One of the best places to spend Christmas in Maine is Boothbay Harbor. In fact, you might feel as if you are in a Hallmark movie, especially in the evening strolling through shopping streets, dining, and then on to the town’s spectacular night garden event, Boothbay Gardens Aglow. This year is the 10th annual Gardens Aglow and you won’t want to miss it.
Boothbay is one of those super-Christmassy villages in the United States with the added benefit of being a harbor town. Lobster fishing is big here, so big in fact that one of the town’s Christmas trees is made up of a thousand buoys that fishermen use to mark the location of their lobster traps when lobsters are in season.
Perhaps the favorite winter event in all of Maine is the Gardens Aglow, at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. In 2024, early bird viewings are Nov. 16-27 and the regular season is November 29 through December 31, It’s held Thursday-Sunday and has some additional scattered dates, here and there. It’s a ticketed event.
There are dazzling lights everywhere – thousands of them all over town during the month-long Boothbay Festival of Lights.
5 Garden Aglow Tips for Visiting
The gardens extend over 295 acres in total. This year the Aglow section boasts more than 750,000 LED lights dazzling 14 acres of the central gardens.
- The gardens sometimes have uneven terrain so wear appropriate shoes.
- Order a coffee or hot chocolate and board the shuttle from the fire station downtown to avoid any stress over parking.
- Plan on using the garden’s shuttles or rent a motorized cart if you’re not up for a few hours of walking.
- Layer up – silk undergarments, several shirts sweaters, coats, and gloves. You might consider hand warmers to keep in your pockets and at the back of your neck.
- Plan to shop a bit in the garden shop where you can purchase locally made crafts including one-of-a-kind candles and a plethora of Christmas items. Especially popular are the energy-saving lights such as that used to glow up the gardens. It’s one of the best places in Boothbay Harbor to get unique Christmas gifts. The shop sells locally crafted, handmade, and sourced goods.
If you are looking for other things to do this winter, check out the Boothbay In the Winter post.
FAQs
Category:
Gardens Aglow
You can consider eating at the garden cafe, although it’s not a restaurant. You can purchase very good pre-made sandwiches, drinks, and snacks at their counter.
Category:
Gardens Aglow
Gardens Aglow offers a good deal of family fun. For example, there is a butterfly house, a huge children’s garden, some backwoods with a tree fort and musical instruments, a bee exhibit, and a fairy house village. In Fairy House Village you can build your own fairy house or just enjoy the work of others. Best of all is the famous trolls.
Category:
Gardens Aglow
Giant Trolls were built by internationally known recycled arts activist and artist, Thomas Dambo, He uses upcycled materials. Each troll was built to live in different places across the 295-acre property and visitors could spend the whole day searching for each one. In winter you might be pretty happy aiming at seeing only one or two of the five trolls. Some of the trolls require a lot of walking. The first troll is in the central gardens, and the others are in the woods, about a half-mile apart from each other. The two trolls located closer to the central garden area are easier to get to, and the first troll is the easiest to get to. The Gardens offer a map and guide.
Category:
Gardens Aglow
We recommend Five Gables Inn of course. It’s on the water and has its own dock and is close to town. Guests highly rate the inn’s breakfasts and really everything else about the bed and breakfast. Most weekends are already booked so check their calendar as soon as possible.
Category:
Gardens Aglow
Boothbay offers a variety of eateries including waterfront dining, fine Italian cuisine, and reimagined coastal Maine dining. My favorite list of recommended eateries in Boothbay is here on the Five Gables Inn website. It’s an up-to-date list because every day several guests will have a direct experience in one of the area’s restaurants and will give the innkeepers the scoop. It’s known immediately if something is almost divine or on a downward spiral.
Category:
Gardens Aglow
You might want to order your Garden Aglow tickets now and surprise your pals with a winter wonderland they’ll remember for decades. Here’s the order page for tickets.
You can consider eating at the garden cafe, although it’s not a restaurant. You can purchase very good pre-made sandwiches, drinks, and snacks at their counter.
Gardens Aglow offers a good deal of family fun. For example, there is a butterfly house, a huge children’s garden, some backwoods with a tree fort and musical instruments, a bee exhibit, and a fairy house village. In Fairy House Village you can build your own fairy house or just enjoy the work of others. Best of all is the famous trolls.
Giant Trolls were built by internationally known recycled arts activist and artist, Thomas Dambo, He uses upcycled materials. Each troll was built to live in different places across the 295-acre property and visitors could spend the whole day searching for each one. In winter you might be pretty happy aiming at seeing only one or two of the five trolls. Some of the trolls require a lot of walking. The first troll is in the central gardens, and the others are in the woods, about a half-mile apart from each other. The two trolls located closer to the central garden area are easier to get to, and the first troll is the easiest to get to. The Gardens offer a map and guide.
We recommend Five Gables Inn of course. It’s on the water and has its own dock and is close to town. Guests highly rate the inn’s breakfasts and really everything else about the bed and breakfast. Most weekends are already booked so check their calendar as soon as possible.
Boothbay offers a variety of eateries including waterfront dining, fine Italian cuisine, and reimagined coastal Maine dining. My favorite list of recommended eateries in Boothbay is here on the Five Gables Inn website. It’s an up-to-date list because every day several guests will have a direct experience in one of the area’s restaurants and will give the innkeepers the scoop. It’s known immediately if something is almost divine or on a downward spiral.
You might want to order your Garden Aglow tickets now and surprise your pals with a winter wonderland they’ll remember for decades. Here’s the order page for tickets.
