Christmas Tour of Homes – The Siouxland Blog

Welcome to the Annual Siouxland Christmas Tour of Homes! This has been an annual tradition here in Siouxland for over 40 years! A select four to five homes are chosen and decorated by local designers, and the event itself has been sponsored by major corporations and brands, to local banks and businesses.

Frequent flyer

I, myself, have been on eight tours out of the twelve years I’ve lived here. And it helps that the event, for the most part, lands on or around my birthday, so I consider it a birthday gift to myself.

I have had the privy of stepping into some of the most recognized and historical homes in Siouxland, and every year I’m amazed at the quality of the architecture and details of these notable residences.

Guidelines and Rules

Going over some basic rules I’ve noticed every tour has had:

Be ready to take off your shoes. These are actual people’s homes, and throughout the weekend of the tour there are approximately 10,000 people walking through their homes, so make sure you wear shoes that can easily be removed.
No pictures. Once again, these are people’s homes, and even though they’re opening their doors to the public to view their humble abode, privacy is appreciated.
Arrive 30 minutes before your tour time, and expect the tour to last approximately 3 hours.
No children. In past years they were not allowing children younger than 16 to go on the tour, this year, however, they are allowing children 12 years and older to attend.
Lastly, no refunds. This includes inclement weather, possible rescheduling, or even cancellations. When you buy your tickets, you agree that your purchase is considered a non-refundable and tax-deductible donation.

What you came for…THE HOMES!

Now that we have logistics out of the way, let’s look at some past years advertising banners and campaigns, and some of the homes on previous tours.

The Siouxland Tour of Homes always gets me in the holiday spirit. I’ve attended tours with my husband, my mom and several friends. Some years are better than others, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m donating to a wonderful organization. I was a “Little” and my “Big Sister” taught me many things about relationships, music, food and life. So this event is, and will always be, close to my heart.

A chance to see inside some beauties

In fact, every year I get a brochure mailed to me a few weeks before the tour, inviting me to this year’s event. My husband and I love to go so we can get decorating ideas, get inspired to finally finish remodeling our house, and to visualize colors that might work in our home. We got the motivation to paint our living room a burnt orange after we saw how well it complemented the exposed brick and original hard wood in one of the homes we toured.

Support a great cause

I hope you were able to tour the homes this year, and if not, I hope you plan to attend future tours. If you are unable to attend you can always donate, contact the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Siouxland before the tour and ask how you can volunteer, or what assistance they may need. This event has always been the largest attended yearly event the organization puts on, so any extra help is always appreciated.

Hope to see you on next year’s tour, and keep supporting our community and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Siouxland.