Each year, a group of local volunteers serves up a hearty helping of Christmas spirit on Dec. 25 in Boothbay. Since 2015, Barb and Chuck House have organized a small army of volunteers who provide Christmas dinner to anyone who simply wants a nice meal. The Community Christmas Dinner started years ago with Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Boothbay Harbor and continued with a group headed by Elaine and Tom Fogarty before the Houses’ assumed organizational duties. 

The Houses have so many volunteers, it’s hard to count how many, and often, when somebody new offers to help, Barb House tells them to “simply show up on Christmas Day and enjoy the meal.” She estimated this year nearly 20 volunteers prepared and served Christmas dinner for 96 who reserved a spot and about two dozen more who also showed up for turkey, ham, prime rib, potatoes, turnip, squash, casserole, and assorted pies.

On a day when families anxiously anticipate spending time with relatives they don’t often see, these volunteers decided to sacrifice family time in providing a good deed for the community. For the Houses, spending a large chunk of Christmas Day serving dinner to the community is all about doing the right thing.  “It’s because we love people, and love our Lord. He was born on Christmas Day, and there are a lot of people alone on Christmas,” Barb said. “I can look out my window and see about four people on the road who are widows or widowers. We do this because we want them to have a place to go on Christmas.”

Many of the volunteers attend church with the Houses and others either attend a different one or none at all. Some volunteers donate the food, and others, like Ralph Smith, cook the meats. Boothbay Harbor House of Pizza cooks the potatoes, and Shaw’s in Wiscasset donates and cuts potatoes, squash and turnips. 

The dinner began with a prayer and two members of a visiting Haitian choir performing “O Holy Night.” The two-hour dinner also includes gifts from Toys for Tots and Coats for Kids. Community members are free to pick from the donated items to give to children. “A special education teacher from Georgia usually attends the dinner. He is taking some jackets back for his students,” Barb House said. 

The Charles E. Sherman, Jr. American Legion Post No. 36 in Boothbay donated space for this year’s dinner.