Inside private homes everyone’s curious about

Real Estate

“I feel when you have a historic home, you’re really the steward of the home, and it’s important to share it.”

The next time you host for the holidays, imagine more than a thousand people streaming through the front door. But it’s OK — a professional designer has decked your halls; and never mind the small talk because trained volunteers will be on hand to answer questions and highlight your home’s finer points. You might not even need to attend at all.

The format may sound unusual, but it’s how many of the area’s annual holiday house tours go. In communities around the Commonwealth, some residents are opening their homes to the public, who attend the ticketed tours to catch a glimpse inside rarely seen historic homes. It’s all to benefit local historic preservation efforts and tap into some holiday spirit.

Upcoming tours take place in Marion, Newburyport and Beverly on Dec. 13. Beacon Hill’s 30th annual holiday home tour is Dec. 14 — giving people a glimpse into the iconic neighborhood’s brownstones.

“I feel when you have a historic home, you’re really the steward of the home, and it’s important to share it,” said Janice LeBel, who was preparing her 1850 Salem Italianate Victorian for its debut on Historic Salem’s Christmas in Salem event, which took place Dec. 6 and 7. The group paired LeBel with Matt Dorman, a local decorator, who spruced up the home with floral arrangements.

LeBel, a former chair for the event and longtime Historic Salem volunteer, has spent years restoring her home, which maintains many of its original features. Guests on the tour had a rare chance to observe original lighting features, which are Egyptian-revival-style converted gasoliers, period-era woodwork features, and the home’s original butler’s pantry, pass-through, call buttons, and intercoms. Also still in place are the cabinetry and original copper sink.

“It’s part of what defines the beauty of these homes,” she said. “They all have important stories to tell.”

In Salem, that story often centers around the witch trials, a history LeBel called tragic. She sees the Christmas tour as a chance to restore joy, and stoke appreciation for other aspects of Salem’s history.

“The full history of Salem — its maritime history, its history of having incredible notables — gets completely sidestepped,” she said. “People … they’re not stopping to pause and look at homes unless they think [they’re] haunted.”

This year’s event chair, Micah Hapworth, said that homeowners are generally encouraged to leave during their open house hours, and trained volunteers, who are schooled in the home’s historic details, host instead. The annual event, which has taken place since 1979, features live musicians, such as pianists and choral performers. This year, the tour included about a dozen homes.

“Usually we tell [hosts], ‘Don’t touch a thing,’ said Hapworth, who admited she didn’t take her own advice when she once hosted. That year, she redesigned her living room, installing new wallpaper. “But obviously, people are feverishly cleaning or getting those last-minute projects done that they’ve been putting off for years.”

Newcomers to Concord, Michael DiPietro and his wife made their debut Dec. 6 on the Concord Museum’s 15th annual Holiday House Tour to benefit the museum.

“We’re definitely big Christmas people,” he said. His 1884 Victorian, known as the Charles E. Brown House, features original moldings and windows with wavy glass, as well as a long history rooted in Concord’s 19th century.

But tour hosting is not just for history buffs. It’s also a chance for holiday decoration enthusiasts to shine. In Plymouth, some area elves also had their big moment Dec. 6, as hundreds of guests took part in Pilgrim Hall Museum’s Holiday House Tour.

Frank Creedon moved into his rambling, 1740 farmhouse 13 years ago, bringing with him a longtime love of Christmas decorating, and several years of supporting the museum. He was attending the museum’s 201st anniversary party this past summer — a day that happened to coincide with Creedon’s birthday — when he caught up with Pilgrim Hall Executive Director Donna Curtin.

“[She said], ‘I remember reading your application to be a volunteer, and I saw where you lived, and you’ve been restoring a 300-year-old house. By any chance, do you decorate for Christmas?’ And I said, ‘Do I decorate for Christmas?’”

A tour host was born.

“I’ve kind of gone to somewhat extreme lengths about how I decorate for Christmas,” he said. “It’s something I would do even if I wasn’t doing this.”

More than 400 guests would see for themselves: Creedon set up five uniquely-themed trees, including ones based on wild birds, travel, and ice skating. And inside the home’s historic built-in nooks, Creedon configured miniature Christmas scenes. A pianist and nine volunteers would also be on hand, as well as Creedon himself.

Midweek before the tour, Curtin was driving around Plymouth, checking in on her volunteer hosts. It would be her ninth year organizing the event, of the 17 that have taken place.

Another favorite belonged to the Howells, she said, who were preparing for a second year on the tour. As a married couple that includes an Englishman, they are known for their extravaganza of homemade baked treats.

“We call it the Great North Plymouth Baking Show,” said Curtin.

So what is it like preparing for hundreds of guests? Curtin wasn’t worried. To avoid host and visitor fatigue, organizers of these tours often rotate through neighborhoods so that repeat sites are avoided, although there are exceptions.

“I would say this week, everything is chaos,” she said before the tour. “By next Saturday, tour day, it’s going to be beauty, joyful splendor.”

Between 50 and 100 volunteers assist each year in Plymouth across about a dozen homes on the tour circuit.

“It just brings us joy to bring other people joy,” said host Tracey Howell, who with her husband, Mark, featured an upside-down Christmas tree containing more than 1,600 ornaments alongside their array of homemade pastries, and an extensive lighting display that reached across their ceilings.

The Howells began decorating on Oct. 1, and were aiming to surpass last year’s look. Mark specializes in fruitcake and English tarts, estimating that this year he would bake 800 tarts (so that everyone can have two). Tracey, who was rolling out 42 pounds of pastry dough, noted that she prepared all the food for her own wedding. Guests entered a fully dressed dining room with an extensive spread laid out around a centerpiece.

Howell said she’s always loved Christmas, growing up in a family of 12, and that Mark is a year-round collector of holiday-themed snow globes.

A holistic practitioner, Howell has hosted drumming circles on her property, and during the pandemic, when a rare bird landed in her yard, she invited birdwatchers to visit. After the open house, she planned to immediately transition into her family’s Christmas party.

“Last year, when we did it, there were a lot of people who came through and said, ‘I was so not in the Christmas spirit, and your house just put me in that,’” she said.

Community-building has always been essential, said Howell, but it has become even more vital since the pandemic.

“I think human connection is the ultimate connection,” she said.

One can imagine that feeling is even better while holding one of Howell’s homemade mini chocolate pies.