Each holiday season, more than 100 all-natural wreaths hang on the public buildings and businesses of New Castle's Historic District. Volunteers build them in a single weekend at the Arsenal, using evergreen, holly, pinecones and oyster shells that residents bring in from their own yards. The Arasapha Garden Club has run this Holiday Greening since 1963, with dozens of members and other volunteers taking part every year.
In 2026 that work runs from the week of Thanksgiving to Saturday, December 12, and each step feeds the next one. Boxwood trimmed over Thanksgiving weekend goes into wreaths at the Arsenal the following Friday. Money from the last wreaths sold on December 12 helps pay for next year's.
| Date in 2026 | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 21, 7–10 p.m. | Tavern 250, New Castle Historical Society | The Arsenal, 30 Market St. |
| Weekend after Thanksgiving | Residents and volunteers gather natural materials | Yards and gardens around town |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Natural materials drop-off | Fenced area behind the Arsenal |
| Fri., Dec. 4, 10 a.m.–8 p.m. | Wreath Workshop | The Arsenal |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. | Wreath Workshop | The Arsenal |
| Fri., Dec. 11, 7–10:30 p.m. | Fezziwig's Ball | The Arsenal |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Spirit of Christmas, plus the Poinsettia & Wreath Sale, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Historic District; New Castle Public Library, 424 Delaware St. |
The supply starts the weekend after Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is November 26 this year. On the weekend after it, Arasapha members, friends, neighbors and other residents collect the materials that will decorate the wreaths. The club's Holiday Greening page lists what it can use, and much of it is already growing in older New Castle yards:
- Evergreen clippings, including boxwood, cedar, cypress, fir, hemlock, holly, juniper, magnolia, mountain laurel, pine, privet, spruce, winterberry and yew
- Gold dust plant, pieris japonica and winter creeper
- Ivy
- Pinecones
- Bay, sage and rosemary clippings
- Dried hydrangea blooms and grass plumes
- Money plant clippings
- Oyster shells and walnuts
The drop-off is Thursday, December 3. Bring bags of material to the fenced area behind the Arsenal at 30 Market Street.
The club also offers help to anyone with a hedge that has gotten away from them. If you or a neighbor needs overgrown shrubs trimmed, Arasapha asks you to reach out through its contact page, and volunteers will schedule a visit. So an overgrown holly by the porch can end up as wreath material instead of yard waste. Questions can also go to [email protected].
Two days at the Arsenal turn clippings into wreaths
The day after the drop-off, the material goes to work. The Wreath Workshop runs Friday, December 4, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, December 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., inside the Arsenal.
The club says no artistic talent is needed. Stop by any time the workshop is open, stay as long or as briefly as you like, and volunteers will show you what to do. Bring garden clippers if you have them. Each wreath takes about an hour. Arasapha notes that Friday evening and Saturday work well for people with weekday jobs.
There is also a way to take one home. During the Friday evening session, 5 to 8 p.m., and all day Saturday, you can decorate a wreath for your own front door for $30. Only a limited number of wreaths is available, sold first-come, first-served.
The finished wreaths hang on the Historic District's public buildings and businesses through the holiday season.
The same building hosts the season's ticketed nights
The Arsenal at 30 Market Street is a work room for one weekend and a venue on the evenings around it. The New Castle Historical Society runs two ticketed nights there this season, and they sell very differently.
The first is Tavern 250 – A Revolutionary Night of Food, Drink & Merriment, on Saturday, November 21, from 7 to 10 p.m. Admission is $65, or $60 for Society members, and you have to buy in advance. It comes before the greening, so the November calendar has an evening out at the Arsenal before the boxwood arrives.
The second is Fezziwig's Ball, on Friday, December 11, from 7 to 10:30 p.m. The Society's ticket page describes a re-created 19th-century ball, with historic dances led by members of the Civil War Dance Society, live period music by The Susquehanna Travellers, holiday desserts, and two beer or wine tickets with each admission. Guests can wear 19th-century reproduction clothing or modern semi-formal holiday attire. Tickets were $50, and space is capped at 50 guests, with no more than four tickets per buyer.
With six weeks still to go, the 2026 ball is already sold out, and the page now offers a waiting list. Ticket holders get a free dance rehearsal at the Arsenal on December 1, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. With 50 seats, the ball is one of the smallest events of the season. If you want to go next year, buy as soon as tickets go on sale.
December 12 sells the leftovers and pays for next year
On Saturday, December 12, Historic New Castle presents The Spirit of Christmas. According to the Visit Wilmington listing, the day includes tours of decorated private homes and museums, music around town, heritage Santas, a Christmas Market, local shops and restaurants, and a tree lighting in Market Square. House-tour admission is $10 in advance or $15 on-site. Everything else is free and open to the public. Hours and the tree-lighting time for 2026 should appear on the New Castle Historical Society events page and the organizers' social channels as the day gets closer.
The greening wraps up the same day, a few blocks away. Arasapha runs its Poinsettia & Wreath Sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the New Castle Public Library, 424 Delaware Street, during the library's Winter Festival & Market, which is held together with the Spirit of Christmas.
The sale proceeds support the Holiday Greening project and the historic gardens at the Amstel House and Dutch House museums. The greening also draws on grants from the Trustees of New Castle Common and the City of New Castle, along with money from Arasapha's May Market and A Day in Old New Castle. A poinsettia bought on December 12 helps pay for the 2027 wreaths.
The Society's December listings also show Hearth Cooking at Amstel House on the 12th. Check the Society's page for the time before you plan around it.
Museum doors that stay open around it
The Spirit of Christmas lasts one day, but the decorated district is up longer, and several of the buildings behind those wreaths keep regular hours into late December:
- Amstel House and Dutch House are open weekends through December 27, 2026. Hours are Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sunday noon–4 p.m., with the last tour at 3 p.m. Adult admission is $8.50 for one house or $15 for both. Children 6–12 pay $4 or $6, and children 5 and under are free.
- Read House & Gardens is open Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., with the last tour at 3 p.m., through the end of the year. Adults pay $10, seniors, military and students $8, ages 6–17 $5, and children 5 and under are free.
- New Castle Court House Museum is free and open year-round. Guided tours run Wednesday through Saturday at 10, 11, 1, 2 and 3, and Sunday at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30.
- The First State National Historical Park Sheriff's House Welcome Center is free and open Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m., through December 31.
If December 12 doesn't work for you, the Amstel House is open on Sunday afternoons through December 27, while the wreaths are still up for the season. Anyone who followed our earlier post on how New Castle's fall calendar fits on two blocks will know the Arsenal and Market Square. December uses the same few blocks for the holidays.
The material for those wreaths is probably growing on someone's property right now. If you're trimming shrubs, planning exterior work, or wondering how your house's condition and curb appeal affect what it's worth, I'm glad to talk it through with a New Castle homeowner. Kevin Burkhardt has spent roughly four decades in Delaware real estate and appraisal, and you can find more about the area on the New Castle neighborhood page. Let's Connect.
