It is the last Sunday of the Advent season. Christmas is this Friday. The lack of snow and unseasonably warm temperatures are making it easier for me to filter out the distractions of the season.

It doesn’t feel like Christmas. Local golf courses will be open on Dec. 25th, for the first time ever. The only usual sign of the season is my morning newspaper being twice its usual thickness when I remove it from the box each morning. It’s all those extra advertising flyers enclosed.

Yet it does feel like Christmas. At church we have been singing carols mixed in with the usual worship choruses. The Advent wreath is lit each Sunday. Our home is decorated and I have begun thinking about Christmas baking. (If I do more than think about it at this point then there will be nothing left for Christmas. There are certain cookies that trigger memories of my childhood. If I make them too soon I cannot exhibit restraint nor self-control.)

I have not given much thought to Christmas presents, though I suppose that should come soon. We have a small family though, with no young children. That makes for a calmer Christmas day and changes the expectations. It really does become more about giving, and even more about being content with what we have. No-ones day is “ruined” because they didn’t get the latest toy. Not even mine.

My life has been blessed, there is nothing I need. Indeed, my wants are more fantasy than serious desires – if Christmas Day brings with it no accumulation of stuff I will not be disappointed. Okay, if pressed to make a list I could do so, but I can always buy the stuff myself after Christmas, when it goes on sale. I tell myself that each year. Each year I don’t bother – I really don’t need more things.

Holidays are a time for family celebration, and as I reflect on the season this is where I see the most change. I’m not a kid anymore waiting for Santa Claus. It has been more than 20 years since the last of my grandparents died. My mother is the only parent my wife and I have left. And our children are grown up. This year my daughter will be home for Christmas, but my son and his wife can’t make it. Even if we had paid the airfare, they only have three days off work. Once you take off the travel time they might be here for 36 hours. Better to stick with Skype and do a longer visit n 2016.

Christmas is also a time to reconnect with people you don’t see all year. In Ottawa things are relatively relaxed between Christmas and the New Year. Many people take the week off work because, with two statutory days already, it doesn’t cost them a week’s accumulated vacation time. With so many people off at the same time it is so much easier to connect.

For an introvert like me that can be problematic sometimes, but I have learned to manage it, somewhat. I try and avoid the hustle and bustle whenever possible. I try to limit social interactions. (Who am I kidding? As an introvert, I try and limit social interactions 365 days a year.) This gives more time for reflection and contemplation. With one year ending and another about to begin, it seems like a good thing to do.

Most of all though I take time during Advent to ponder the Christmas story and what it means for the word today. If you haven’t done that already this month, why not take some time today and read that familiar story again, just to get yourself ready for Christmas.