The Christmas crashers

If there’s anything Catholics love as much as Jesus, it just might be architectural splendor—see: St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Notre Dame de Paris in France and the Spanish missions in California. Now, they’re “crashing” East Sacramento with the Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour. Happening Friday through Sunday, the 39th annual tour will feature five renovated East Sacramento homes decked out in all their Christmas glory. The event raises funds for Catholic education at Sacred Heart Parish School.

For those who aren’t familiar with the neighborhood, East Sacramento is home to numerous million-dollar homes. Many houses in the area are architectural marvels, and the holiday lights in this Fabulous 40s section of town are a draw for regional visitors and photographers. The Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour adds an additional layer of style by displaying the works of local interior and landscape designers such as Beyond the Garden Gate, Holiday Home Sacramento, Kerrie Kelly Design Lab, Lumens Light + Living, and Twiggs Floral Design Gallery.

Each home on the tour—featuring Tudor-, Mediterranean Revival- and American Crafstman-style architecture—features its own unique holiday décor from one of the aforementioned designers. The whole tour takes about two hours from start to finish, or you can take it slowly over the course of three days. Each ticket is good for one-time admittance to any home at any time during the tour. When you’re finished, you can warm up at the Holiday Boutique and Cafe at the Sacred Heart Parish School. The boutique will offer food, gifts and holiday decorations for sale. Buying said decorations will probably be necessary, because—let’s face it: Our own humble abodes will seem uninspired after seeing the five homes on this tour.

The Sacred Heart Holiday Home Tour happens on Friday, November 30, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, December 1, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, December 2, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets cost $25 in advance and $30 the day of. For more information, call (916) 556-5050 or visit http://sacredhearthometour.com.