Christmas for Maura McGonigle has always been a special time of year. “It’s about love, family, giving. Christmas for me is something that should be shared with everyone,” she said.
It’s also something she takes seriously. “Absolutely no decorating is to take place before the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After that, all bets are off. It takes us two days to get all of the decorations set up.”
“Maura’s a nut about Christmas,” said her partner, Paul Zona. “Eleven years ago was our first Christmas together. I thought I was doing her a favor by taking the tree down when she wasn’t home. That was a mistake. Everything, down to the individual pieces of tinsel, was meticulously placed. I learned my lesson that day.”
In 2023, McGonigle and Zona, along with their Christmas puppy, Daisy, moved Maura’s Embroidery Unlimited from Weymouth, Mass., to 16 Colls Farm Road in Jaffrey. The trio has become well known for McGonigle’s elaborate Christmas spread, from traditional Santa Clauses to small Christmas villages. However, the one display that all the customers are enamored by is her growing collection of 406 nutcrackers.
“I’ve been collecting them for 40 years now,” McGonigle said. “The first one came from my mother back in 1985. Since then, it has become a tradition to get me a nutcracker. Every year, I get nutcrackers from family and friends. Whenever I open a new nutcracker, the whole family is present. Everyone is always worried, ‘Is it different from the other ones?’ they ask. There’s always a huge sigh of relief once it’s determined that the new nutcracker isn’t a duplicate.” She said only three of the 406 nutcrackers are alike.
McGonigle’s collection ranges from Wizard of Oz characters to sports fans, and from an inch in height up to 5 feet. She said that 99% of them have been gifts. Many of the nutcrackers are from abroad, coming from places such as England, Germany and Russia.
“I also have two nutcrackers that represent my actual children. One is a nurse, the other, a mechanic. However, my favorite is the Olaf nutcracker gifted to me in 2015,” she said.
Different nutcrackers resonate with customers entering Maura’s Embroidery, and they often lead visitors to reminisce with McGonigle and Zona about their past.
For information, visit maurasembroideryunlimited.com/.ne, call (781) 389-6266 or email maura323@gmail.com.
