I went on the tour last year and getting a peak at the different houses was just as much fun as ogling the Christmas decoration decadence, so I signed up this year as soon as I heard about it. I spent most of the tour with friends who also have small children and another big part of the fun was imagining what our houses could look like when we don't have toddlers anymore.
The big group was broken into smaller groups and we rotated through the houses in different order, so that no house was too crowded at any one time. Ironically, the first house we went to was on my street. I've admired the incredible exterior decorations, but it was even more fun to go inside and see what she'd gotten up to in there. The house is the same layout as mine, but I don't think I could ever reproduce what she's done.
You know before you even go in, that Christmas is important in this house.
Near the front door, they have one of the most complex nativities I have ever seen.
There's one main Christmas store near Nichada where most people get their decorations. This house had things from there, but you could tell that she's been working on her Christmas decorations for a long time, and she's picked things up from all over. She also has incredible furniture pieces that you notice as soon as you walk in the door.
It was quite a house to start off with, but our second house was just as much fun. It was back in a little neighborhood that I drive by almost every day, but hadn't gone in to. The houses had a totally different layout than mine, and lots of Santas and angels.
The next house was REALLY the super Santa house though.
Even though I doubt I will ever reach this level of super Santa, the houses also had fun ideas for things I could pull off once the girls are old enough to be trusted not to throw and pull on things.
The decorations at the next house though are on a level and scale that I will never be able to replicate. This is the house that starts out with a custom made gingerbread house door.
Then you walk into their pool area.
The regular front entrance is also fantastic.
Many of the decorations were ones I had seen last year, but they were still awesome. I mean a purple themed room and a black and white Christmas tree, how cool is that??
The new thing this year is upside down Christmas trees. They had one on display at the Christmas store when I went a couple days ago with friends, but it was something else to see it in a house.
Again, not something I could pull off in my own home, but definitely something worth seeing. Each house also had little treats to eat, and, not surprisingly, this house had some of the best, including mincemeat pie, which I had never tried before.
There isn't actually any meat in it. It's fruit, nuts, sugar, and some citrus. It was really good!
The final tour house, wasn't a house, but an apartment. I was really excited to see it, because it's in the new buildings that just opened this year, and it's all the way on the top floor. They even have their very own rooftop pool.
I also liked the sun room with a view.
But again, it was the beautiful furniture with fun Christmas touches that really made the house special.
After that, we went back to our starting point house for a party, Christmas store sale, and a raffle. Even though it wasn't officially on the tour, it was a beautifully decorated house. It's also fun to see the Thai culture seeping through our Christmas tour, since everyone took their shoes off before going in.
The house is right on the lake, so that's what you see when you walk in the door.
I didn't win anything in the raffle, but it was a lot of fun to get in the Christmas spirit Nichada style.
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