The Social Science Club of Terrell lights up the holiday season for guests and needy residents of the Texas town with their 12th annual Tour of Homes this Saturday.
Classic, characterful homes and festive, fashionable decorations are sure to put visitors in the holiday spirit, but the tour is more than glitz and jingles. Over the years, the tour has raised funds for scholarships, museums and libraries. This year, the women of the SSCT turn their philanthropic efforts toward a more seasonal cause: Christmas dinners.
From their ticket sales, priced at $15 a person, the club aims to raise money for 300 Christmas dinners. These dinners will also spread joy to less fortunate individuals and families in the community.
If the holiday-ready homes and charitable drive does not convince you to make the short trip to Terrell this weekend, a SMU professor’s home might. The former dean of Dedman College and current professor of English, Dr. Jasper Neel, presents his historic home in the tour and invites students to join the worthwhile cause.
The Neel Home is an 1893 “Greek revival home,” as described by the tour’s brochure. Neel’s wife, Faye, is a designer in Dallas and has their home “decorated with all the holiday trimmings.”
Faye not only designs, but also is a skilled seamstress and has made many of the drapes throughout the home. Her designs have an English country flare that compliments the home’s architecture.
Prof. Neel says his wife’s style is attributed to her love for the London design firm Colefax and Fowler. The post-World Wat II design duo Nancy Lancaster and John Fowler provides inspiration for Faye’s interior decorations.
As quoted in the book “Nancy Lancaster: English County House Style” by Martin Wood, Lancaster once wrote, “I like to preserve simplicity rather than over-polishing. Fashions are changeable. Taste is in realizing the essence of a place.”
The Neel Home, along with many of the other homes on the SSCT Tour of Homes, presents nostalgic and classic décor. Although Prof. Neel’s home is the oldest on the tour, several of the other homes were renovated in recent years while staying true to the original architecture.
One home in particular, The Arthur Home, has held on to its original heart pine floors from construction in the early 1900s.
Throughout the tour, visitors will enjoy unique antique decorations, family heirloom collections and even hand-made tree ornaments. This Christmas celebration is sure to display several festive trees, especially at the Simpson home, which will showcase 18 themed trees.
Although the decorations and designs are sure to impress, the women of the SSCT hope to raise impressive funds for those less fortunate.
“It’s a great cause,” Neel said. “If you buy a ticket, you’re buying Christmas dinner for someone in need.”
The SSCT’s Tour of Homes redefines “give and get” this holiday season: Get a ticket and give the joy of the season. Make a drive west to Terrell to enjoy lights, trimmings, wreathes, and most importantly, gifts of charity.
Homes featured in the tour are open from 2-8 p.m. this Saturday.