Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes 2026: Seven Decorated Homes, One December Evening in North Myrtle Beach

Dusk comes early on the Carolina coast in December, a little after five, and on the first Friday of the month it brings company. Porch lights come on in North Myrtle Beach and Little River, cars ease up along quiet streets, and people in Christmas sweaters walk up driveways they have never seen before, tickets in hand. For one evening a year, seven households let the whole town in to see the tree.

The occasion is the Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes, presented by the GFWC North Myrtle Beach Woman’s Club and now in its 31st year. The 2026 tour is set for Friday, December 4, from 3 to 8 p.m., with seven decorated homes on the route, according to the club’s announcement in the North Myrtle Beach Times. It still works the way it always has: buy a ticket, make the rounds, and see how the neighbors do Christmas.

For a visitor, the tour is also a rare look past the front door. A beach town is easy to know from the outside, from the boulevard and the pier and the restaurant decks, and much harder to know from the inside. Here is what the club has announced for this year, how to get tickets before they are gone, and how to fit the tour into a first weekend of December that also holds a parade, a cantata and two million lights.

The 2026 Tour at a Glance

Details are from the club’s November 11, 2026, announcement and its website. Confirm with the club before you go, since ticket supplies and outlets can change.

Seven Homes, Two Towns

This year’s route takes in seven homes, one more than the six on last year’s 30th anniversary tour, and it crosses the line between North Myrtle Beach and Little River. The club describes a range of styles, from coastal decorating to traditional Christmas elegance, and that range is most of the fun. You might step out of a living room done in driftwood, white lights and blue glass and, ten minutes later, into one with a tree that brushes the ceiling.

Event chairperson Kathy Wallace told the North Myrtle Beach Times the club is proud of the years it has spent showcasing beautiful homes, inspiring holiday traditions and supporting community causes. That last part matters to the people who open their doors. Decorating a house for a steady stream of guests is no small job, and the homeowners take it on for the charities the ticket money reaches.

The stops are spread out, so this is a driving tour with short walks at each end. Little River sits about ten minutes north of Cherry Grove, and the two towns share the Intracoastal Waterway, which means some of the prettiest approaches of the evening are the drives in between.

Tickets: Where to Buy and What They Cost

Advance tickets are $40 and are sold in person at three places that are worth a visit on their own. Hope Taylor & Company is on Main Street in the Ocean Drive section, a short walk from the shag clubs and the ocean. Destination North Myrtle Beach, the area’s visitor center, is at 1521 Highway 17 South. Purpleologist is in Barefoot Landing, the shopping and dining village on the waterway near Windy Hill. Buying at any of the three turns the errand into an afternoon of holiday shopping.

Tickets will also be sold on the day of the tour for $50. The club’s website lists online sales too, closing at 5 p.m. on Thursday, December 3. The club says tickets are selling quickly this year, and with a route this size the safe plan is to buy in advance and save the ten dollars.

Santa’s Stash and Where the Money Goes

Every home on the route will have a table for the Santa’s Stash Raffle, popular enough that organizers remind guests to bring cash. Tuck a few bills in a coat pocket before you leave the house, because the first stop is a poor place to discover you have only a card.

The money has somewhere to go. Proceeds from the tour support the charitable organizations the Woman’s Club works with and scholarships for local students. Grand Strand Magazine reported that the 2024 tour raised $14,000 for more than 28 charities, a good return on one evening of open doors. The club is part of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, and it counts the tour among its most cherished traditions.

How to Plan the Evening

Five hours and seven homes works out to roughly forty minutes a stop, driving included, which is comfortable if you start on time and tight if you linger. Arriving close to 3 p.m. has two advantages. The early homes are less crowded, and you see the outdoor decorations in daylight before the sun goes down a little after five. Save a home or two for full dark, when the candlelight in the name does its work and the windows glow from the street.

The club suggests comfortable shoes and holiday attire. Take both suggestions. There are porch steps, driveways and a good deal of standing, and dressing for the season is half the fun of being in the crowd. A light jacket is enough most years, with early December evenings on this coast usually settling in the 50s.

Dinner fits best at the end. The tour closes at 8 p.m., and Main Street and Barefoot Landing both have restaurants for a late supper. If the group still has energy, The Great Christmas Light Show at the Park & Sports Complex admits cars until 9:30 p.m., and Santa’s Village is open that Friday night. Our guide to The Great Christmas Light Show has the details.

Make a Weekend of It

The tour falls on the fullest weekend of the city’s holiday calendar. On Thursday, December 3, the J. Bryan Floyd Community Center holds its Wreath Making Workshop from 1 to 4 p.m., a fitting warm-up for a weekend of looking at other people’s wreaths. Friday belongs to the tour. On Saturday, December 5, the North Myrtle Beach Christmas Parade steps off at 5:30 p.m. and rolls up Main Street with lighted floats, and the All City Christmas Cantata is sung that afternoon at 3:30 and twice more on Sunday at Living Water Baptist Church in Longs.

Arrive a few days early and you can add the City Christmas Tree Lighting at McLean Park on Tuesday, December 1, at 6 p.m. Our 2026 holiday events guide lays out the whole season from Little River to Murrells Inlet, the North Myrtle Beach events calendar keeps the running list, and our pillar guide to things to do in Myrtle Beach fills the daylight hours. For the short version of this story, see our news report on the 2026 tour.

Where to Stay for Tour Weekend

Any of the four beach sections works for tour weekend, and each has its own argument. Cherry Grove is the closest to Little River and the quietest place to wake up on a December morning. Ocean Drive puts Main Street, the parade route and one of the ticket outlets within walking distance. Crescent Beach sits in the middle of everything, and Windy Hill is minutes from Barefoot Landing and the light show.

Early December is also one of the best values of the year. Our oceanfront homes give a family or a group of friends a kitchen, a living room and a deck for the sunrise, and our oceanfront condos suit couples who want the ocean out the window without the extra bedrooms. After an evening in seven beautifully decorated houses, it is pleasant to come home to one with a view.

Frequently Asked Questions

Spend the First Weekend of December at the Beach

Seven front doors open for five hours on one Friday in December, and then the tour is gone for another year. The beach will be nearly empty that weekend, the town will be lit from the sports complex to Main Street, and there is a parade the next night.

Sources: GFWC North Myrtle Beach Woman’s Club announcement in the North Myrtle Beach Times (Nov. 11, 2026); GFWC North Myrtle Beach Woman’s Club website; Grand Strand Magazine; City of North Myrtle Beach holiday events announcement (Nov. 10, 2026). Dates, times and ticket prices are subject to change; confirm with the club at northmyrtlebeachwomansclub.org before attending.