CRANFORD, NJ — Cranford’s annual Home for the Holidays House Tour will take place the first weekend in December. The tour, now in its 32nd year, will feature five beautiful homes lovingly decorated for the holidays, on Sunday, Dec. 3, from noon to 4 p.m. Attendees will be guided through each home, where volunteers share information on the special historical and decorating details of each one. Both the Green Thumb Garden Club and the Cranford Garden Club will provide festive decorations as well.
“The Cranford Woman’s Club enjoys putting on this event each year. This is an important fundraiser for scholarships, Project Home and our other philanthropic recipients. Our homeowners are incredibly generous for sharing their homes and family stories for the tour. We greatly appreciate our homeowners and the attendees of the tour for supporting our efforts to give back to Cranford,” said Kendall O’Brien, who is the chairperson of this year’s committee.
Music by Cranford High School’s madrigal singers will be featured in three homes, along with a pop-up holiday band at another. Four of the five featured historic homes have never been on the tour and the fifth has not been on the tour in 30 years. Organized Chaos, an in-home organizing service, will also be providing service to one of the homes.
Tickets can be purchased directly at the library, at Augusta Mae, Hickory & Hill or Periwinkles for $35.
The Cranford Woman’s Club, founded in 1949, is a volunteer organization richly rooted in the tradition of giving back to the community and its residents. While its common goal is enhancing the quality of life in our community, one of the many benefits is the lifelong friendships made along the way. Last year the club donated more than $30,000 in cash and goods to the community, including five scholarships to graduating Cranford seniors. The Holidays House Tour is the club’s largest fundraising effort.
The Cranford Woman’s Club runs several other major events each year, including Witches Night Out, Sip N Shop and Breakfast with the Bunny. The club’s philanthropic focus is on Cranford, with major beneficiaries being Project Home, Cranford Family Care, Cranford First Aid Squad and FLAG. The club meets the second Wednesday of each month at the VFW on South Avenue at 7:30 p.m. Anyone is welcome to attend.
Photos Courtesy of Julia Davis, Cranford Woman’s Club