Made in Maine Product Information

The artists of The Christmas Vacation Shop create, design, and handcraft many of the ornaments sold in Bar Harbor and online.  We have included information about many of these products as well as the inspiration for these gifts, the resources we have used and interesting facts we think you might like. Come visit soon – each day we are inspired to create new one of a kind gifts that are quaint. charming, unique, and exclusive to our shop and to you!

Ceramic Ornaments       Lobster Claw Ornaments       Painted Glass Balls          Crushed Shell and Sea Glass      Heartfelt Celebrations Glass       Wood Gifts

Painted Lobster Claw Slide - The Christmas Vacation Slide

Painted Lobster Claw Slide – The Christmas Vacation Slide

Lobster Claw Ornaments

Who knew Lobster Claws could be turned into ornaments! Lobster Claw Ornaments are perhaps one of the most unique ways to blend natural resources with art. These ornaments are handmade and an original design of the Christmas Vacation Shop.    We work with local lobstermen and once they are completed with their processing, we gather the shells and start a 3 month process to prepare the shells to be turned into the many ornaments we create.  Each is assembled by hand, fused, and then hand painted with acrylic paints to create a truly unique and whimsical gift. You can see and feel the texture of the paint as well as the ridges of each individual lobster claws.

The lobster claw ornaments are available in a variety of themes and styles including:

  • Painted Scenes featuring images of Acadia, Bar Harbor, Maine, New England and custom images
  • Painted Holiday Characters featuring Santa, Snowmen, Holly and Berries
  • Painted Nautical Characters featuring Old Salt Fisherman, Puffins, Eagles
  • Nautical Ornaments featuring a Lobster Santa Claws, Pirate Clause, and Captain Claws
  • Whale ornaments created by fusing lobster shells

CeramicOrnamentsChristmasVacationShopSlide

CeramicOrnamentsChristmasVacationShopSlide

Ceramic Ornaments

The Christmas Vacation Shop artists carefully work with raw clay and bisque fired ceramics to create unique, original gifts in Bar Harbor. After each ornament is formed, it is then kiln fired, glazed with colorful ceramic underglaze by hand, and then fired again to create a unique gift. You can feel the texture and see the variations of each hand stroke.

The ceramic ornaments offered feature  images of lobsters, buoys, sailboats, lighthouses, lighthouses, loons, puffins, moose, Acadia National Park, Blueberries, wildlife and nautical themes.  They are offered in various styles including:

  • State of Maine shapes
  • Flat Circular ornaments
  • Lighthouse Shapes
  • Buoy Shapes
  • Heart Shapes
  • Puffin Shapes
  • Loon Shapes
  • Moose Shapes
  • 3 Dimensional Round Ball Shapes
  • Angel Shapes
  • 3 Dimensional Heart Shapes

HandpaintedGlassOrnamentsChristmasVacationShopSlide

HandpaintedGlassOrnamentsChristmasVacationShopSlide

Painted Glass Ball Ornaments

Artists in Bar Harbor Maine handpaint each glass ball ornament with acrylic paints. We are inspired by the beauty of Acadia National Park and New England scenes and we hope to capture the essence in our art.  The glass ball ornaments are made in the USA and all artwork is done right in Bar Harbor Maine. Each depicts an original scene and design of the Christmas Vacation Shop.

The glass ornaments offered are 3 inch balls that are each individually handpainted featuring the images listed below. We do also create and paint custom ornaments too!

  • Acadia National Park
  • Park Loop Road
  • Sand Beach
  • Thunderhole
  • Otter Cliffs
  • Beehive Trail
  • Precipice Trail
  • Eagle Lake
  • Jordan Pond
  • Lobster Buoys and Traps
  • Lobster Boats and Sail Boats
  • Bass Harbor Lighthouses
  • New England Lighthouses
  • Blueberries
  • Moose and Wildlife

ChristmasVacationShopCoastersHeartfeltGlassSlide

ChristmasVacationShopCoastersHeartfeltGlassSlide

Heartfelt Celebrations Glass Ornaments

Inspired by the heartfelt nature of special occasions, this glass ornaments helps to celebrate those moments. The artistry on these glass ball ornaments is beautiful and often embellished with Swarovsky crystals, glitter, and whimsical embellishments. These glass ornaments are each painted by hand by artists with acrylic paints and available online and at The Christmas Vacation Shop.

Heartfelt Celebrations Glass Ornaments celebrate custom occasions along with the many occasions found online at the shop:

  • Engagements, Weddings, Anniversaries
  • Pregnancy and Baby
  • New Home
  • Friendship
  • Love
  • In Memory and Religious Events
  • First Christmas Ornaments

ChristmasVacationShopWoodsieandBuoyPageSlide

ChristmasVacationShopWoodsieandBuoyPageSlide

Wood Ornaments

Maine is known as Vacationland and the Pine Tree State so we have quite a bit of wood as a natural resource to use. Whether it is birch, balsa, pine, cedar, maple, oak, or whatever we can get out crafty hands on, you can bet we will create a unique and fun gift for you!  We create, design, assemble and handcraft all items in Bar Harbor and offer wood ornaments that include images and themes of New England, Maine and Bar Harbor. All items are handpainted and stained with acrylic paints and are personalized as well.

The wood ornament offering includes:

  • State of Maine with image reliefs
  • Wood Buoy Cluster Ornaments
  • Wood Buoys with nautical and rustic scenes
  • Wood Buoy Characters including Santa Clause and Puffins
  • Woodsie Circle Cookies featuring nautical and rustic scenes

CrushedShellandSeaGlassChristmasVacationShopSlide

CrushedShellandSeaGlassChristmasVacationShopSlide

Crushed Shell and Sea Glass

Shells and sea glass are found all throughout the coast and we collect local shells and seaglass right in Bar Harbor to create beautiful ornaments and one of a kind jewelry.  In a process that can take 3 months just in terms of preparation, the gifts reflect a story of the sea and convey a natural beauty.  These items are handmade fusing a variety of crushed shells and/or sea glass and at times,  we may add glitter and charm accents to each ornament. Each is handmade and many of the shells are handpicked and sorted here in Bar Harbor. They are unique and exclusive to The Christmas Vacation Shop and have taken a time frame of about 5 years to create.

We offer the ornaments and gifts in a collection of :

  • Glass Ball Ornaments
  • Handcrafted Shapes including moose, lighthouses, hearts, sand dollars, lobster boats, lobsters, lobster claws
  • Jewelry featuring pendants and earrings of various shapes and shell mixtures

Each ornament can be a singular shell or a combination of shells so we have included a description of the shells used and the color they reflect:

  • Red / Orange Shells are lobster shells
  • Pink/Blue Shells are abalone shells
  • White Shells are clam or scallop shells
  • Black/Purple Shells are mussel shells
  • Gray, Beige Shells are periwinkles