There are limits to what people can accept, handle and allow to happen in their home. People who have listed a home for sale or been selected for a holiday house tour know this better than most.

On the two holiday tours I have enjoyed this year, I have witnessed varying methods of keeping people from being too nosy (and they are, truly, nosy.)

For example:

• It is okay to go upstairs if they offer and encourage you to do so, even if you demur because you have seen 23 of the 24 homes most with three stories.
• It is not okay to go past the ribbons, ropes, drapes or potted plants that are used to create a simple, but clear barrier to entry.

Here are a few other examples of acceptable and not-acceptable behaviors:

• It is okay to peek under the lid of the paella pot they have simmering on the stove.
• It is not okay to stick your finger in it to taste the stew.
• It is okay to look in the closet where they have organized it and even added holiday decorations and cheerful Christmas Greetings.
• It is not okay to open doors and look inside, (this isn’t an open house real estate showing.)
• It is okay to walk into the last house on the tour at 4:45PM a mere fifteen minutes prior to the end of the tour.
• It is not okay to knock at 5:15PM a whopping fifteen minutes after the end of the tour.

By (even) 4:45PM these folks have probably had enough of people traipsing through their homes, even though they have pleasantly chatted about the neighborhood, described their home renovations, shared florist’s business cards and upcoming concert announcements that serve the neighborhood.  The newbies often admit how much fun they had the night prior (being offered liquid courage from the veteran tour-homeowners,) but wondering if they will muster up the will to do it again.  Some shared how much they enjoy the day and yet, how much they are looking forward to enjoying the evening with friends, the other tour families, during a celebratory feast at the end of the day.

There are limits to how much togetherness humans can handle, playing host, opening your home for hundreds of people; even though it is for a good cause (the arts and garden clubs) and even though it was fun to decorate early for the holiday.

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl