Holiday Home Tour bigger than ever!

Mark your calendar for Sunday, Dec. 15. That’s the date of the 2024 edition of the Friends of the Library Holiday Home Tour.

Why save the date? You’ll be able to visit six great homes dolled up for the Yule season---more than ever. And don’t forget the gift boutique at the Van Hoosen Farm and a tour of the annual model train exhibit there.

The home lineup includes residences in Rochester, Rochester Hills and Oakland Township. The event starts at noon and runs through 5 p.m. Your ticket includes a map to the decorated homes, all within easy driving distance from the Library’s home base at 500 Olde Towne Road in downtown Rochester.

Holiday Home Tour chairs Pat Wireman and Jeanne Palazzolo have gone full throttle to make this year’s array of homes something that holiday revelers should not miss. The homes feature spectacularly decorated trees, many one-of-a-kind ornaments and memorabilia and insight into family traditions that are only available at this annual event. And your tour is totally adjustable to your desires—you can visit the boutique at the beginning, middle or end of your day and see any number of the six decorated homes. You are your own tour director!

The merchants at the boutique offer many unique items and the Van Hoosen-based event includes entry to the annual model train exhibit at the farm complex.

Tickets are $35 per person. Important change ----there’s a new ticket procurement method this year. First off, tickets can be purchased at the Library store at a date, likely in November, to be announced at rhpl.org. Tickets purchased online (see “Friends events and Book Sales” link at rhpl.org) will not be mailed but will be available for pick-up at the library on the day of the event Dec. 15th from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. with directions and wristband for entry. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the library on that day and time.

Here’s the house lineup; addresses are in the ticketing packet:

HOUSE A

A connoisseur of Waterford Crystal? This is the stop for you. Our host has dressed up the home’s main tree ---one of six ---with an exquisite Waterford ornament collection And all that crystal is in a Moceri custom-designed home which once was the builder’s personal residence. This design award-winning abode has been featured in several local magazines. Why do they decorate? It’s “a way to keep the kids (now out of college and living out-of-town) coming back to visit.”

HOUSE B

Let’s just list three of this home’s many, many stellar attractions: Visit the Harry Potter Christmas themed bedroom which the grandkids usually inhabit. There’s a 5-foor slim tree with everything magical. This lover of the Wizard of Oz also devotes room to Dorothy’s “There is No Place Like Home!” declaration. A 6-Foot white tree dominates the same room, plus an eye-catching hutch filled with Department 56 “North Pole Village” building and figures.

HOUSE C

This built-in-1927 home showcases lots of unique eye-catching and personal Yule items. Original owner was a scion of the Hardy Farms Dairy; hence look for a festive cow figurine collection and Hardy Farms Dairy milk and cream bottles in the corner cupboard of the sunroom. Other highlights: A small fiber bird’s nest with a little bird that is always the first to go on the tree and last to be removed (It was a gift from the owner’s mom.); a childhood Advent calendar, a napkin with note to Santa and a Rudolph LP (a phonograph disc, explained here for the MP3 set).

HOUSE D

Another home with a history: the original owners were members of the Church Lumber family. They loved Williamsburg colonials and had it custom made. And what you see this year doesn’t match last year’s and won’t be like next year’s either. Says our hostess: “I decorate differently each year. I’ve been collecting Christmas art for some time. Now I’ve expanded the art with my own abstract Christmas art which I will have scattered throughout the house.”

House E

Looking for “rustic elegance?” This is the place for you. “I decorated my home primarily from design stores, estate sales and some antique shops,” our hostess notes. Motivation for it all? “Our library is wonderful. I’ve been going since I was a child and was happy to support the RHPL. I’ve always loved to decorate. I have 2 grandchildren, now I decorate with them.’’

House F

The Paint Creek Questers ---a group dedicated to preserving historic building --- will relive Christmas past as they decorate the Cranberry Lake Farm Axford-Coffin house. What to see here? The Coffin living room addition, which holds a huge stone fireplace and wrought iron chandelier. Oakland Township’s Kay Schell will share the ornaments she has created using her grandmother’s Springerler cookie molds circa late 1800s. The living room will hold a tree decorated in Victorian style ornaments created by French designer, Lois Nicole. The dining table will be set by Candis Lytle with Spode dinnerware and a collection of family heirloom dolls and teddy bears. Maureen Thalmann will decorate a tree with ornaments representing her family’s many travels; plus her husband’s collection of plane ornaments.

And don’t forget the boutique at Van Hoosen Farm in Rochester Hills. Admission to the annual model train exhibit is included.