Christmas just got a little merrier in the Boothbay region.

What started as a “mitten tree,” morphed into an outpouring of community kindness.

Boothbay Town Office Deputy Clerk (and head elf) Heidi Fuller has been busy making a list and checking it twice. With the hundreds of gifts piled up in the town office in the past week, it is all Fuller can do to handle the holiday hustle before the office bursts at the seams.

Deputy Treasurer Tracey Hyson said it was the biggest pile of gifts she has ever seen. 

All the gifts are set to be distributed to 38 families and 76 children throughout Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Southport and Edgecomb in the next few days, thanks to the many charitable donors in the community.

While many churches and organizations in the region are also collecting gifts for the same cause, this particular holiday gift drive was a collaboration between the Boothbay Region Garden Club, the Town of Boothbay and Toys for Tots.

“There's a big need and we hope we filled that need,” said Linda Redman of the Boothbay Region Garden Club.

Redman said 200 mittens that specify individual “wants” and “needs” from around the region, were hung on the “giving tree.” Whether it's a new pair of snow boats, a ski jacket, mittens or a hat, people were encouraged to take a mitten at the Festival of Trees in the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor earlier this month. Any leftover mittens were then taken to the town office and St. Andrews Auxiliary Thrift Shop. Within a couple weeks, the tree was bare of mittens. 

Each mitten contains a tag addressing where each gift will go according to age, gender and the need of each recipient. The gifts will be picked up on December 20, and delivered to families by December 23. 

Redman said the Garden Club has been doing this event for about 10 years. 

“It's a wonderful thing, and people go out of their way to take the mittens and make those wishes and wants satisfied,” Redman said. “I think the children and families will be delighted.”