A West Springfield holiday tradition continues as six residents open their homes for Christmastime viewing as part of the 27th annual Holiday Tour of Homes on Saturday, Dec. 2.
Each year participants take a self-guided tour of beautifully decorated homes and locations in West Springfield, where tourgoers learn about the history of the homes from their hosts and their holiday traditions. They also learn about each home’s unique decorations inside and out and take inspired ideas with them when leaving for decorating their own homes.
“Oftentimes we have more than 600 people who purchase tickets for one of our largest fundraisers of the year. Their generosity along with our many sponsors will provide scholarships for families in need for their children to attend our special programming during school vacation weeks in the winter,” said Sarah Calabrese-Dunphy, resource development director of the West Springfield Boys & Girls Club.
This year’s Holiday Tour of Homes hosts are Janice and Jeff Daly at 9 Lantern Lane, Barbara and Ted Hebert at 75 Pease Ave., Todd and Jess Cincotta at 45 Tiara Lane, Jess and Matt Moskey at 1510 Morgan Road, Carrie Blair at 123 Pine St., Bryan and Kelley Stockhaus at 280 Rodgers Ave., all in West Springfield.
The Majestic Theater on 131 Elm St. also will be open from 9:30 a.m. to noon on tour day while all other locations will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors to The Majestic Theater will be entered into a free raffle for a dinner at bNapoli and two tickets to the production of the winner’s choosing during the current season.
Ted and Barbara Hebert have been welcoming visitors to their lavish home on 75 Pease Ave., beginning with the very first tour to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of West Springfield.
Barbara was on the board of the Boys & Girls Club for 25 years and continues to serve on the tour committee since its inception 27 years ago.
“In order to get the first tour off the ground, many committee members like Barbara opened their homes in all their holiday splendor to the public. Over the years our very popular fundraiser has continued to grow. We seek out different families who might be interested in showing off their decorating talents, while others will call us for consideration,” Calabrese-Dunphy said.
Barbara noted she vowed one day when she owned her own home to decorate it for all of the holidays.
“Christmas is my favorite holiday and the Tour of Homes puts people in the Christmas spirit. And, if they haven’t decorated yet, when the tour is finished, they will be ready,” she said.
The Heberts have seven large mostly themed trees throughout their home and several smaller trees that match the colors of each room they are in.
“Among our many themed trees is our seashell tree. It’s decorated with scalloped shells that I have made into angels by adding little heads and some feathers to them. Another tree features all photo ornaments of the nine dogs we have had throughout our marriage. We love to travel and there is our favorite Christmas tree that we call our travel tree, that is adorned with trinkets accumulated during our travels to over 100 countries. Then there is our white tree that serves as the perfect background for colorful peacock ornaments,” she said.
Other decorations throughout the house include a North Pole Village from Enesco that dates back to the 1980s and is very hard to find today.
“It features a bakery, post office, school, and fire station along with finely detailed whimsical elves. We also have another village themed to the town of Bethlehem that we purchased while in Israel,” she said.
The Heberts even have three Christmas trees that they also decorate at a second home at Cape Cod.
“But, it isn’t on the tour,” she laughed.
Todd and Jessica Cincotta are first-time participants in the tour and will be welcoming visitors to their home on Tiara Lane, where they live with their three daughters, Lauren, 20, Julia, 17, and Ava, 13. They will be celebrating their second Christmas – Jessica was born on the holiday – in a house built for them during the COVID pandemic.
“We were asked by a board member from the Boys & Girls Club of West Springfield to participate and thought it would be a great way to support an organization that does so much to benefit area youth,” Todd said.
Two of the eight Christmas trees on display have special meaning for the Cincottas.
“The tree in my study has keepsake car ornaments that Jessica began giving to me in 1996 while we were dating. Another tree is decorated with puppy ornaments that in turn I began to give Jessica each year when we began dating,” he said.
Another favorite of the Cincottas as described in the Guidebook Ticket is the tree in their living room which they refer to as their family tree. It is where they gather with family and friends on Christmas Eve, and where the five of them spend their first few moments together on Christmas Day. The tree holds special ornaments such as those given to them as wedding gifts, as well as ornaments from special family vacations to Maine, the Outer Banks in North Carolinas as well as other vacation destinations such as Disney, and yearly ornaments that show the growth of their three daughters over the years. A special tradition is that the tree changes from white to color lights on Christmas Eve to welcome Santa.
The trees in the girls’ rooms each represent their own personalities, he noted, and are decorated with ornaments that represent their own tastes and styles.
In addition to the trees, visitors will also find 15 or more Santas and a Christmas Village collection.
“Jessica’s growing Santa collection finds him in various outfits from pajamas to one while the Clauses were vacationing in Ireland. And, the Christmas Village is something we started several years go and each year we add a new piece to it. The best thing about having a new and bigger home is that we are finding so many places within the house to decorate for Christmas,” he added.
Outdoors, the Cincottas have placed real wreaths on all of their windows, garland around the front door, and lights on their bushes.
Calabrese-Dunphy noted there is special travel assistance to two of the homes on the tour.
“Visitors to the Heberts must park on Goldview Drive with travel assistance to their home provided by Bertera Auto Group. Also, visitors to the Moskey home must take a shuttle provided by King Gray from the Irish Cultural Center on 429 Morgan Road,” she said.
Calabrese-Dunphy noted that they have partnered with two popular restaurants, a longtime local bakery, and brewing company as part of this year’s fundraiser. Participants on the tour can take their Guidebook Ticket to the following locations on Saturday where at West Side Bar & Grill 10% of all food sales will go back to the club, proceeds from a special menu at bNapoli will benefit the club, 10% of tourgoer sales at Cerrato’s will benefit their boys and girls, and at Two Weeks Notice Brewing Company they will receive a free beer.
The West Springfield Boys & Girls Club will also host a Craft and Vendor Fair from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 615 Main St. in West Springfield. More than 40 small business owners, vendors, and craft-makers will sell items for gift giving alongside gourmet foods inside the Sullivan Family Gymnasium. Attendees will also have the opportunity to win raffle prizes.
Guidebook Tickets to participate in the tour are $25 per person, and can be purchased at the West Springfield Boys & Girls Club, Durocher Florist, Sorrento Restaurant, Gooseberry Farms and Calabrese Market, or in Agawam at Cooper’s Gifts and Partners Restaurant. They are also available at www.wsbgclub.org/holiday-tour-of-homes for pickup at West Springfield Boys & Girls Club. On the day of the tour, tickets will be available for $30 at each of the seven tour locations and at the West Springfield Boys & Girls Club.
The platinum major sponsor for the Holiday Tour of Homes is Kelley & Katzer Real Estate, LLC.
Those who cannot attend on tour day can support the fundraising efforts of the West Springfield Boys and Girls Club by donating online or by mailing a check to 615 Main Street, West Springfield, MA, 01089.
