By Tribune-Review

Published: Friday, November 23, 2012, 8:57 p.m.
Updated: Friday, November 23, 2012

Houses and churches decorated for Christmas will be opening their doors over the next few weeks for tours and holiday cheer.

• The Old Allegheny Victorian Christmas House Tour is one of the most popular in the area. The tour in the Allegheny West neighborhood on the North Side features six restored Victorian homes, plus the historic Calvary United Methodist Church with its Tiffany stained glass windows. The guided tours depart from Calvary Church every 12 minutes from 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 7 and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 8. Tickets are $25, and reservations are recommended. The tour takes approximately three hours.

For an additional $10, tourgoers can visit a large toy train museum in Holmes Hall. DVDs giving a virtual tour of the train museum, “Tinplate Legends in Action 3,” will be available to buy for $15. There will be refreshments for sale at the church and a Holiday Shoppe at Jones Hall at the corner of Ridge Avenue and Brighton Road. Free parking is available at the CCAC lot on Ridge Avenue, between Galveston and Beech avenues.

Details: 412-418-2027; www.alleghenywest.org

• Zelienople Historical Society: The 20th annual Christmas Home Tour will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 1. The self-guided driving tour includes 10 homes decorated in a variety of holiday styles. The tour includes a catered lunch, during which the winner will be chosen for the annual quilt raffle. Tickets are $22. Details: 724-452-9457; www.zelienoplehistoricalsociety.com

• Scottdale Historical Society: The annual Christmas house tour will be from 2 to 6 p.m. Dec. 1. It begins at the society's Louck's Homestead at 527 N. Chestnut St. There are four additional homes and the Alverton Center Bethel Church of God on the tour. Tickets are $15 or two for $25 and can be bought the day of the tour at the Louck's Homestead, 527 N. Chestnut St. Details: 724-887-5045; www.facebook.com/scottdalehs

• Sewickley Christmas Santa House Tour: The Edgeworth Garden Club in Sewickley is hosting a tour from 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 2 of a house at 213 Quaker Road that has six rooms filled with hundreds of Santa Clauses, Americana folk art, needlework and quilts. The tour also will include holiday raffle baskets, baked goods and cider. Tickets are $10; $5 for children, and are available at the door. The tour is a fundraiser for a garden club scholarship to a qualifying student who is majoring in plant sciences. Details: 412-818-5329

• Greensburg Garden Center: This year, the Greensburg Garden Center's holiday tour is at five historic churches. The mostly walkable tour is from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Dec. 8. The churches will be decorated for Christmas by local florists, and pastors at each will talk about the history and architecture of the churches. Musical entertainment will be provided. Tickets are $20 and are available at the garden center, 951 Old Salem Road. Details: 724-837-0245.

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