December 2024 – Driftwood Garden Club

Members of the Driftwood Garden Club became Santa’s elves on Monday evening at the Marblehead Community Center. Each year, in collaboration with the Marblehead Council on Aging, one of our civic projects is to decorate holiday wreaths as a way to give back to the community.

After members enjoyed a social time with delicious homemade treats provided by our hostesses for the evening, our members got to work. They came prepared with scissors, glue glue guns, floral wire, and various decorations to use. There was also a table filled with bows, pinecones, ribbons and an assortment of decorations provided by the club for all to share.

As the members worked, they chatted and laughed and shared in the spirit of the season. They began to turn the fresh wreaths into lovely gifts to be given to Marblehead residents who participate in the bag lunch program through the Council on Aging. Each of these residents will receive a decorated wreath, or swag, with their lunch which is delivered to them the next day.

We know, through the Marblehead Council on Aging, that the recipients of our wreaths are delighted to be part of this program, and we know how it brightens their day to receive a beautiful wreath. We receive many thank yous in return, and we hope they know that we are just as delighted to do this for them. Happy Holidays, everyone!

As part of the 2024 Marblehead Christmas Walk, local garden clubs are invited to decorate a space in Marblehead Arts Association’s historic home, the stately King Hooper Mansion. This year the overall decorating theme is ‘Seaside Holidays.’

Preparations started back in November with a shopping excursion to Jacobson Floral Supply in Boston to purchase the necessary materials, followed by a hands-on workshop to prepare and assemble the design elements. The DGC design team of Laurie Boggis and Ginny von Rueden created an elegant coastal décor using locally-sourced dried hydrangeas, seashells, driftwood pieces, and dried grasses. The design even includes a horseshoe crab discovered on a Salem Harbor beach!

Driftwood Garden Club members have transformed the first-floor dining room fireplace, mantel, and windows of the 1728 mansion. Guests are invited to view the mansion during an Open House on Thursday, December 5th from 4 to 7 PM, and also during the 53^rd Annual Christmas Walk and Holiday Stroll on Saturday and Sunday December 7^th and 8^th. We hope you can join us.