Even a lingering pandemic couldn’t dampen the fun, beauty and downright sparkle that is the Oakwood Christmas Tour in Raleigh last weekend.

This will be a quick blog post, but I HAD to share some photos of the sights and great ideas that were seen on the tour.

There were, of course, lots of gorgeous Christmas trees.

Pretty, pretty trees.

I went on the tour with friends Lisa and Mindy - the perfect tour companions. Lisa is the BEST photographer and she took this nice picture of me. Every color looks so rich, doesn’t it?

We got someone on the street to take this picture of the three of us in front of one of our favorite houses. I did not ask Mindy or Lisa for permission to put their picture on this post, so I’m living dangerously here.

In this next picture, you need to look closely at the ornaments. Mer-men!

The exteriors of the homes were special too. Just about every house in the Oakwood section of Raleigh is lovely.

The gold ornaments on this next house are made from magnolia leaves. So creative!

exterior Christmas decorations with magnolia leaves

And there were so many vintage holiday items. Look at the snowman greeting us at the gorgeous double door on this house:

And some of us remember Santa-and-his-reindeer scenes on the side of barns and houses when we were very young:

And look at this collection of cuteness under the stairs!

Anyone need some proof of the impact of one bold stroke of color in a neutral room?

That poster would make me smile every single time I walked into that room. I don’t know which makes me happiest - Alice or the bold turquoise with the lemony yellow accents. Oh my. The power of color is fierce!

I also love a sweet view in a window from the street:

This pantry shows off the results of a serious collector:

Next up - a couple of kitchens that aren’t grand or massive. But they’re hard working and good looking!

We saw a lot of open shelving in kitchens and very cool light fixtures.

I want to be sure you see this entire light fixture. I’m in love with it.

How about a few dining rooms?

Don’t miss the shiny blue ceiling in this next one!

A couple of noteworthy items: this next photo has a rare dollhouse, but the thing that stopped me in my tracks was the pulley system on the drying rack!

And what about this boot rack on the back porch? I’ve never seen that before! When it comes to boots, I’ve lived a sheltered life.

This next house wasn’t on the tour - it’s just in the neighborhood (nice neighborhood). It’s a great example of a Second Empire Victorian style home. Swoonworthy.

Many of the houses on the tour had a vintage car parked out front, for added sparkle.

Nurseries have come a long way:

The fireplace in this boys bedroom is a showstopper.

Such a cute way to remind people to curb their dogs:

Here’s another Christmas tree in a play area;

The mid century modern style is very popular in Oakwood. This next tree is in a small addition in a home right off the kitchen. It was originally used as a Sukkah. Go look that up! Hint: it’s a space to celebrate Sukkot in.

I have one more tree to show you. This one wasn’t on the tour. The next day Sofia - our 3 year old granddaughter - and I had to run over to the high school to pick up her brother - our 16 year old grandson. She loved the tree in the school lobby (it’s a Catholic school)!