Christmas Spirit®
Notice of Retirement
The Christmas Spirit® Shop has closed its Website, Bar Harbor Storefront, and Ellsworth Sales Booth at 1A Relics, as we, the owners, have retired and are no longer selling Christmas ornaments and decorations.
We invite you to reach out directly with any questions or comments.
Email petebono@yahoo.comMaine Paintings by Beverly Bono
Now, we exclusively sell Beverly Bono’s beautiful oil paintings and watercolors of Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, and other places capturing Maine’s unique, natural beauty.
Browse her collection and stay up-to-date with her latest creations, as well as temporary exhibits at Maine businesses and nonprofits posted on Instagram.
View Gallery on Instagram @bev3445Living the Maine Mystique
Beginning in 2026, we also started selling Pete Bono’s memoir titled Living the Maine Mystique: A Christmas Story for Those Who Dream of Doing It.
It tells the story of how Beverly and Pete Bono first visited Maine; fell in love with its unique beauty, charm, and overall mystique; moved there, and built their successful Christmas Spirit® business in Bar Harbor selling made-in-Maine/USA symbols of Maine’s mystique to their loyal customers.
- Length: 178 pages (8.5 x 11 inches)
- Features: 18 photos and 7 oil paintings by Beverly
- Price: $20 each (plus Maine sales tax & shipping when appropriate)
Preface to Living the Maine Mystique
What lay before us was a spectacular ocean view with waves gently breaking onto a very rocky shore, and a long strip of land in the distance separating the dark blue water from the light blue sky. Rocky ledges, large boulders and other rocks were everywhere directly in front of us, and up and down the shore as far as I could see in every size, shape, and color, offering an earthy texture and protective stone barrier between the land and the sea.
The haunting cry of a loon echoed nearby while the distinctive cries of seagulls interrupted the soothing sounds of ocean waves lapping the rocks along the rugged shore. Never had we experienced an ocean view like this before. Its unspoiled beauty had immediately impressed and warmly welcomed us to a new, yet somehow familiar home.
Smitten by the Maine Mystique
Five years after Beverly and I were married, we were smitten by the Maine mystique, which are all the things that make Maine such a special place, including its awesome ocean views from thousands of miles of jagged and rocky coastline; its iconic downtowns like Bar Harbor where Main Street storefronts are still lighted by 19th-century lamp posts, and shop owners still mind their own stores; and most importantly, Maine’s generous people with generations of caring culture, and tried-and-true traditions.
An Invitation to the Journey
Beverly and I invite you to join our journey of a lifetime, beginning with how we first discovered Maine was the way life would be for us for the rest of our lives; to building a year-round log cabin in Downeast Maine’s Wilderness Shores where we were surrounded by the Maine mystique; to owning and successfully operating our all-American-made Christmas Spirit® Shop in downtown Bar Harbor for 30 years, selling symbols of the Maine mystique to tourists; to moving to an active retirement community in Midcoast Maine where we continue to enjoy the wonders of Maine with its numerous finger-like peninsulas, offering stunning island views, quaint harbors, quiet coves, and sandy beaches.
This memoir describes our Maine voyage and more, complete with our personal experiences, challenges, opportunities, persistence, emotions, and motivation. We hope it will inspire you to give yourself and your family the enriching gift of life in Maine, whether on vacation in Maine or in your own Maine home. If you already live in Maine, we hope it will remind you how lucky you are. And if you’re dreaming of living in Maine, like Beverly and I were while working elsewhere in corporate America, we hope this memoir gives you some ideas how to make the transition, and come home to Maine.