Nothing signals the beginning of the holiday season more than the annual Holiday Decorating Days sponsored by the Beacon Hill Civic Association. It is a way to enjoy friends and neighbors while hanging 2,680 yards of laurel garlands and 2,400 red bows on Beacon Hill’s 1,100 gas lamps.
Every year it takes hundreds of hands to do the job. Volunteers from all over the neighborhood pitch in: There are those who never miss a year, despite snow or wind or frozen fingers. And there are those who come for the first time, joining teams of jovial neighbors who good-naturedly walk the streets transporting garlands of laurel to decorate their own blocks or to help on adjacent streets.
Everyone is invited to help during this year’s 19th annual Holiday Decorating Days that take place Saturday, December 6, and Sunday, December 7.
On Saturday, volunteers are needed at the Harrison Gray Otis House, 141 Cambridge Street, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to help cut and wire the laurel garlands, deliver supplies and even get a head start decorating the gas lamps. Working hand-in-hand with residents are Suffolk students and volunteers from Boston Cares. Hot chocolate, coffee, donuts are available throughout the day.
On Sunday, volunteers are needed to hang the garlands and bows on all Beacon Hill lamp posts. Some work in pairs or in teams on the streets they live, while others prefer to meet at the parking lot next to Savenor’s, 160 Charles Street, to be assigned where needed. Veteran decorators are on hand to show volunteers how to wire the greens on the gas lamps.
To volunteer to lead the effort on your street or just to help, sign up on the Beacon Hill Civic Association website www.bhcivic.org. Indicate when and where you would like supplies dropped off or pick them up at the Harrison Gray Otis House both days and at Savenor’s on Sunday afternoon.
Or, when your neighbors call for help, just go out and join in the fun. The decorating goes on whether it rains or shines, or, even better, snows – making Beacon Hill even more beautiful.