Each holiday season, a few traditions feel truly woven into the fabric of the New Canaan community — and the Holiday House Tour is certainly one of them. Hosted biennially by the Newcomers Club of New Canaan, the tour is both a celebration of creativity and design and a meaningful charitable event dedicated to giving back to the local community.

For Studio Mason, participating in the 2025 Holiday House Tour was something we had long looked forward to — a chance to connect with neighbors and create a holiday experience that was equal parts festive, imaginative, and quietly magical. When we learned that our client spent her career as a children's book editor, the concept of A Storybook Christmas developed almost on its own. Throughout the home, we crafted romantic vignettes to unfold like scenes from a beloved holiday tale. We wanted guests to step across the threshold and feel, instantly, that they had entered a world apart — one where the holidays exist as they do in our most cherished childhood memories: warm, unhurried, and full of wonder.

Velvet ribbons in forest green, cranberry, and gold wound through garlands and across tabletops, while antique brass accents lent a collected, timeworn charm. Clipped book pages and hand-crafted paper ornaments adorned a towering Christmas tree, giving it the feeling of a literary heirloom built slowly over time. Candlelit tablescapes, lush florals, and crackers wrapped in vintage storybook illustrations leaned into old-world enchantment, while handmade paper chains — the kind that belongs in every childhood memory of the season — looped cheerfully alongside nutcrackers, miniature trees, and dramatic velvet bows. Soft textures, layered greenery, and the glow of candlelight carried the story from room to room.