Here’s a gift idea: an annual membership to one of Maine’s many fascinating museums, which will provide an experience worth much more than the price tag and give your gift recipient a little discount to pick out their own presents at the gift shop.
For more gift ideas, peruse the Portland Press Herald Holiday Gift Guide. It will have our local holiday gift guide and all the Black Friday deals. Subscribe today.
Placemats from the Portland Museum of Art
Set the scene with 100% recycled vinyl placemats featuring highlights from the PMA’s collection. Create a matching set or mix it up with six different images, including with Winslow Homer’s “Weatherbeaten” and Frederic Church’s “Mount Katahdin from Millinocket Camp,” both pictured here.
$24.95 each at portlandmuseum.org
Annual individual membership: $60 and 10% off at the gift shop
Solar lights from Maine Mineral and Gem Museum, Bethel
These 6.5” tall hand-blown glass gems have weather-resistant Edison-blub style LEDS that glow for four hours on a full charge. Available in tourmaline green, rose quartz, smoky quartz, and milky quartz.
$45 at mainemineralmuseum.org
Annual individual membership: $35 and 10% off at the gift shop
Model sailboat kits from the Maine Maritime Museum, Bath
Seaworthy Small Ships are model boats that make excellent decoration for a shelf or mantle, but you can also put them in the water. Just remember to tie a fishing line to your vessel so she can make it back to shore safely. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
$54.95 to $89.95 at mainemaritmemuseum.org
Annual individual membership: $60 and 10% off at the gift shop
Coffee mugs from the Farnsworth Museum, Rockland
Wake up with the Wyeths! Put together a set of coffee mugs featuring work by the three generations of Wyeth painters—N.C., Andrew, and Jamie—that have come to define the Farnsworth and Maine, for the art world at large.
$15 to $16 at farnsworthmuseum.org
Annual individual membership: $60 and 10% off at the gift shop
Original Maine Flag from the Maine Historical Society, Portland
With its bold, minimalist (though some would argue simplistic) design, the former state flag that flew from 1901 to 1909 has made a comeback in recent years.
$70 at mainehistorystore.com
Annual individual membership: $50 and 10% off at the gift shop
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