CRANBERRY TWP — Those looking for new holiday decorating ideas while donating to seven worthy local charities are invited to join in the Cranberry Women's Club Christmas House Tour from 4 to 8 p.m. Dec. 11.

Gina Bianchi, the club's co-chair for the house tour this year, said participants can pay $20 each to go on a self-guided tour of seven Cranberry-area homes that are beautifully and uniquely decorated for the holidays.

All the money raised will be divided between Habitat for Humanity, Gleaner's Food Bank, Mars Home for Youth, Cranberry Township Public Library, Project Hope of Zelienople, UPMC-Cranberry Place skilled nursing facility and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

Bianchi said more than $4,500 was raised last year, and she expects to raise at least that much in 2011.

Each year, more groups of friends get together for a tea party or brunch or wine and cheese before heading out for the tour, Bianchi said.

“I get such a kick out of the ladies, and I love the fact that it's become an important part of their holiday season,” she said. “When first-timers see how fun and well-run it is, they decide to do it every year.”

Tourists first stop at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, where the Cranberry Chorale heightens the mood by belting out Christmas carols. The annual Parade of Trees will also be on display, in which each charitable organization involved with Cranberry Township Community Chest decorates a tree with items specific to its mission. Twenty trees are on display.

“For instance, the Moms club decorated their tree with baby bottles and bibs,” Bianchi said.

Tourists pick up a goody bag of snacks to enjoy during their journey and a tour booklet with driving directions before setting off. Each participant is entered into a door prize drawing before leaving the municipal center.

Bianchi said the homes on the tour were chosen to produce a diverse array of sizes, architectural styles, and new or historic homes as well as those with unique collections or decorations.

“Anything that would be interesting to tour goers,” she said.

First-time tour hostess Doreen Miles of Ehrman Farms is excited to showcase her five Christmas trees, one of which is hung upside-down.

“I love Christmas and decorating and celebrating family getting together,” Miles said. “It's my favorite time of year, so I thought it would be a fun thing to do for the holidays.”

Her husband, Kirk Miles, points out the family's 10 visits to Disneyworld have produced many Disney-themed ornaments.

The Miles' foyer contains a Dickens village, and the dining room displays a Nativity scene and formal Christmas china.

Another newbie hostess is Tammy Snyder, whose home is opposite the Avery Fields plan. Snyder was in the midst of upgrading and painting all nine rooms on her home's first floor when approached by the Cranberry Women's Club.

As of Tuesday, she still had seven more rooms and hallways to paint.

“I said this will force me to get it done,” Snyder said. “But I've used a lot of Icy Hot.”

Snyder's home will also feature five decorated trees, including a pink-and-zebra tree in her young daughter's room and a Steelers tree in the downstairs recreation room.

The charitable aspect of the house tour, particularly the Komen foundation, also has particular meaning to Snyder, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor.

“I'm pretty excited about it,” she said. “I think it's nice that it benefits local charities.”

Cranberry Township manager Jerry Andree recently could be found stringing up the white lights that outline his split-entry home in the Timberline plan, as his wife, Jan, has agreed to be a tour hostess for the first time.

The Andrees recently returned from their annual trip to Frankenmuth, Mich., for the Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. The trip serves as the family's kickoff to Christmas.

“It's just a nice atmosphere,” Jan Andree said.

She said her mother, Phyllis Kolb, instigated her love of Christmas decorating when she was a child by handcrafting most of the items festooning the Kolb home. Andree still uses a tree skirt and stockings made by her mother.

Andree and her own daughter, now a teacher in Bangkok, Thailand, also made many of the ornaments and decorations that will be on display during the tour.

Andree also appreciates the event's focus on local charities. She said her daughter worked with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and Andree knows from her involvement with Rotary that Gleaner's Food Bank always has a pressing need for items to fill its shelves.

“People are often surprised that people in Cranberry need food, but they do,” Andree said.

She is also keen to help out the library, as cuts in government subsidies have brought finances difficult for all public libraries across the state.

“The library has always been important to us,” Andree said. “It's always been a large part of our family.”

Bianchi said all are invited to tour the homes and enjoy an evening of Christmas fun while helping those in need.

“It's a win-win situation,” Bianchi said. “You spend $20 for a ticket and every penny is donated locally, but you come away with memories of a good time with friends and new ideas for decorating your home.”

<b>WHAT: </b>Cranberry Women's Club Christmas House Tour of seven homes<b>WHEN: </b>4 to 8 p.m. Dec. 11<b>WHERE:</b> Self-guided tour begins at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center<b>TICKETS:</b> The $20 tickets are available presale only by sending a check and self-addressed, stamped envelope to Gina Bianchi, 128 Village Drive, Cranberry Township, PA, 16002. Checks should be made payable to CWC or Cranberry Women's Club. More information is available at www.cranberrywomensclub.org.