Although Christmas is more than a month away, the Boothbay Region Garden Club is wasting no time in getting ready for the holidays.

On Wednesday, Nov. 14, the Garden Club began making preparations for the holiday season at the Southport Town Hall.

Part of the preparations are for the annual Festival of Trees which is an important event for the Garden Club, Club President Irene Gerny said.

“This is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” she said. “And all the money goes right back into our community projects.”

Festival of Trees is open to the public from Friday, Nov. 30 to Sunday, Dec. 2 at the Opera House.

Those projects aren't simply limited to hanging wreaths on public buildings or tending to the flower pots spread across the region; the Garden Club uses the money to fund youth programs and garden therapy.

For the day, the Southport Town Hall was transformed into a workshop for the Boothbay Region Garden Club as members got to work on several different projects.

Several club members were making gingerbread houses, which will be prepackaged for children to purchase and decorate during the event, or to bring home.

Other members were assembling wreaths while some members constructed tray favors, which will be places on food trays for meals on wheels or distributed to several area nursing homes.

Sandra Seifert was working with other Garden Club members to assemble “Cocoa Cones,” in a procession.

Ben Bulkeley can be reached at 207-633-4620 or bbulkeley@boothbayregister.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BBRegisterBen.