We have actually planned this season out well. Or maybe we have just had it planned for us. However it happened, here we are still looking at the stretch from Monday to Thursday and there are no trips on the road to relatives required, there are no "official" office parties or clinky-drinkies left, there are no obligations to play out cheese and veggie trays for guests. We have wound all that up and it feels like we were able to do that just a bit earlier this year. Here is what we have learned so far:

• Paper money goes in Salvation Army kettles as easily as coins. Try it.
• Better to put the long drive in around 10 December than 20 December. Wiggle room is important when you are sharing the road with snowplows. Adding time to snow makes all of life appear just as the sign in Collingwood promised when we passed by a week ago last Friday.
• The miracle of meat truly is part of the season and, even with the ease of a small roast of lamb basted in maple syrup last weekend, so far I am most dumbstruck by the wizardry that is Polish pork tenderloin with whole figs roasted right in. It's meat. It's candy. It's meat. It's candy. Can't tell. Tonight I eat a duck.
• Inordinate levels of personal organization has made the awarding of over 42 gifts to readers of the beer blog's annual Yuletide photo contest somewhat sane. We had 524 entries to pick from this year and had it not been for my late adoption of Flickr as well as a measure of ruthlessness in the winnowing, this could well have taken over Yule.
• I have revived my Christmas TV watching of billiards trick shots. I have no idea why cable TV sports channels seemingly show programs of billiards trick shots only at Christmas. The world has been waiting for decades for the advent of celebrity billiards trick shot television.
• I happily shoveled my drive twice in the last two days and also the neighbours' driveways to each side of us as well. Jay is quite right about snow shoveling but only as long as the aches and pains do not overwhelm the ability of a rum and eggnog to comfort. Sit-ups are having their benefit even if it is not directly about girth.

There must be more lessons of the lead up to the big day, happy ones to counteract the tough times or those acute sort of observations we can also make these days. The wisdom of Bailey's in the coffee. The calming effect of actually getting the tree up. After work, I take the ten year old out shopping so that the squirreled away pocket money can be put to some use.