Such a festive time of year!

Do you have your jingle on yet?  I have all sorts of ideas for holiday entertainment and gift ideas.  Follow my advice and you will be very merry indeed!

The Bagaduce Chorale's winter concert is this very weekend.  You can hear them Friday night or Saturday afternoon.

Friends of the Blue Hill Public Library host a holiday party on Sat., Dec. 20. This year’s event will offer something for everyone. The entertainment will kick off at 2:45pm with songs and stories from Noel Paul Stookey, who has delighted audiences as a member of Peter, Paul and Mary for a generation. Noel will be followed by live jazz, a dramatic reading of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,  magician Peter Boie, carols with Holly Weinberg, and an ornament making activity. An impressive array of refreshments will be available throughout the party.

A Downeast Messiah with Blue Hill Bach also takes place on Dec. 20, starting at 7:30pm.  Our very own Lorna Stephens, waitstaff and assistant innkeeper extraordinaire, will be one of the vocalists featured with a solo.

You have amazing gift options right here in Blue Hill.  We've been giving gift certificates to restaurants lately--they always fit.  The Harbor House is a brand new option for breakfast or lunch--just opened last month but it's already getting raves, from me and everyone else.  I already have a favorite lunch--it's their fancy grilled cheese, served with a great tomato soup.  The DeepWater Brew Pub, on Tenney Hill, has reopened for December and a gift certificate there works for beer, dinner, or swag!

Wendy, at her shop Mae, on Main Street

Have you been in Mae yet?  Shopkeeper Wendy has collected the most beautiful treasures--sumptuous leather goods, the softest robes and socks, beautiful housewares and great lighting. 

We joke that Blue Hill now has a lower east side--Paradise Tattoo, Greenspeed Juice Bar, Three Wishes, and the Barnacle are all conveniently clustered together for easy shopping.

The Meadow might win the most festive shop in town.  Karen always makes her world beautiful.  Plus, you can shop until you drop and then scoot right next door for an espresso while you pick out fun bottles at the Blue Hill Wine Shop (they haven't changed their name to "and Gourmet Cheese and Provisions Shop" but they could!  It's a great stop on the way to a party).

I received an early present of sparkly earrings from Handworks Gallery.  Did you know the gallery has been in Blue Hill almost 40 years?!  You can tell by the quality of their offerings, such a beautiful collection.  The tree book pictured here was created by Marcia Stremlau.  You can see an exhibit of more of her books at Blue Hill Public Library (maybe when you're there at the holiday party on Dec. 20!).

I, like so many, am trying to downsize so this is the year where a donation to one of my favorite charities is perfect.  We have so many worthy causes right here.  Near and dear to my heart are the Tree of Life (our food pantry) and the Dolly Fisher Fund, which helps people with fuel assistance.  The nonprofits in the area do major fundraising this time of year and a donation in a loved one's name makes a great gift.

I try to hide my sappiness most of the time but I did love the modified to do list making its way around Facebook.  "Wrap someone in a hug".