Maine’s wreath making season is quickly approaching so it seems like a great time to explore how we get our fresh Christmas wreaths ready for sale. Each year skilled residents in Maine pump out millions of handmade wreaths that are then shipped all around the world.This long standing tradition has been a cottage industry in Maine for hundreds of years, dating back at least as far as the 1700’s. Maine’s wreaths are among the highest quality of any produced and our state is responsible for up to 90% of the wreaths made globally.

Maine has a long history of working with the land and sea to make a living. Tucked up into the icy topmost corner of the East Coast, resident of Maine have always exhibited skilled adaptability in making a living. The isolated nature of Maine’s geographical position has made it necessary for residents to incorporate an important component into their industries; an awareness of sustainability’s role in survival.

Mindfulness of sustainability is so deeply ingrained in all of Maine’s major industries that they tend to operate in a seasonal capacity based on the needs of both the residents and the land they’re working and living on. For instance, people must wait to collect tips for wreaths until November each year. As the weather brings temperatures around 20 degrees F the tree’s needles develop a wax coating that “sets” them in preparation for winter dormancy. This is when they are most suitable for decoration on wreaths. Additionally, the process of tipping is a protective to the tree’s health, allowing it to produce more branches to be harvested the next season.

The decorative elements of the wreaths are also gathered in the local woods. People collect and ready for decoration pine cones, acorns, berries, moss and more to adorn the fragrant branches. At other points in the year, these same people would earn a living fishing, trapping lobsters, raking blueberries, or any number of industrious tasks aimed at earning enough money to keep everyone fed and clothed. Wreath making in the late fall and early winter provides income for the holiday season.

Once the tips are collected, they are brought to wreath making companies, like Harbor Farm, where they are sold to be processed and used in making wreaths. Each wreath is made by snapping boughs off of branches, grouping them in clusters of three and attaching them to a metal ring with wire, forming the Christmas wreaths we have for sale. Wreath makers, who sometimes have been practicing this craft for generations, work quickly and adeptly to ensure that the finished product is delivered at its freshest. A wreath maker worth their weight in salt can produce up to 200 wreaths per day. The wreaths are fuller than any bought from factory producers and the balsam boughs, a favorite of the wreath makers, produce a trademark scent that signals the holiday season has arrived.

But modern economic demands have placed a burden on the industry that has traditionally been passed through generation after generation. Households are required to have two full time working adults, leaving very little time for wreath making. Some are able to take the time off, but many must sacrifice the old custom in favor of maintaining employment.

Further obstacles include warehouse style companies who are able to mass produce wreaths and sell them at a lesser cost. Their wreaths are assembled by machine and decorated by machine. Instead of locally gathered materials, these companies use plastic. Gone are the full and fragrant boughs clustered together by the loving hands of a real person and in their stead are flat, plastic branches with decorations shot on without ever touching human skin. 

Despite the competition and economic demands on locals, the tradition persists, aided in part by small companies that strive to adhere to the standards of history. When we say we offer fresh Christmas wreaths for sale, we mean that we work tirelessly throughout November and December to supply the globe with the freshest product that generations of experience has to offer.