Victoria Leach -- known as Lala to friends -- says her warmest memories of the 48 years she spent in her Bethlehem home are of Christmas.

There are recollections of her seven children scrambling around the 5,000-square-foot English Tudor home before opening presents on Christmas morning. There were the holiday parties where dozens of guests sang Christmas carols in front of the Mercer tile fireplace. There were lavish Christmas afternoon dinners in the elegant dining room that culminated in the presentation of a flaming English pudding.

"It wasn't unusual for us to have 20 people around this table for the Christmas dinner," says Leach as she leads a visitor on a tour of her beloved family home.

This holiday will be Leach's last in the home. It is on the market for $799,900. Nonetheless, she has spent the first part of the month of December hauling out carefully organized boxes holding her collections of angels, Santas and manger figurines, and placing those well-worn items in their customary spots.

"It's my last year here, and I intend to enjoy it," she says. "My friends kid me that the decorations are corny, and I say, "It's not elegant, but it is a lot of fun."'

Leach's backdrop for a lifetime of accumulated Christmas ornaments and collectibles is a home that was built by prolific Bethlehem home designer and builder Franklin Groman Chiles for his family in 1936. It was purchased by Leach and her husband, a former Bethlehem Steel executive, for their growing brood in 1955, and expanded. It has been in the family ever since.

On its own, the home boasts a number of attractions that would appeal to a discriminating buyer: seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, pegged oak floors, massive hand-hewn beams that traverse the main living area, a wine cellar, leaded glass windows throughout, and sturdy stone construction -- all surrounded by rolling expanses of lawn punctuated by mature trees and an Olympic-size swimming pool. But at Christmas, when lush wreaths grace the home's original plank doors and candles beckon from the windows, it is probably at its most appealing.

Such is the case for many other homes on the market during the holiday season, which conventional wisdom holds is one of the slowest and most trying times for realty agents and home sellers.

Not necessarily so, says Tom Demshock, who listed the Leach home through his company, Fishburn Realty.

"The person looking at this time of year is really serious," he says. "Actually, we find December to be a better month for us than August. People always have to move for one reason or another, so the people who are looking right now aren't wasting their time, or yours."

Eugene Mills, a realty agent with the Lehigh Valley offices of Century 21 Pinnacle, concurs.

"There aren't too many tire-kickers willing to brave the elements to preview homes," he says. "Casual buyers wait til spring for that."

Adds Sam Ruta, a managing partner in the Easton office of Coldwell-Banker Heritage: "If buyers are out there schlepping around in the cold and the ice and the snow and the rain, they have to find a house."

The seriousness of the prospective buyer is a plus for home owners, who aren't likely to be inconvenienced by someone merely wanting a house tour.

"They may have fewer showings this time of year, but sellers can rest assured that the ones they do get will be high quality," Mills says.

His advice: Don't take a home off the market in anticipation of a holiday. They'll not only be fewer homes competing for buyers' attention, but they'll also be more time for a Realtor to devote to the homes that are listed.

"Someone with their home on the market now will get more specialized attention from their Realtor since their numbers are significantly reduced," Mills says. "There are fewer homes for motivated buyers to choose from, and yours can benefit from more aggressive marketing."

That simple truth was motivation behind the Burgdorff ERA "Homes for the Holidays" program that was initiated several years ago.

"We had clients who felt that they wanted to take their homes off the market since this wasn't supposed to be a good time for selling," explains Pat Hoferkamp, president and chief operating officer of the Burgdorff office in Parsippany, N.J. "In reality, we found that we do a lot of showings this time of year because of transferees, and we also realized that homes show so much better when they're decorated. A well-decorated holiday home has a great deal of appeal to potential buyers because it resonates with them on such an emotional level."

Mary Gedney, a broker with Re/Max of the Valley, says that the holiday season -- particularly this year's and last year's -- has been traditionally one of her busiest times for the reasons that Hoferkamp and others articulated.

"Many of our clients are people who are being relocated to this area, and they use the time when the kids are out of school to look for a home," Gedney says. "We're invariably very busy with that type of client between Christmas and New Year's."

Her advice to potential sellers is to leave a home on the market through the holiday season to take advantage of the strong market, the highly motivated seller, and the persuasive emotional appeal of a holiday home.

"You walk in and they look great and they smell great and the music is playing," she says. "It really makes a difference to the buyer."

Demshock adds one more piece of common-sense advice: "If someone wants to see your house now, let them in. It might be inconvenient, but the buyer probably has a good reason for wanting to see it now."

Loren Keim , co-owner of Century 21 Keim Realtors, also advises clients to help sell their homes through effective "staging."

"The most important thing to consider is that first impressions really are everything," says Keim. "It takes a little time, thought and planning, but our research shows that homes that are properly staged sell more quickly and closer to the asking price than other homes."

"Curb appeal" is never more important than during the holiday season, when busy schedules can prevent more prospective buyers from shopping around for a home, adds Mills, who offers the following suggestions for enhancing a home's appeal:

Remove obstacles. "The fewer distractions standing between the buyer and your home, the better," says Mills. "It might seem like common sense, but not everyone realizes this." He suggests clearing away debris on the porch or in the yard, shoveling driveways and making sure pathways are free of ice and snow.

Assemble an appealing, but tasteful display of lights and decorations. "Decorative lights around the home show pride of ownership and cheerfulness, but it's best not to overdo it. A well-decorated home exterior is particularly appealing if buyers are doing night-time "drive-bys," he said.

Make sure that one of the first things a buyer sees is well-maintained. "Combining a freshly painted front door with a festive wreath and a holiday doormat is a winning combination," he says.

Keep the house warm and cozy. If possible, have a fire burning in the fireplace to convey a sense of warmth.

Remove unnecessary clutter indoors. "Homes show best when they appear lived-in, but not untidy," says Mills, who suggests storing away anything that isn't used on a daily basis, or doesn't enhance the look of the home.

Pick a tree to fit the size of the home since smaller rooms can be overwhelmed by large trees. No matter what the season, Mills says, buyers are always concerned about room size, and need to feel that a new home will fit their needs for space.

Decorate the interior of your home with a sense of restraint. "You want the buyers to focus on the house, not the decorations," he says. "And you want it to appeal to the broadest range of buyers possible. In that regard, it's best to err on the side of conservative."

Don't overlook the appeal of a home filled with the scent of fresh-baked cookies and scented candles. Take advantage of the holiday season to add that touch of warmth and welcome.

Winter break is a good time for buyers, too

Sellers aren't the only ones who can take advantage of the holiday season to move a home, Realtors say.

"Buyers come into this season with a distinct advantage as well," says Sam Ruta, a managing partner with the Easton office of Coldwell-Banker Heritage. "The whole scene tends to slow down between Thanksgiving and Christmas, then January 1 rolls around and it's like someone flipped a switch. So I tell buyers to seriously look at this time of year because you're likely to find motivated sellers."

The winter months can often pose a challenge for the seller since homes need to be maintained in order to show well, he says.

"They need to be heated, of course, and there is other maintenance," he says. "Sidewalks have to be shoveled, driveways have to be cleared -- it can take a lot more effort to keep a home presentable and accessible this time of year."

Mary Gedney, a broker with Re/Max of the Valley, also notes that a seller who left a house vacant to move into another will most likely be paying on two mortgages, will be paying taxes on two properties, and will have to maintain two properties.

"Between the upkeep and the utilities and the taxes all the other concerns, a motivated seller can often agree to very good price," she says.