Friends of OCNJ History & Culture is hosting its annual Historic Holiday House Tour on Saturday, Dec. 6. Now in its third year, the house tour has quickly become one of the most anticipated seasonal events on the island, drawing interest from residents and visitors eager to step inside some of the community’s most storied homes.
The tour — organized by the Friends of OCNJ History & Culture and the Scarborough Inn — will show the island’s historic homes decked out in holiday splendor.
The event, and the Friends of OCNJ, is dedicated to showcasing the architecture, charm and history that often remain hidden behind closed doors.
The group began in 2020 from a Facebook page, “Ocean City Old Home Lovers,” and quickly grew as members shared stories, photos and memories of the city’s historic architecture.
Many of the homes featured on the tour’s route are more than a century old, and their intimate layouts limit the number of visitors who can comfortably pass through.
Sne Avichal, event organizer, Friends of OCNJ History & Culture founding board member and Innkeeper at the Scarborough Inn, said 2,000 people were interested, but he had to cap ticket sales at 400 in order to keep the event enjoyable and manageable for both guests and homeowners. Tickets sold out within a week.
He said visitors should plan to be able to see two or three houses per hour, factoring in traveling to each home and waiting to get inside.
“The houses are small; we’re not going through museums. We’re going through people’s kitchens and dining rooms,” Avichal said. “It’s a three-hour event, so from 5 to 8 p.m. They are not going to have time to see all the houses, and people who’ve been on the tour before know that. They have that expectation.”
The self-guided event begins at 5 p.m., with check-in at the Scarborough Inn at 720 Ocean Ave, where guests will receive wristbands and a list of stops before setting out at their own pace. The specific homes are revealed only on the night of the event to prevent early walkthroughs, preserving the experience for ticketholders.
The tour will highlight a mix of 12 Victorian, Edwardian and early-20th-century homes — many of which even longtime locals don’t realize still exist.
In addition to private residences, several notable local businesses known for their distinctive architecture will also join the tour. The Flanders Hotel, Stainton’s, Handlaget, Shoppes at the Asbury and the Coastal Chateau Hotel are among the confirmed stops, helping to round out a route that blends residential history with Ocean City’s commercial heritage.
The evening will conclude with a festive reception from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Garden Room of the Flanders Hotel. Built in 1923, the hotel offers a picturesque — and historically appropriate — setting for guests to gather after the tour. A hot chocolate bar, tea and seasonal snacks will be served as visitors trade impressions of the homes they explored.
“It’s a community event. It’s really neighbors doing the tour for each other,” Avichal said. “These homeowners, they’ve done a lot of work renovating their homes, and they put in a lot of work decorating, but they don’t always have a huge audience, and this gives them a few-hundred-person audience for a night. So they become rock stars for the day.”
