The Coastal Humane Society of Brunswick will be hosting a festive open house and holiday weekend event, “Coastal’s Holly Jolly Holiday Spectacular” from noon to 6 p.m. today through Sunday, Dec. 21.

For $5 Saturday only, new adopters and members of the community can have their pets photo g raphed with Santa.

The event will also feature plenty of adoptable animals, including puppies, as well as food, festive music and tours of the facility. People are invited to bring gifts for the animals and place them under the Christmas tree in the Range Road lobby as well. The shelter’s wish list can be found at www.coastalhumanesociety.o rg/wishlist.

All December long, the special cat adoption promotion — “Catmas” — takes place at the Coastal shelter, that offers 50 percent off adoption fees for cats 6-months-old and older. Catmas is ongoing and ends Dec. 31.

Coastal Humane Society will give special counseling to people that wish to give a shelter pet as a gift.

According to Coastal Humane, statistics show that receiving a pet as a gift does not affect the recipient’s love or attachment to that pet, or rates of return to shelters. However, Coastal Humane’s adoption counselors will discuss at length the considerations to be made for a successful gift adoption.

The gift giver should be prepared to make sure the animal is properly cared for, according to Coastal. The recipient should have expressed an interest in owning a pet, and be clear on the responsibilities involved in caring for a companion animal. Coastal staff can suggest age-appropriate animals for children and teens. If the pet is for a child, the new pet should not be a chance to “learn responsibility” but as a reward for being responsible.