What we do, when to order, and what each cemetery we work in has written down about holiday decorations.
If you can't get to the cemetery in December, we'll place a Christmas wreath at the grave for you. This page covers what that involves, when to order, and what the cemeteries we work in have said about holiday decorations, since those rules decide when a wreath can go out and when it has to come down.
We place the wreath at the grave on the date your cemetery allows and set it securely. At the end of the season we come back and take it down, so it is gone before the cemetery's removal date rather than left for the grounds crew to clear. The return visit is part of our wreath pricing. You get dated photos of the grave after we've been, which matters most if you live out of state.
Wreaths are one of the seasonal services alongside spring, summer and autumn plantings. They can be ordered on their own, or added to the Year-Round Care plan, where the removal visit is included. We don't list a wreath price on the site, so ask when you get in touch and we'll quote it for your cemetery. Wreaths reserved by Thanksgiving get our best pricing.
Order before Thanksgiving if you can. The pricing is better, and we'd rather know the cemetery and the plot early enough to check its rules before December.
The dates that matter come from the cemetery, and they vary a good deal. At High Street Cemetery in Hingham a Christmas wreath may go out only in December and must come down by April 1. At First Parish in Norwell a holiday wreath has to be removed within 60 days of the holiday. At Mayflower Cemetery in Duxbury the cemetery's staff clear Christmas decorations in the first week of February. Cohasset Central Cemetery is closed from December 1 through March 31. Details for each are below.
Everything below comes from the cemetery pages we've written, and each links to the full page. Those pages are summaries of what the cemeteries publish, and the cemetery is always the authority. Rules change, and some of these are old, so confirm with the cemetery before you order.
High Street permits, during December only, a Christmas wreath or spray, fresh or artificial. Christmas decorations must be removed by April 1. The cemetery also prohibits vigil lights of any kind, along with statues, banners and balloons.
Hingham Cemetery's regulations don't mention wreaths by name. They permit only fresh, natural flowers or potted plants, and only for one week, or less if the flowers stop being fresh. Artificial flowers are not allowed at any time, and neither are personal mementos. Because the rules are this tight and the cemetery directs outside work through its management, call the cemetery at 781-749-1048 before ordering a wreath for a grave here.
Duxbury prohibits plastic or artificial flowers, plants and wreaths, so a wreath here needs to be natural. Christmas decorations still in place are removed by cemetery staff by the first week of February. Around a flush memorial, the rules allow no flowers, mementos or personal items at all, so a wreath is not an option at a flush marker. Anything the Cemetery Department judges unsightly or inappropriate can be removed without notice, and the department does not store what it removes. The Cemetery Department is at 781-934-5261.
First Parish's rules name Christmas wreaths as a permitted holiday memorial, to be removed by the lot holder within 60 days of the holiday. A wreath placed in mid-December can stay into February. The Association adopted these rules in 1991 and amended them in 1999, so it's worth an email to firstparishcemeterynorwell@gmail.com to confirm they're current.
The parish's regulations, as we summarize them, don't mention wreaths. They say spring cleanup takes place in April and winter cleanup in November, and that decorations, planters and similar items should be removed before the first of each of those months. They also prohibit ornaments such as plastic decorations, pinwheels, animal figures and balloons. Since a Christmas wreath isn't addressed directly, ask the parish office at 781-545-3335 ext. 214 whether one can go out and how long it can stay.
For these, we haven't found published rules on holiday decorations, and we don't guess at them. Call or write to the cemetery first. Where a cemetery tells us a date, we work to it.
No published regulations on plantings, decorations or seasonal removal. The cemetery is open from April 1 through November 30 and closed from December 1 through March 31, so ask the board at info@cohassetcentralcemetery.com whether and how a December wreath can be placed.
The Town of Cohasset publishes cemetery Rules and Regulations, revised in 2023. We couldn't retrieve the current document when we wrote our page, so we don't summarize it. Ask the Cemetery Department at 781-383-0273 what is allowed and when decorations are cleared in spring.
The Town of Marshfield puts holiday decorations on the lot owner: you place them and you remove them. We haven't found published rules beyond that. Ask the Cemeteries, Trees & Greens office at (781) 834-5575, extension 1, before anything permanent goes in. Placing and removing the wreath is a service we offer here.
The parish doesn't publish rules on decorations, flowers or seasonal removal that we've been able to find. Call the parish office at 781-749-0587.
No published rules on plantings, decorations or seasonal removal. The cemetery is run by the Groveland Cemetery Association, not the town, so questions go to the Association.
No published rules on plantings, decorations or seasonal removal that we could find. It is a town cemetery, so call the Public Grounds Division at 781-545-8733 before a wreath goes in.
The Cemetery Department doesn't publish a rules document that we could find. Call 617-698-0200.
No published rules. The cemetery did post one date: in 2025 it began removing Christmas decorations on March 15 and asked proprietors to collect anything they wanted to keep before then. That was one year's notice, not a standing rule. The office is at 508-583-5466.
No published rules document. Call the cemetery at 781-337-2171 ext. 2.
We work in more cemeteries than we've written up. Tell us which one and roughly where the plot is, and we'll confirm we can reach it and check what it allows before we place anything.
South Shore Towns We Serve
Tell us the cemetery and roughly where the plot is, and choose “Christmas Wreath / Décor” on the request form. We'll check the cemetery's rules and quote the wreath.
Reserve a Wreath (707) 653-6539