It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, even if it’s unlikely we will get Bing Crosby’s White Christmas. Except for the decorations, it never looks “a lot like Christmas,” at least not the kind memorialized in so many songs, films and Christmas cards. Snow is almost as rare as hen’s teeth down here.

South Mississippi being South Mississippi, by the time Christmas rolls around, it may not even feel much like Christmas. The weather man says the current cold weather will go away early next week and I haven’t seen a forecast for the return of cold weather.

That’s fine. Genie and I are making our first out-of-town Christmas shopping forays today when we also will visit with Margaret and Buzz and maybe run into Lee and Maura at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church as we did last year. I sure hope so.

Problem for me is that I have been lazy this year and hadn’t yet sorted and rolled my coins before I wrote this column on Friday

Each year I save all my change, plus a few extra dollars, and use that for Christmas shopping. Genie and I try to avoid using credit cards for Christmas shopping. We have heard too many tales of woe. That also keeps us from spending too much.

Fortunately, I do save some extra cash and that should be enough to handle this trip. Otherwise, I will just get Genie to advance me some. She has her own method of saving money.

We have another out-of-town foray planned and I will have the coins sorted, rolled and cashed in by that time and can repay any money I borrow from Genie.

We have mailed off most of the gifts we needed to mail. We still have a couple to send and probably will do that Monday afternoon. They are waiting to go with some of the results of this weekend’s trip.

Genie is still working on the Christmas cards. My handwriting limits my ability to assist with that chore.

Once we get past Christmas day, we still have a little more shopping to do for the Sullivan family get-together and Christmas on New Year’s Eve, which will be at my sister’s home out from Mendenhall this year.

I enjoy the Christmas shopping, but I sure will be glad when it is over.

What I don’t enjoy are the crowds at the stores, trying to find a parking place located so that I can remember where I’ve parked and trying to find some way to stow all the packages in the car, especially when we have another store to go to and don’t want to tempt potential thieves by leaving things out in the open.

Another thing I enjoy is listening to all the Christmas music. Christmas seems to have more really good music written about it than any other holiday. I even like the spoofs such as the one about the reindeer running over grandma and the Chipmunks songs.

The best spoofs, though, are the ones coming from New Orleans musician Benny Grunch. This year’s songs are a bit more serious than many in the past, but they’re still funny.

“White Christmas,” “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” and others along that line are ones that really get me in the mood for Christmas. Yes, Judy, I have a secret life where I listen to Christmas music and don’t say “Bah. Humbug.” Editors are required to be Scrooges, at least when they are at work, and I must keep up appearances.

I once had a cartoon of an editor standing over a reporter’s grave and saying “I guess this means you won’t make the deadline.” I don’t know what has happened to it, but I suspect a reporter has “borrowed” it — permanently.

Still, I do enjoy the Christmas music, at least away from the office.

Friday night, we had the office Christmas party and last night we went to a party organized by one of our coffee group friends.

Yes, it is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, and probably will feel like Christmas even if it stays warm over Christmas day.

One thing is for sure in South Mississippi in the winter, if you don’t like the temperature today, wait a while. It is sure to either warm up or cool down. I wish you could say the same in the summer, about cooling down, that is.