If you bought tour tickets last December, do you know who you bought them from? Most people would just say "the Tour of Homes," as if one group has run the same event for more than 75 years. Two organizations actually take turns, and each runs it its own way. 2026 belongs to the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center. That changes what a ticket costs, when you should buy it and who gets the money.
The dates follow the usual pattern: Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5, the first weekend of the month. The calendar that matters more for anyone living in town has a deadline three weeks from today.
Two organizations, one first weekend
The town's official tourism page lays out the rotation. In even-numbered years the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center hosts the event as the Holiday Tour of Homes. In odd-numbered years the Morgan County Historical Society takes over and calls it the Christmas Tour of Homes. The same page says the tour is the biggest annual fundraiser for both groups.
So your ticket supports a different organization depending on the year. A ticket for Dec 4 and 5 supports the Cultural Center and the arts, education and cultural programs it runs all year. Last year, the Historical Society's tour was built around Heritage Hall, and the city's 2025 calendar listed the house as the event's address. According to the Morgan County Citizen, donations collected on board the tour trolley were earmarked for the house's maintenance and preservation.
That trolley was new in 2025. The Citizen reported that it was the first time in the tour's 75-year history that visitors could ride between homes. The Madison Trolley Company ran a free continuous loop, stopping at the major parking areas and at participating houses. That was the Historical Society's addition, made in its year. The Cultural Center's version has its own extras, covered below.
What the Cultural Center's year looked like last time
The best guide to the 2026 tour is the 2024 tour, the last one the Cultural Center ran. Lake Oconee News reported that it included the Joshua Hill House on Old Post Road, built around 1840, plus Poullain Heights and the Starke-Collins House on North Main Street. It also had historic churches, house museums and several reproduction homes with detailed finishes and art collections.
Ruth Bracewell, then chair of the Cultural Center's board of trustees, told Lake Oconee News:
"Seeing all of the homes decorated in festive attire is such a wonderful way to bring in the holiday season."
The 2024 schedule matches 2026's: daylight tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and candlelight tours from 5 to 9 p.m., both days. For 2026, the Cultural Center's event page describes a "carefully selected collection of private residences decorated for the season." It mentions historic architecture, preserved interiors and modern touches. Your ticket covers both Friday and Saturday, so you can split the route across two days.
Three Decembers of ticket prices
This is where the host matters most. Here's the regular, full-price ticket for each of the last three tours:
| Year and host | Single tour, daylight or candlelight | Combo, daylight and candlelight |
|---|---|---|
| 2024, Cultural Center | $40 | $70 |
| 2025, Historical Society | $35 | $55 |
| 2026, Cultural Center | $50 | $65 |
The Citizen reported the Historical Society's 2025 tour at $35 for a day ticket, $35 for a candlelight ticket and $55 for a combo. Compared with that, a full-price single ticket this year costs $15 more.
Compared with the Cultural Center's own 2024 prices, the picture is different. The regular combo is $5 cheaper than in 2024, and the early-bird combo is the same $50 it was then. In both of its years, the Cultural Center has priced the tour around buying early and buying the combo. A single regular ticket costs $50. For $15 more you get the combo and both tours.
Thanksgiving is the deadline that matters
The 2026 early-bird prices are $35 for daylight or candlelight and $50 for the combo. They last "until Thanksgiving," which falls on November 26 this year. That's four days earlier than in 2024, when early-bird pricing ran through November 30.
The cutoff matters most if you host. Say relatives arrive for Thanksgiving and want to come back for the tour. If you wait until they're at your table to decide, the price has already changed. Before the deadline, two combo tickets cost $100. After it, the same pair costs $130.
The Cultural Center has added a few more things this year:
- A historic-home raffle. An optional $15 raffle ticket enters you to win a one-night stay in a historic Madison home. The prize is good for 12 months, with blackout dates.
- Group pricing. Groups of 15 or more get a discount, which can work for a church group, garden club or neighborhood that wants to go together.
- A sponsor hotel rate. Guests who book at the Fairfield Inn, 2.5 miles from downtown, get 10% off for December 4 and 5 only.
The hotel rate is for out-of-town guests. If your guest room is already full that weekend, it gives the overflow somewhere close to stay.
The tour weekend and the parade weekend are a week apart
Downtown's holiday season opens a month before the tour and runs through Christmas. The city calendar splits December into two separate weekends, with the tour on the first one and the city's own celebrations on the second. Here it is in order, starting this week:
- Saturday, November 7, and Saturday, November 14. Shop, Sip & Stroll runs downtown from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with retailer discounts, complimentary festive drinks and live music.
- November 7 through December 25. During Shop Small - Win Big!, every $25 you spend at downtown retailers, restaurants or spas earns a raffle entry, with weekly prize drawings.
- Thursday, November 26. The tour's early-bird pricing ends on Thanksgiving.
- Saturday, November 28. Small Business Saturday earns double Shop Small entries.
- Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5. The Holiday Tour of Homes runs with daylight tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and candlelight tours from 5 to 9 p.m.
- Saturday, December 12. The Holiday Parade steps off from 4 to 5 p.m. with the theme "A Colonial Christmas." The Mayor's Tree Lighting is the same day in Madison Town Park, during Caroling by Candlelight.
- December 12 through 25. Caroling by Candlelight fills Town Park from 5 to 7 p.m. On parade day it includes local performers plus Santa and Mrs. Claus. The city lists both the parade and the caroling as free.
- Sunday, December 13. The Atlanta Shakespeare Company performs A Christmas Carol at the Cultural Center at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 for adults and $15 for students, and there's a meet-and-greet with Scrooge after the show.
Because of the spacing, a single weekend visit can't cover everything. A visit built around the candlelight tour on December 4 or 5 lands a week before the parade. A visit built around the parade and the tree lighting comes after the tour has closed, but it can include the Sunday matinee at the Cultural Center. If your guests can visit only once in December, decide which weekend they should come for before you buy tickets. Then buy before November 26.
I live in Madison, and its historic homes are a big part of my work. If this year's route gets you thinking about owning a piece of that history, Traci Nelson is happy to walk you through what's behind the front doors once the garland comes down. Find Your Lake Lifestyle, or your Madison one.
