The mood of the month will be on display this Friday night during the 8th annual Holiday Housewalk. Sponsored by the Oak Park/River Forest Infant Welfare Society, Dec. 1 from 6 to 10 p.m., six homes in historic Oak Park will don their finery to suit the season as well as interested spectators.
By the chimney with care: The Wicklow kids have plenty of holiday ambiance to steep in while they eagerly await the arrival of the big guy-post fire, of course.
The homes, all within walking distance of each other, include English Tudor, Colonial and Victorian homes personally and professionally decorated to reflect the style and family traditions of the owners. According to Jennifer GoodSmith, a member of the Infant Welfare Society, the event annually raises about $20,000 and all proceeds from the event fund the Oak Park-based Infant Welfare Clinic. The clinic provides medical and dental care for children in the western suburbs whose caretakers cannot afford the cost of private practitioners.
“Many of us have so much, it’s important to remember those who aren’t as fortunate,” said Deb Poe, co-chair of this year’s event. “This year we have 17 local vendors such as florists, professional decorators, food and wine retailers who add extra special displays and take the event to another level,” noted Poe. “We also have a ‘dine and share’ program that entire weekend with many local restaurateurs who will donate 10 percent of a patron’s bill to Infant Welfare Society.” Dine and share certificates come with Holiday Housewalk tickets and must be presented to participating dining establishments. “We also have 14 different live musical presentations,” added Poe. “It’s really a great event to help kick off the holidays where people can get decorating tips from six beautiful houses.”
Old sod: Paul Wicklow’s Belfast roots can be seen in his home’s
holiday decorations.
You’ll step back in time to celebrate a Victorian Christmas at an Italianate Victorian on North Oak Park Avenue, built in 1872. The current owners, the Wicklows of builders Coffman and Wicklow, Inc., have restored the home. “My mom emigrated from Belfast, Ireland with me when I was 10 months old,” said Paul Wicklow. She reunited with her husband, who had previously emigrated from Belfast to Oak Park and has been here ever since. Now Paul is the parent (with his wife, Melissa) of his own family: “Five kids under the age of 10,” he laughs. “Christmas is a favorite time of year for us.”
Wicklow says his wife was approached by a neighbor to participate in the benefit, and he agreed because the first floor was finished.
“This home was originally a two-flat, and we deconverted it to a single family home,” he says. His family loves the big yard and all the room to run around. “We put a live tree in the foyer which leaves the main rooms free for gathering and opening presents in front of the fireplace.” A working train surrounds the tree and is a favorite holiday diversion for the children. Family ornaments adorn the large tree in the foyer and classic fresh greenery festoon the double-parlor living room and music room. Heirloom china, including stunning antique crystal stemware, decorate the dining room.
Music fills the air
“A musical group will be performing at the welcoming center at the church, and we have talent from many local youth choirs,” notes Dale Clarke, co-chair of musical arrangements for the housewalk. “We’ll have madrigal singers strolling up and down the street, depending on the weather,” she notes. “One year it started to snow during the event which made it really pretty but kind of a mess for people taking off the little booties to tour the houses.”
Four of the houses will feature live music and two will have music piped in. “A local high school young man is playing piano and some middle school students are in duets as well as children’s choirs, and we have keyboards and saxophones,” Clarke adds.
The three wise bears?
A Christmas wonderland unfolds, beginning with three polar bears at the top of the porch stairs of the impressive 1885 Queen Anne on North Euclid. Within the last three years, current owners have completed a four-story addition, a new coach house and detailed landscaping. Inside the house, each room brings to life a different aspect of the holiday season-from the candyland-inspired kitchen to a Dickensian living room.
O holy ice
The spirituality of Christmas is emphasized at the New England Colonial on North Euclid. Built in 1904, this James Fyfe-designed home created for original owner A.H. Mumford, is themed, “O Holy Night,” and artfully incorporates many nativity scenes owned by the extended family of the current owners. A cold winter night, complete with snow, trees and an ice sculpture will be recreated-all on the front screened porch.
Christmas, Prairie-style
A Prairie Christmas is aptly represented in an E.E. Roberts-designed home on North Euclid. Homeowner Cinde Seegers says their Christmas collections have always been closely tied to family: “We give the kids an ornament every year that reflects their interests or a place where we vacationed,” she says. “When we went west, I bought them cowboy boot ornaments. When my son turned 21, he got a little martini glass and a baseball bat and a field hockey stick for my daughter.” Seegers says they visited Costa Rica “where there is a rare bird and we have that as an ornament in felt.”
The family also has an impressive array of Snow Village pieces. “They all are presents from family members-such as a bowling alley from a relative who owned one in Joliet, a hospital to represent an uncle who served on a board at a hospital in Joliet for 40 years, a pizza parlor because my kids like pizza, and a school to represent their education,” she explains.
They also have pieces reflecting architectural styles of houses, including Southern Colonial, Prairie and Victorian. Their own 1903 Prairie-style home is an impressive example of the work of architect E.E. Roberts. “We owned an E.E. Roberts home in Oak park before we bought this one, so I guess we really like E.E. Roberts,” says Seegers.
The family also has a collection of several large and small nutcrackers. “Some nutcrackers are as large as 30 inches,” she says. “Many are worn from use over the years-my son is now in his 20s!”
Another family tradition started by accident. “My husband got started collecting snow globes when we was given one for a gift, and he was just delighted,” recalls Seegers. “We now have about 18 for the holidays and eight we display at other occasions throughout the year.”
A white sunroom Christmas
“Ye Olde English Christmas” is the theme at a majestic Colonial on North Euclid, originally built by Charles E. White for Walter S. Carr in the 1920s. Seventeenth- and 18th-century English furniture furnishes the living and dining areas and bright Poinsettias deck the grand staircase. The sunroom is decked in gleaming winter white. In the dining room, the c. 1690 William and Mary table is the perfect setting for a holiday meal.
Southern flavor
A southern-style Christmas is reflected at a Superior Street Georgian home. The “newest kid on the block,” it was built in 1992 and reflects the owners’ deep Southern roots. Flowers, fruit, and feathers set the stage for holiday pizzazz and the Magnolia leaves in the foyer were shipped directly from Montgomery. Two Christmas trees, with skirts and ornaments hand-sewn by the homeowner’s mother, adorn the foyer and family room. A third tree on the patio has edible ornaments for birds and squirrels. The trimmings were created by the residents at Seguin Services for the Developmentally Disabled where the homeowner’s sister lives.
Tickets for the event are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. Visit online at www.infantwelfareoakpark.org. For more information:holidayhousewalk@infantwelfareoakpark.org or call 708/848-0528 ext. 300.
You can extend the holiday mood as well as the benefit for Infant Welfare by dining at an area restaurant during weekend of Dec 1, 2, and 3. Restaurateurs include Caf Le Coq, Nola’s Cup, Avenue Ale House, Winberie’s, Papaspiros Greek Taverna, Hemmingway’s Bistro, Cucina Paradiso and Fuego Loco. The named restaurants will donate 10 percent of patrons’ total bills to Infant Welfare. Receive your coupon when you pick up your tickets at United Methodist Church, 324 N. Oak Park Ave. from 4 to 9 p.m. this Friday.