The 2024 Surrey Holiday House Tour committee. Volunteer chair Eddie Ross is standing, third from left. Yours truly is next to him in purple.
Last year it took less than three weeks for Surrey’s first-ever Holiday House Tour to sell out.
This year all 800 tickets were gone in a week. (But you can still attend as a sponsor. Sponsorships start at $500.)
Five smashing homes from Radnor to Malvern will throw open their doors and throw on their Christmas lights on Friday, Dec. 6.
Prepare to be dazzled.
The homes range from eclectic to historic. And three are owned by interior designers. Anyone else pumped to see designers’ own homes decked out for the holidays? Three tour stops have plenty of parking. Surrey will run shuttles to the other two homes.
Tour tickets include a lovely boxed lunch from The Classic Diner, a visit to a curated array of pop-up shops, and a goody bag of fun favors. Among them, a $25 gift card to Louella, the fashion and gif boutique in Wayne/Avalon.
This year, the Shops and luncheon location will be the Grove Building at St. David’s Church in Wayne.
You can bet the halls will be decked.
Scenes from last year’s Shops: (left) Hackberry Hill fresh greens shop and (right) aAttendees getting a jump on holiday shopping.
Topping the list of exciting vendors at the Shops: Holiday House tour chair Eddie Ross, who will stage vintage holiday décor shop from Edgewood Haul.
Ross is a nationally celebrated home décor, food styling and entertaining editor and author of “Modern Mix: Curating Personal Style with Chic & Accessible Finds.” He and partner Jaithan Kochar own and operate Maximalist Studios, a supercool special events, props and photo-shoot venue in a converted Norristown factory. Their own home, Edgewood Hall in Wayne, was a highlight of last year’s tour. And Eddie’s “Edgewood hauls” are already legendary.
Home decor, food styling and home entertaining stylist Eddie Ross outside a 2023 tour stop in Berwyn. Ross and Surrey’s Consignment Shop manager Liz Farina led the charge to resurrect a holiday house tour on the Main Line.
Other Shops worth shouting about include local faves like Lisi Lerch, Little House Shop, ML Wilcox, June Bug, Louella, Darci Henry, Terra Culture, Aneu, V Empanadas and Main Line Fashionista. The St. David’s Gift Shop – with global artisanal wares – will be open all day. And do hold off on buying holiday greenery – you’ll enter through a forest of fresh green wreaths and garland, all for sale from Hackberry Hill.
Need inspiration or want a professionally designed wreath you can pull out year after year? Look for the hallway festooned with faux wreaths designed by local florists and designers – all will be on sale for $75 – $150. – a steal, in our opinion.
The Holiday House Tour is a crucial fundraiser for the Devon-based nonprofit, Surrey Services for Seniors.
“When you buy a ticket to the Holiday House Tour, you’re directly helping people in our community,” says Surrey Marketing Director Maureen McKnight who talks about the Main Line’s “hidden poor” – many of whom are older and alone and can’t afford to maintain their homes.
One eye-opening story, courtesy of McKnight: A woman experiencing homelessness who had been sleeping in a horse stall at the Devon Horse Show recently turned up at Surrey seeking food and dental care.
“While shocking, that is not the norm for us. However, most older adults we help are people whose income has been outpaced by inflation and rising medical costs. These folks might not be able to afford their electric bill so they wear a coat in the house during the winter or they skimp on meals, perhaps only eating canned soup to save money. Surrey never turns anyone away, regardless of ability to pay. That is where the proceeds from the Holiday House Tour and Shops have the most direct impact.”
Surrey provides an array of aging-in-place services to area seniors including yummy $7 three-course lunches, exercise classes, clubs and socialization, home care and caregiver training. It operates centers in Devon, Bryn Mawr, Broomall and Media.
The Surrey Holiday House Tour & Shops will be held Friday, Dec. 6, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. The Shops and lunch are at St. David’s Church in Wayne from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $95 and include self-guided tour with map, boxed lunch from The Classic Diner, high-quality favor bag, and holiday shopping (THESE ARE SOLD OUT.) No ticket necessary to visit the Shops only. Sponsorships available and volunteers welcome. Email Mikaela at [email protected]. Questions about vendors or wreath decorating, email Liz at [email protected].
