This yuletide season, the Potomac Falls High School DECA program continues its tradition of hosting a holiday open house to raise awareness and funding to help patients with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The fundraising project, originally started about eight years ago with a fashion show, has grown into a finely-tuned program with three annual student-run events that collectively have raised more than $25,000 for the battle against ALS.

The holiday house is produced in cooperation with Sterling resident Rhoda Matts, who works nearly year-round on the décor for 75 indoor Christmas trees and a holiday village display. Many of the decorations, particularly in the holiday village, are created from found objects and discarded items.

It takes a small village of student workers to unpack and set up the countless decorations, give house tours and repack everything after the festivities end. This year’s effort includes more than 70 students led by Nikki Economu, Lalin Boon-Long and Connor Adams.

Among the themed trees on display are a dog-lovers’ tree, a Virginia colleges tree, a 1950s tree sporting a poodle tree skirt, a Nutcracker tree, Victorian tree, angel tree and more. For a $5 donation, visitors can purchase an ornament from some of the trees.  A raffle with $1 tickets offers a chance to win an Austrian crystal beaded ornament or a beach village painting.

The latest in PFHS accessories are also on sale at the holiday house. This is the spot to find hats, mittens, scarves, magnets and ornaments for all of the PFHS elves on your shopping list.

The final public viewing for the holiday house takes place on Thursday, Dec. 22, from 1 to 6 p.m. There is no admission fee, but donations will be accepted for ALS efforts. Holiday snacks will be offered.

The Holiday House is located at 234 Markwood Drive in Sterling. Take Route 7 to Palisade Parkway, turn left onto Tripleseven Road, turn right on Glade and right on Markwood, where 234 Markwood is on the right. For more information, call 571-434-3200 and ask for the DECA office.

The ham queen: For more than 15 years, Loudouners have come to Sterling to buy holiday hams from Roxie Curtis, known affectionately by the locals as “the ham queen” in a nod to her role as the owner and operator of a Heavenly Ham franchise store. Now that we’re midway through one of the biggest ham-buying weeks of the year, it seems like a good time for an update on Roxie and her crew. Not too long ago, Roxie headed slightly eastward. She moved her store, now operating under the name of HoneyBaked Ham, to Reston’s North Point Village shopping center. The place remains as friendly as ever, staffed by many of Loudoun’s most cheerful college students. The next time you get a chance to drop by, spend a few minutes with Roxie to find out what’s new in her life. You may even get some of the inside scoop on her recent wedding to the seafaring man of her dreams.