Call for Homes: Join the 2025 ‘Homes for the Holidays’ Tour

OLD LYME – The Old Lyme Children’s Learning Center has announced the return of the Homes for the Holidays Tour – and they’re looking for homeowners on or near Lyme Street who are willing to open their beautifully decorated, holiday-themed homes to visitors.

The popular fundraiser will be held Saturday, Dec. 6 from mid-morning through early afternoon. 

OLCLC Board of Directors President Kristen St. Germain in an email said the center has already secured some homes and is hoping to add more.

“Whether you showcase a few rooms or the whole house, your participation helps bring joy to visitors and raises critical funds to support high-quality childcare for working families in our area,” she said. “This festive event not only celebrates the spirit of the season but also highlights the architecture and warmth of our beautiful community.”

Interested homeowners are asked to email St. Germain at bod.olclc@gmail.com or board member Marie Ryan at mcargr@aol.com.

OLCLC has been providing childcare on Lyme Street for almost 40 years. But a severe leak in 2023 forced the center to close its doors for a complete renovation of the historic home. It reopened last October. 

St. Germain in a separate letter to area homeowners described the closure as a logistical and financial challenge at a time when the center was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic to find an altered childcare landscape. 

“The need for quality childcare in Connecticut has never been greater,” she said. “Since the pandemic, our state has faced a critical shortage of childcare options, making it even more difficult for working families to balance their careers and their children’s care. OLCLC is committed to being part of the solution, but we need the community’s help to get back on our feet.”

The center will also host a holiday boutique inside the Old Lyme Town Hall as part of the tour.

Author

Elizabeth started her journalism career in 2013 with the launch of The Salem Connect, a community news site inspired by digital trailblazers like Olwen Logan. Elizabeth’s earliest reporting included two major fires — one at a package store and another at a log cabin where she captured, on video, a state trooper fatally shooting the unarmed homeowner and suspected arsonist. The experiences gave her a crash course in public record searches, courthouse procedures and the Freedom of Information Act. She went on to report for The Bulletin, CT News Junkie, The Rivereast, and The Day, where she covered the Lymes and helped launch the Housing Solutions Lab on affordable housing. Her work has earned numerous awards from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists and the New England Newspaper & Press Association. Now, after more than a decade in digital, weekly, and daily journalism, she’s grateful to return to the place where it all started: an online news site dedicated to one small corner of Connecticut.