Tag Archives: acadia-holiday-gift-ideas

Katahdin and Acadia National Park holiday gift ideas for all

Making your list, checking it twice, and looking for special Katahdin or Acadia National Park holiday gift ideas for someone nice?

Whether you start your holiday shopping on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday or Giving Tuesday, here’s a special selection to help raise funds for charity, support local business and bring memories of Maine home for the holidays.

Southwest Harbor photographer J.K. Putnam shot this winning image for the 2019 Acadia annual pass, available for “almost-half-price” most of this month. He sells prints of these barred owls at his website. (NPS image)

And as we’re co-sponsoring the 2019 Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race that connects participants and supporters of the Mount Desert Island Marathon & Half (held every October) and Millinocket Marathon & Half (being held Dec. 7), we also include ideas for the runner, hiker and all-around outdoor enthusiast on your list.

Acadia National Park annual pass – If you happen to be in the Bar Harbor area in December, you can get an annual pass for “almost-half-price” beginning Dec. 6 during the Bar Harbor Midnight Madness event, from 8 p.m. to midnight at the park’s Village Green visitor center, and throughout the rest of the month at regional chambers of commerce, town offices and the Schoodic Institute. Normally $55, the $28 special annual pass price is less than a one-week in-season pass at $30. For more details, see the Facebook group that we host about Acadia National Park hiking.

Friends of Acadia gift membership – By giving a gift membership, you would provide a year’s worth of membership benefits to a family member or friend, including a subscription to the Friends of Acadia Journal, six note cards depicting Acadia at night, and a window decal. Gift membership starts at $40, and also helps support the nonprofit that does so much for Acadia National Park. And if you want to donate independent of a gift membership contribute on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 3, any time between midnight and 11:59 p.m. and up to $20,000 will be matched by the Grace family (and you get a chance to win a pair of Leki trekking poles).

You’re more likely to spot a moose in Baxter State Park and Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument than in Acadia National Park, but you’ll see a moose every month of the year no matter where in the world you are with this calendar by wildlife photographer Mark Picard. (Photo courtesy of Moose Prints Gallery & Gifts)

Moose calendar – Few things say Maine like moose, but while you’re unlikely to see the ungulates in Acadia, you can easily find them in the Katahdin region, as Millinocket wildlife photographer Mark Picard shows in his iconic moose calendar, which has been featured by BBC and PBS. Mark and his partner, Anita Mueller, are welcoming racers to Millinocket for “Fuel Up Friday” at their Moose Prints Gallery, 58 Central Street, 4 to 8 p.m. Dec. 6, and taking donations for the Millinocket Regional Hospital Oncology Department. A copy of this calendar is one of the giveaways for participants in the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race, see below for details about how to enter the race to help raise funds for Acadia and Katahdin region charities.

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Last-minute Katahdin and Acadia gift ideas for the holidays

Whether it’s a gift certificate to a Mount Desert Island business or a selection of Millinocket-made herbal soap, there’s no shortage of special Katahdin and Acadia gift ideas for the holidays for park lovers on your shopping list.

Just in time for the holidays, a new partnership with Gift MDI, an online source for gift certificates, featuring more than 100 businesses and organizations in the Acadia region. Use coupon code ACADIAONMYMIND to get 10% off. Gift certificates can be mailed, or picked up locally. See Gift MDI Web site for details about shipping and handling, and bottom of this blog post for some of the certificates available. (Image courtesy of Gift MDI)

And just in time for the holidays, we’re announcing a new partnership with Gift MDI, an online source of gift certificates to more than 100 Mount Desert Island businesses and organizations, from lodging establishments to restaurants, gift shops to local services.

You can even get an annual Acadia park pass. By using the coupon code ACADIAONMYMIND while making your purchase through Gift MDI, you get 10% off. See bottom of this blog post for complete listing of certificates available as of this writing. (PLEASE NOTE: See sidebar about affiliated partner links)

And for those of you who are also fans of Millinocket and the Katahdin region – which we were even before our co-sponsorship of the Cadillac to Katahdin Virtual Run this year with Mount Desert and Millinocket Marathon & Half – we’ve connected with Tricia Cyr, one of the “2 Broke Moms” who run Moose Drop In, a local gift shop that was a central gathering place during the Dec. 9 Millinocket Marathon & Half, to bring you the following gift ideas:

A limited supply of this specially roasted Millinocket Blend coffee is available from Moose Drop In. (Photo courtesy of Quality Hill Coffee)

A special Millinocket Blend medium roast coffee, either the beans or pre-ground, made by Chris Lowe of Quality Hill Coffee, husband of Valerie Silensky-Lowe, a real-life Millinocket racer and one of the Cadillac to Katahdin virtual runners, going by the name of @Mamaof7Dogs. (More coffee is on order, as the first shipment is just about sold out.)
Boogah Monster Soap, Millinocket-made herbal soap and lotion; custom T-shirts and hoodies; and other unique gifts available through Moose Drop In’s Web site. Cyr says it’s best to call to place your order this time of year, (207) 723-4442, with the latest US Priority Mail shipment date of Dec. 20 in time for Christmas. Also, as Moose Drop In’s Web site says, “Advice 5 cents.”

For fitness fans on your holiday shopping list who love both the Acadia and Katahdin regions, how about signing them up for the Cadillac to Katahdin Virtual Run, which lets them log running, hiking or walking miles anywhere in the world; see their race avatar move along the virtual race map, including the real-life routes of the MDI and Millinocket Marathon & Half and the summits of Cadillac and Katahdin; and earn the special Cadillac to Katahdin Medallion? They can backdate miles to Aug. 15, and log through at least 11:59PM EST on Jan. 1, 2018 (we’ve asked for an extension until 11:59PM EST on April 10, 2018, 100 days into the new year). Contact us at the bottom of this blog post no later than 10 p.m. EST on Dec. 19, if you have questions about the virtual race and mailing of medallions in time for Christmas.

The 3″ Cadillac to Katahdin Medallion in the shape of Maine features a raised lobster claw and pine tree. (Photo courtesy of Ashworth Awards)

The Cadillac to Katahdin Medallion goes to all who sign up for the virtual race to help benefit Friends of Acadia, Our Katahdin and Millinocket Memorial Library. It’s made by Ashworth Awards, the same company that makes medals for Boston and MDI Marathons.

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For Mother’s Day: Gifts of Acadia and the great outdoors

If you’re a woman who loves being active in the great outdoors, you probably have your mother to thank, according to a new national study of women and the outdoors, with a timely message for Mother’s Day.

On the heels of a new national study of women and the outdoors that it commissioned, REI has launched a public initiative called “Force of Nature,” to push for gender equity in the outdoors. (Image courtesy of REI)

Women who were “highly encouraged” by their mothers to play outside as young girls are more likely to remain active today, compared with those who were less encouraged, 86% vs. 78%. And they are more likely to consider being outdoors a “very high priority,” 26% vs. 11%, according to the nationally representative study of more than 2,000 women ages 18-35, commissioned by outdoor retailer rei. It’s easy enough to encourage your children to spend time outside, it can be as simple as looking after your backyard and making it inviting for them. Try planting lots of flowers and trees, and fill the space with fun play equipment. You might need to visit https://www.lawncare.net/service-areas/ohio/ and book in a few lawncare treatments with them afterwards as kids have a tendency to be a little destructive.

Yet at the same time, the study found 6 in 10 women say men’s interest in an outdoor adventure is taken more seriously than women’s, and 63% couldn’t name an outdoor female role model, even as 85% of them say the outdoors is good for overall health, happiness and well-being, and 70% find being outdoors is liberating.

In honor of mothers and other women – whether grandmothers, daughters, spouses, aunts, sisters, cousins or friends – who’ve helped inspire a love for the great outdoors, here are some Mother’s Day gifts of Acadia and the outdoors, to thank them, and invite them to play outside with you.

Mother’s Day gifts of Acadia and other park passes

Lifetime Senior Pass Acadia National Park

US citizens or permanent residents age 62 or over can get a lifetime Senior Pass for $10. (NPS photo)

Senior Pass – If any women in your lives are 62 or older before Oct. 1, go with them to the nearest participating federal lands site that sells the lifetime Senior Pass for $10, before it’s slated to go up to $80. You can also buy the pass online for a processing fee, by uploading a copy of necessary proof of age and ID, but there’s a delay in delivery with the rush of people trying to buy before the price increase. The pass is good not only for Acadia and other National Parks, but also for all federal recreation lands, like national monuments, historic sites, wildlife refuges and national forests. The bearer of the Senior Pass can bring in a carload of passengers for free, or up to 3 other adults (children under 16 are free) at sites that charge per-person admission.
Online weekly and annual Acadia pass – If the women in your lives are younger than 62, you can buy an annual or weekly pass to Acadia (or other National Parks) online as a gift instead.
Every Kid in a Park Pass – If there’s a woman in your life who’s a mother of a fourth grader, you can help that fourth grader get a free Every Kid in a Park Pass online as a gift to Mom. Then the whole family can get in free to Acadia and all other federal recreational lands and waters this summer. Started under President Obama, this initiative aims to get kids (and their Moms) outdoors.

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Special Acadia holiday gift ideas to ring out Centennial year

For the Acadia National Park fan on your shopping list, or for a year-end charitable donation, the Centennial offers a once-in-a-century set of Acadia holiday gift ideas.

Plus we’re announcing 2 new merchants to our blog’s affiliated marketing partnerships on this Cyber Monday, to make coming up with special Acadia holiday gift ideas even easier: REI, where you can buy gear for an Acadia lover, and ReallyColor, LLC, where you can turn photos of Acadia (or anything else) into coloring pages, tapping into the latest coloring-as-meditation craze. (NOTE: Please see sidebar about affiliated partner links in this blog)

This Acadia Centennial calendar, by ranger naturalist Bob Thayer, can be purchased directly through his photography Web site, or at local businesses such as Sherman’s. At least 5% of gross proceeds will go to Centennial efforts and other Acadia projects. (Image courtesy of Bob Thayer)

How about official Centennial products for Acadia holiday gift ideas, such as a calendar, fleece blanket, magnet, embroidered patch or baseball cap? You might also be interested in something similar to these custom bobbleheads as a gift idea.

These and other items are produced or sold by Acadia Centennial partners, who’ve promised to donate at least 5% of gross proceeds to support Centennial projects and other Acadia National Park efforts.

A central list of products and services is on the Acadia Centennial Partners Web site, which provides links to where you can make purchases, whether through a local business or online. Not all officially sanctioned products or services may be on that site.

As official Acadia Centennial Partners ourselves, we’re donating at least 5% of gross proceeds from the sale of autographed hiking books (including “Hiking Acadia National Park,” which this month won the National Outdoor Book Award) and Acadia Centennial Holiday Ornaments.

Acadia Centennial Holiday Ornaments are available on the online Acadia on My Mind Shop.

And as announced earlier this month, under an Acadia Centennial Trek Challenge, we’ll be donating 10% of gross proceeds from the sale of the Acadia Centennial Trek Medal made by the end of the year to benefit Acadia. And for every mile being logged by participants in the free 100-mile virtual Acadia Centennial Trek between now and the end of the year, we’ll be making an extra donation of 2 cents per mile to the cause.

Or perhaps you’d rather make a direct, potentially tax-deductible, gift to benefit Acadia in the name of family members or friends, as your way of marking the Acadia Centennial? Here are some ways to do that:

Gift membership to Friends of Acadia – By giving a gift membership, you would provide a year’s worth of membership benefits to a family member or friend, including a subscription to the Friends of Acadia Journal, six note cards depicting Acadia at night, and a window decal. A bargain with membership starting at $40.
A tribute gift to Friends of Acadia or Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park – Not limited to the holidays, such a gift can commemorate a birthday, anniversary or any other special occasion. Such a gift to the Friends of Acadia would be recognized in the Friends of Acadia Journal. Or perhaps you might want to make a gift to the Friends of Acadia’s Second Century Campaign. The Schoodic Institute, which provides environmental research and education and such citizen science programs as HawkWatch, can notify the person you’re honoring with the gift.

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