big fancy homes. We also have the small, quaint ones and the century-old homes, too.
"We always have first-timers on the tour and they're all very excited," she added. "One of our homes this year belongs to a May Court Club member, which is kind of neat."
The tour is open only to ticket holders, and the club donates proceeds from ticket sales to local charities each year.
"It's our largest fundraiser and it's a huge deal for us, and we're all very passionate about it," Wild said. "We get a lot of requests from local charities with urgent needs to help their clients. We raised $42,000 last year and it all gets contributed to charity. We're hoping to raise at least $50,000 this year."
After residents take the tour, they can warm up at the club's tea room at the Barrie Country Club, 635 St. Vincent St.
ncruickshank
@thebarrieexaminer.com
