Childlike gasps filled the room as the magical sights came into view. Visitors “oohed” and “ahhed” over the Christmas spectacle that materialized before their very eyes. No, they were not extras in a Hallmark movie, but instead were witnessing the annual Trinity Falls Tour of Trees.

Trinity Falls, a master-planned community in McKinney, Texas, has been hosting the tour since 2020. The inspiration for the event was spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and wanting to provide an opportunity for community members to safely gather while touring the model homes. Since the tour takes guests through multiple houses quickly, visitors are never in the same room for very long.

This year’s tour will feature 10 professionally decorated trees by Antoinette Boston, who specializes in decorating Christmas trees.

“She adds this wow factor to every single tree. We've grown with the style and we've grown with theming it out and making it more extravagant and making it more fun,” said C’Ella Clayton, director of marketing for Trinity Falls. “We're starting to see people come in and take photos with their families in front of the trees or their friends and that's fun, too.”

The tour will take place this year from Nov. 19 until Dec. 18. The homes will be available to tour 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday. The tour is completely free and open to the public, with representatives from the homebuilders inside each home to answer any questions visitors might have. The aim of the tour is to bring more people in to view the community, and learn more about the growth at Trinity Falls in a fun, festive way.

“Last year we had more than 3,700 people take the tour,” Clayton said. “We definitely see that it inspires people about what they think home is and what they want home to be and just seeing the growth of McKinney out in this area.”

Boston, who has been extravagantly decorating Christmas trees since 2014, enjoys being able to come up with fun and unique themes every year. For the 2022 tour, there will be three returning tree themes and seven new ones. Some of the themes include a candy land theme, a teddy bear tree, a Texas Ranger fan theme and a Harry Potter fan themed one, complete with Hogwart house colors, wands and mini Dobby figurine.

Reactions to the completed trees can range from excitement to pure joy, especially when guests see the trees for the first time and recognize the theme.

“The kids just love it. When I was walking through Trinity Falls during the tour on the very first day you could hear the gasps, and people did not know I was the one that decorated it initially and I'm just in the mix walking with everybody,” Boston said. “Just hearing them talk about like, ‘Oh my gosh, it looks so good.’ It's always great to hear that feedback.

When completed, Trinity Falls will be home to approximately 5,000 families and will include a new McKinney ISD elementary school, Frazier Elementary, which is set to open in fall 2023. If you are interested in learning more about the Trinity Falls community, its available floor plans and other amenities, visit their website at https://trinityfalls.com.

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