This Coastal Maine City Transforms Right into a Vacation Wonderland Each December—and It Has a Lobster Lure Christmas Tree

On the subject of celebrating the vacations in Maine, there’s nowhere extra festive than Kennebunkport. Every December, the seaside city transforms into a vacation wonderland seemingly straight out of a Hallmark film.

From December 4 by means of 14, the city rings within the season with Christmas Prelude, an annual custom that’s now ushering in its forty fourth yr. The festivities span 11 action-packed days and embody occasions for all ages, together with lighting the lobster lure Christmas tree, candlelight caroling, and even a go to from Santa Claus, who trades in his customary sleigh for an arrival aboard—what else—a lobster boat.

Inns deck the halls with their vacation best, bars and eating places craft particular seasonal menus, and the village’s retailers and vacation markets are the proper locations to cross everybody’s presents off your listing.

See the Christmas timber.

What’s extra iconically Maine than a Christmas tree crafted from lobster traps? Cease by Cape Porpoise Sq. to see the spectacle. Kennebunkport‘s Dock Sq. and Kennebunk’s Decrease Village even have glowing timber which are positive to place you within the vacation temper.

Hop aboard a twinkling trolley.

Every year, the Seashore Trolley Museum decorates its (heated) trolleys to take friends on a journey alongside the heritage railroad by means of the woods. The rides, which final roughly 25 minutes, are held between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. from December 5 to 7 and 12 to 14. Buying tickets on-line is beneficial.

Store at a vacation market.

Seeking to replenish on some presents when you’re visiting? Make sure to cease by the Merry Makers Market in Kennebunk from December 5 to fifteen to hunt out handcrafted and hard-to-find presents. Native retailers resembling Daytrip Society, Bliss, Mélange, and Seacraft promote fantastic wares for even the pickiest individuals in your listing.

Take a wreath-making workshop.

In the event you’re looking for the proper strategy to convey again the vacation cheer yr after yr, think about partaking in a wreath-making workshop. Comfortable Harbor Farm and Nathaniel Lord Mansion each supply courses. The latter—one of many 4 historic properties that make up the Kennebunkport Captains Assortment—additionally holds stocking-decorating and gingerbread house-making classes, amongst different seasonal occasions.

Raise your spirits at a holiday-themed bar.

All through the vacation season, a few of Kennebunkport’s finest bars and eating places bear a merry makeover to have fun. The Burleigh at Kennebunkport Inn turns into the Tinsel Bar, decked from ground to ceiling with Christmas ornaments, lights, and garlands. And nobody does the vacations fairly like Batson River. Every year, the Kennebunkport outpost turns into a winter wonderland with classic blow molds, tons of tinsel, and stockings galore. Can’t-miss cocktails embody Sleigh the City, crafted with snickerdoodle syrup, and We’re Mint to Be, a peppermint white chocolate delight.

The place to Keep

White Barn Inn

Some of the luxe motels within the state and a part of the Auberge Resorts Assortment, White Barn Inn is cozy, romantic, and, all through December, donned with decor from inside decorator Nathan Turner. With heated flooring, fuel fireplaces, and huge soaking tubs, the rooms listed below are the perfect place to heat up from the chilly winter climate.

Kennebunkport Captains Assortment

For guests desirous to dive into the historic nautical allure of Kennebunkport, look no additional than the Kennebunkport Captains Assortment. The 4 properties that make up this assortment had been constructed within the early nineteenth century and as soon as belonged to the daughters of Captain Daniel Walker. Now below Lark Inns, these homes are soaked in historical past. Company can get pleasure from reside music, heated igloo leases, household crafts, a scorching chocolate bar, and a present market at Nathaniel Lord’s Carriage Home.