Tis the season and Santa has arrived! Boy he sure got around over the weekend. I followed him from Hughesville on Friday night, then to Muncy at noon and from there he was in downtown Montgomery, and back again Sunday for the Hughesville parade. I love the fact that our small communities embrace such a holiday tradition and welcome Santa with their very own version. It made me want to be a child again.

A reminder that the Toys For Tots program will be making their final pick up on Wednesday Dec. 16th and will be distributing them on Saturday, Dec. 19 at the Mill Complex on Railroad Street in Hughesville. Our Luminary Shopper office does have a box if you want to contribute, and also we are a drop off for senior items which will also end next week.

There’s still time to go to Muncy Bank and vote for your favorite window display. The employees are raising money for the Son-Light House and the more votes they get, all the better. It will be a tough decision, though, because they are all good. I got a glimpse of some of them on Friday.

I was thinking of getting a drone for my husband for Christmas and discovered that a class is being offered for two hands-on sessions in January at a College for $169 on how to use them. Now the one I saw that he might like had a video camera on it and it can be used indoors or out, and it was only $99. I guess learning about this unmanned aerial gadget is rather costly.

For those of you who love to purchase the poinsettias every year, I learned some interesting facts about their survival. I managed to save a few from last season and the center part, the small yellow parts, are the ponsettia’s reproductive part and the length of the day is what triggers them to bloom. They first came here to the U.S. in 1825 by first ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett. The vibrant red colors of the flower with the green leaves make them a popular plant at Christmas. In order for the plant to produce the bright red, it needs 12 hours of complete darkness and 12 hours of light starting at the autumn equinox in September according to the experts. So don’t throw that potted plant away after Christmas, because they can be reflowered under the right conditions.

Are you thinking of traveling this month? AAA reports a daily fuel gauge app is available to see where the lowest gas prices are near you. This would be quite helpful for any travel destinations this holiday. It is a public service and it is updated every day. You can access it at www.AAAFuelGaugeReport.com, then click on the Fuel Cost calculator tab to find the fuel costs on over 120,000 stations. There is also a map feature that will take you directly to the station.

Muncy events

Sat. Dec. 12 a Merry Tubachristmas at the Lycoming Mall, 2 p.m. Over 50 tuba, baritone and euphonium players from across the region will be performing lively Christmas carols. Musical parts will be available in treble and bass clefs. Registration and rehearsal for the event will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the mall’s center court. The first Tubachristmas was conducted by the late Paul Lavelle in New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza Ice Rink on Dec. 22, 1974. It is now a nationwide event celebrated in more than 200 locations across the United States.

Dec. 16 & 17 – distribution days for Christmas at Son-Light House, 130 Carpenter Street, Muncy. Weds. 9 a.m. to noon and Thurs. 5-7:30 p.m.