TREYNOR, Iowa — Sixteen Christmas trees.
Not one or two or even 12. Sixteen. That�s how many trees full of holiday cheer will be in the home of Julia and Dale Burris, who will open their door to the public as part of the Junior Treynor Women�s annual Christmas Tour of Homes on Dec. 5.
�We go kind of overboard with decorating,� Julia said in an understatement. �We have loved Christmas forever, so we put up stuff everywhere. The whole house is decorated for Christmas.�
The home tour is in its eighth year, said Carolyn Umphreys with the Junior Treynor Women.
�Everyone�s getting ready for the season. These homes give them some ideas of how they may want to decorate their homes,� she said.
Seven homes will be on the tour, with four stops in Treynor, two in Council Bluffs and one in McClelland. The event will run from 1 to 5 p.m.
Umphreys said it takes about a half hour to tour each house.
Each tree at the Burris home will feature a different theme, Julia said, including a peacock tree, all s�mores ornaments, a Nebraska Cornhusker tree, a snowman tree and a cartoon tree.
In addition, Julia has 75 porcelain Christmas houses atop the cupboards in her kitchen.
This is the first time her home has been on the tour, and she�s looking forward to it.
�It�s always been a pleasure for us to open our home to other people to enjoy what we�ve done for Christmas,� she said. �It�ll be just a lot of fellowship and fun. We�re excited.�
Another first-timer is Jodi Jacobsen.
�I didn�t do any more than I normally do,� she said of her decorations. �It�s just our home, our regular traditions. Everyone�s always welcome in our home.�
The Jacobsen home also will feature a wine tasting by Whispering Hills Vineyard and Winery of Carson, along with vendors selling glass ornaments and women�s boutique items.
The Junior Treynor Women is an all-volunteer group that does a number of community projects. Through fundraisers like the home tour, the nonprofit organization provides scholarships to Treynor High School seniors each year, funds school and community events, sponsors low-income families during the Thanksgiving and the Christmas season, and more.
The group also has a visit from Santa Claus scheduled for Dec. 11 at Treynor Elementary School.
Copyright ©2010 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
