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Ready or not, it’s time to break out the decorations of the season and transform your home into a holiday showplace.

Some may have done that already, poised to take on the annual festivities with assertive flair once the Thanksgiving leftovers were put away. But others may need some inspiration when it comes to the accessories that highlight the spirit of the season.

The Triad is the right place for that, as this is also the time of year for events that combine a dash of style with a heavy dose of altruism. One of the first will be the 2009 Holiday Home Tour, led by the High Point YWCA. The seventh annual tour Friday showcases five fully decorated homes and gives visitors a chance to contribute to the YWCA’s programs.

Organizers hope ticket-holders will find there’s something for everyone.

“It is always great to see this tour, as each home is individually decorated to the style of the homeowner,” YWCA
executive director Heidi Majors stated by e-mail.

Each tour has been held in a different part of the city, with locations including Johnson Street, Emerywood and Heathgate. This year’s event features two homes on Overland Drive and three in the Willow Creek area.

The fundraising goal is $10,000. In the past six years, the Holiday Home Tour has brought in more than $40,000 for the YWCA’s Women’s Resource Center, and youth services, adolescent parenting and aquatics programs, according to Majors. The money touches many lives in the community, based on figures she provided.

• Over 150 children are served through youth services’ after-school and summer camp programs.
• The agency works with 60 teenage mothers in the High Point area through the adolescent parenting program.
• The Women’s Resource Center handled 3,409 individual visits through
October. These visits addressed resource referrals; needs for infant care supplies and clothing, and clothing for women looking for jobs; and financial literacy and support services.

Tour committee chairwoman Ann G. Lynch considers the fundraising event critical to the YWCA’s programs. “Without the fundraising that we do, things just couldn’t be there,” Lynch said.

And as a tour participant, she’s packing her home with good cheer.

“I go from the sublime to the ridiculous,” Lynch said about her ornaments. The mix includes traditional, contemporary and natural elements with holly and boxwood accents, as well as themed trees. One features only bird ornaments, another cross-stitch items. There’s even a “kitchen tree” that will be decorated with — what else — items that have to do with eating and drinking.

Lynch keeps her red, green and gold theme lively with new additions. This year, it will be battery-operated flicker candles. But it sounds like her spirit really lights the house.

“Every ornament is special to me,” said Lynch, adding that she can identify the origin of each one. The holiday is her inspiration. “I love everything about Christmas: the true meaning, the glitz, the little touches that people do. I just love it all.”

Lynch has been active on the YWCA board “on and off for 29 years.” This is her first time leading the tour event, and she admits the current climate could play a factor in its success. But, she says, “the economy is the economy — I certainly hope people will come.”

She can attest to the event’s value as a board member and a beneficiary of the YWCA aquatics programs she and her family have used. But the tour visitors also stand to benefit.

“Every time I’ve gone to the Holiday Tour I have seen things I’ve never thought about doing,” she said. “I’ve picked up little tidbits here and there.”

Coming up

Gary Jobe Builder hosts AHA event

Gary Jobe Builder’s new home at 1000 Country Club Drive in Greensboro will be the site of festive gatherings for charity in December.

An event from 6-9 p.m. Dec. 7 is open to Guilford Heart Ball ticket-holders, who will get a sneak peek at items that will be auctioned at the American Heart Association’s 25th annual ball Jan. 23 at the Empire Room in downtown Greensboro.

Jennifer Bullard, director of corporate relations for the Guilford Heart Ball, said the party is a good way for the American Heart Association to thank its sponsors, including NewBridge Bank, Gary Jobe and the Painted Plate’s Brad Semon, as well as individual donors.

Auction items so far include jewelry, “experience” packages and a signed guitar from rocker Chris Daughtry.

There’s a special treat for preview party attendees: They will be able to sample three desserts made by Semon, who also will cater the ball in January. The dessert voted the best at the preview party will be on the menu for the ball.

Want to go? Tickets for the ball are $175 per person before Dec. 31, but starting Jan. 1 will be $200 per person. To buy tickets for the ball and attend the preview party, contact Lora Pickard at lora.pickard@heart.org or 662-1387.

The money raised from the event pays for local American Heart Association-led heart disease and stroke research and education projects. The event last year netted nearly $220,000 from ticket sales and sponsorship contributions, Bullard said.

GRRA holiday party planned Dec. 10

Also coming up at the house at 1000 Country Club Drive is the annual Greensboro Regional Realtors Association Holiday Party from 5-8 p.m. Dec. 10.

Donations made by real estate industry professionals who attend the event benefit Clara House, a shelter for domestic violence victims and their children run by Family Service of the Piedmont in Greensboro.

The event is for Realtors only. To RSVP, contact the GRRA at 854-5868 or info@grra.org.