Fort Myers Holiday House Returns to Historic Home After Three-Year Absence

Holiday House has returned to the Langford-Kingston Home in downtown Fort Myers. Three years have passed since the display last appeared. The Fort Myers Woman's Community Club hosts this free event, which now marks its 69th year, as a gift to residents.

The display opened at the historic home at 2500 First St. Visitors can tour it through Dec. 18. 

This event is part of the third-annual Holiday House Christmas Stroll along First Street. The stroll features decorations in store windows, a scavenger hunt, and a multicultural Christmas tree at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center.

"It means a lot," said Leanne Luehrman, club vice president and Holiday House chair, according to News-Press. "Tradition in the club is very important … It's our 69th year of Holiday House, and many of those years were spent at the Burroughs Home and Langford-Kingston Home."

The display features 12 Christmas trees decorated with gold ornaments and red ribbons. White lights spiral up palm trees outside. Inside, a dining table shows off gold plates and a giant angel centerpiece.

Hundreds of club members and their families spend their own time and money decorating, Luehrman said. This tradition goes back to 1956. 

Marc Collins, executive director of the Uncommon Friends Foundation, invited the club back this year. The foundation manages both the Langford-Kingston and Burroughs homes for the City of Fort Myers.

"This is a piece of history," Collins said. "It is gorgeous."

The display now takes up the first floor, porch, and staircase. It runs Tuesdays through Thursdays to avoid conflicts with author series, birthday parties, and weddings booked at the venue.

This year's stroll theme is "Tied Up In Traditions." Decorations include a Santa-hat wearing stuffed bear at The Lodge restaurant. Candy Cane Lane appears at a pocket park. The scavenger hunt features a stuffed gingerbread-house character named Holly hidden throughout First Street and inside the Langford-Kingston Home.

Maps for the stroll are available on the Fort Myers Woman's Community Club website or in paper at the Langford-Kingston Home. The Burroughs Home remains closed for renovations but will reopen in January 2026.