Giving tops the list of the most important part of Christmas time.

But the holiday is also known for dazzling lights, decorated trees, boughs of holly and all-around merriment.

So why not have the best of both worlds this holiday season?

Assistance League of the Eastside’s signature fund raiser, Celebrations Holiday Home Tour, is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9 in Kirkland. Celebrations is a self-guided tour of six Kirkland homes – one in Houghton and five located West of Market – beautifully decorated for the holidays.

Event co-chair Kay Zatine, who is also a member of the Assistance League of the Eastside, says everyone wins with this event: “the merchants, Kirkland and the people who will be served by the money raised on this one fabulous day.”

All proceeds from the tour help to fund the philanthropic programs of the organization that include Operation School Bell, Assault Survivor Kits, Starting Over Support and Assistance League Outreach.

These programs annually provide new clothing to more than 2,600 students selected by school personnel in the Lake Washington, Bellevue and Northshore school districts; help to restore dignity to survivors of sexual assault with clothing to replace items retained as evidence by the police; and bring comfort to families seeking shelter from domestic violence.

Four tickets will pay for new school clothing for one junior high school child; three tickets will pay for a basket of essential items for families fleeing domestic abuse; and one ticket will pay for a full Assault Survivor Kit and one mini kit in hospitals statewide.

Since 1992 this all-volunteer non-profit organization has:

• Clothed over 26,000 students in the three school districts

• Assisted over 13,000 survivors of sexual assault

• Supported over 300 families beginning a new life free of violence and returned over $3 million back into our local community

The Celebrations Holiday Home Tour has been the organization’s signature event for the past 16 years. While the tour has been in various Eastside cities throughout the years, including Bellevue and Redmond, this year marks the tour’s second year in Kirkland.

Ticket holders will be able to tour six unique homes and enjoy an after-tour party at Sur la table in Kirkland. Tickets cost $30 and can be ordered online at www.eastside.assistanceleague.org or by calling 425-556-5106.

The tour is the perfect way to greet the holiday season, while giving back to the Eastside communities.