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DECEMBER 2025 TABLEHOPPING

GET OUT !

I will avoid the usual exortations to avoid junk food, not be a couch potato, eat before you go to parties etc because you would ignore me anyways. Instead, let me be of some service to you by suggesting some holiday gift suggestions.

First, give the gift of time….No one needs another sweater. Nothing wrong with a gift card but that doesn’t take much thought or effort. I suggest you make a plan to take someone out …out for a walk…out for lunch…out for a show but get out and socialize and make someone feel special just because you got together. Go to some event with someone you have not seen in a while. Don’t just buy them tickets to some event…go with them. I think you will feel better both socially and physically if you go out and spend time with others. Maybe you are one of those lucky few people with a very full social network of friends and co-workers and don’t need any more social time. But this isn’t about you…It’s about a present / your presence for someone that may actually mean something to you. Need some ideas?

Of course you have Maria Desantis and the Desantis Orchestra doing their traditional Christmas Show on Sunday 12/14 at 4 pm at the Immaculate Conception Church in Fayetteville. This is an annual must do for my wife and I because it involves great tunes sung by great local and regional talent and because I love the big orchestra sound. It’s no common event to hear the big band sound anymore and Maria and the band bring it home !

Ok, I said the Desantis show is traditional…if you prefer something a little more on the wild side may I suggest the Grand Slobovian Circus of Dreams Christmas show. It’s going to be at the Center for the Arts in Homer. That venue is worth the trip and this Christmas show should be something else altogether if their youtube presence is any example. That’s going to be Sunday 12/7 at 8 pm . Getting me out of the house Sunday night is next to impossible but this caught my eye and I am dragging my wife along. Relevant links below .

If, for some inexorable reason you don’t like live music, why not check out the Syracuse Stage presentation of the classic A Christmas Story. I don’t know what this show will look like compared to the movie but , to me, any live Christmas show draws my attention and I am looking forward to seeing how they present the story. I have a soft spot for live theatre and it doesn’t get any better than the venue at 820 East Genesee St. The show runs from Nov 25th to Dec 28th so there goes your excuse that you just missed the listing.

Of course you have ice skating downtown, horse drawn carriage rides at Highland Forest, Crunch games etc…the point is that by spending time with someone rather than just spending money on them it’s win-win. You are making memories, not just making a mess of wrapping paper. This is an increasingly commercial world /holiday but you can still feel the spiritual nature of the holiday in a very personal way by reaching out and connecting to someone. Remember as Jacob Marley said…. ” Business?! Humankind was my business! The common welfare was my business! Charity, mercy, forbearance and benevolence, were all my business! The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business! Oh, why did I walk through crowds of fellow beings with my eyes turned down,… ”

Before you put this paper down…make a plan…pick a person…pick an event. You dont have to go cray cray…its the spending time together that is the magic. It may not be the reason for the season but it will still make you a better person and the world a better place.

Until next month, get well and stay well.

JT BARRY MD

Center for the Arts of Homer, 72 S Main St, Homer, NY 13077Ci, USA