Christmas is a little over a week away. If one doesn’t feel the spirit of the season too much, it’s easy to understand why. After all, it’s been sunny and 70 degrees pretty consistently lately. Folks have had to open windows and turn on fans or even turn on the air conditioning.

It feels almost like Christmas in July. The weather is almost unheard of for the middle of December and it’s putting a damper on the Christmas mood for a lot of people.

The good thing is that there are plenty of events going on around town to help promote that spirit. The Historic Port of Washington Museum’s model train display has been going on all week and will be open through Saturday.

Churches across Beaufort County are holding all sorts of Christmas events, too. Those range from pageants to plays to concerts. Singing along to a couple of Christmas carols could be the trick to getting in the mood even if you can go outside in shorts and a T-shirt. In addition, it’s also a nice way to support the ladies and gentlemen who have put hours of work into all these productions.

Basketball fans have a fun Christmas-time option, too. Northside will host other local schools in its annual Holiday Tournament this weekend. It should be a nice — and slightly competitive — way to spend time with others in the community. It’s also a great way to support the county’s young athletes. There are some pretty fun basketball teams to watch around here. The undefeated Terra Ceia Knights have been flashy early in the season. They’ll get the chance to compete against teams they don’t normally see.

Enjoy the time with family and friends, but one may have to resort to watching the Yule Log on television so as to not overheat the house when exchanging gifts.