Get in the Christmas spirit with a holiday home tour

Proceeds will benefit families, children and the arts.

By Chris Pagano ~ The Associated Press

The 17th annual Lutheran Family and Children's Services and Arts Council of Southeast Missouri holiday home tour will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 4. Tourists looking for a little holiday spirit can enjoy the variety of festively decorated historical, remodeled and newly built homes shared by homeowners in the community.

Tickets may be purchased in advance or the day of the tour to visit the homes of Michael and Gwen Bennett, 2553 Wild Horse Trail; David and Ricki Erlbacher, 2426 Brookwood Drive; Tom and Judy Holshouser, 3435 Old Hopper Road; Shanon and Jennifer Kirchhoff, 1589 County Road 618; and Jack and Jill Rickard, 14 Morgan Oak St., all in Cape Girardeau. The tour is not guided so visitors can set their own schedules.

All the proceeds from the tour will be donated to LFCS and the arts council. LFCS services include four child-focused, client-centered areas. They are Women In Need Growing Stronger, adoption services, foster care and in-home and in-office counseling services for adults 60 years of age or older. The arts council offers an annual children's art festival, bus trips, home tours, concerts, ballets, summer arts classes, ArtsCape and opening receptions for monthly exhibits of national and regional artists.

Whether it be the appreciation of family heirlooms, the appeal of details linked to personal collections, the natural beauty of a trickling, flowing or frozen stream, the prairie influence within the design of a modern home or the charm of the picturesque Mississippi River from a summer home built by a riverboat captain, there's a chance for everyone to get some inspiration for the holidays.

Tickets are available at the art council galleries, 32 N. Main St.; LFCS offices, 2911 Breckenridge Drive; Bi-State Southern, 612 S. Sprigg St. and 920 N. Kingshighway; Sunny Hill Garden Center, 206 N. Kingshighway; Wanda's Coiffures, 1405 Thomas Drive, all in Cape Girardeau; and Dalton Florist, 922 E. Jackson Blvd., Jackson. For more information, call the arts council at 334-9233 or LFCS offices at 334-5866.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133