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25th Holiday House Tour 'a smashing success'

Reporter Joy Sanguedolce experiences her first Holiday House Tour, a 25-year tradition organized by the Rotary Club of NOTL, and loves it.
Joy Sanguedolce

The 25th annual Niagara-on-the-Lake Rotary Holiday House Tour wrapped up this weekend and by all accounts it seems to have been a smashing success.

A snowfall in the days leading up to the two-day event, held Friday and Saturday, gave it an even greater festive feel by setting every home against a wintery backdrop.

Indoors the baubles, trees and greens accentuated some of the most beautiful homes in Niagara-on-the-Lake. If you haven't done it before (it was my first time) here are some tips to keep in mind for next year and a perfect day of house touring:

  1. Wear easy on-and-off shoes. Bonus if they are warm and comfortable. You'll have to take them off at every home, carry them in a bag then put them back on before you leave. That's over 12 shoe "events."
  2. Carpool - seven of us loaded into my neighbour's SUV. Yes she has a big car and yes it was a squeeze but it made parking and travelling together a breeze.
  3. Take a break. We all received coupons for a free gingerbread cookie from Willow Cakes and Pastries, a sponsor of the event, so decided to make them our pit stop. We grabbed hot lattes, delectable scones and buttery croissants which fuelled the second half of our tour.
  4. Support the sponsors. Events like this depend on sponsors and advertisers - show them some love if you can.  After the tour we decided to grab some goodies we saw on the tour from Regal Florist and Garden Centre. We then popped into Trius Winery for our free wine-tasting and shopped some more!
  5. Enjoy the moment. It is refreshing to have a few hours where you can put your phones away (no pictures allowed, except for the press) and spend time with your loved ones taking in the beauty of the season.
  6. Make it a tradition. So many people we spoke to said they were back again. Some had been as many as 10 times. It's a great tradition, impeccably executed by volunteers and in support of a worthy cause.  

I'll definitely be back! See you next year HHT