Well, it's only mid-December and I've already had my first big holiday altercation, complete with scratches, scrapes and bloodshed.

Yes, I fought the Christmas tree - and the tree won.

I know, it's very sad to come to fisticuffs with artificial limbs held up by a metal pole and come out on the losing end. But those fake branches need to be manipulated and fluffed to look as realistic as possible, and I went in fully confident and barehanded. Big mistake. My hands and lower arms now look like I had an encounter with a very large and feisty feline, perhaps a small snow leopard - and that's the story I'm sticking with.

I had the pleasure of attending the middle school musical, “Willy Wonka Jr.,” last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. There is a wealth of talent in the fifth through eighth grades, and more than 40 third graders added to the cuteness factor as Oompa Loopas. Congratulations to the entire cast, director/ choreographer Holly Dietsche and long-time Weedsport theater guru/producer Wally Meier on another fantastic year.

The village of Weedsport celebrated its 12th annual Old Tyme Christmas on Saturday as a day of fun for folks of all ages and to support the Brutus-Sennett Food Pantry. The event featured horse-drawn wagon rides through the village, live music, a 5K run/walk, visits with Santa, snow bowling, crafters and vendors and, of course, the best part of all, great food. It's always wonderful to see the businesses all decorated, families enjoying time together and hearing those festive Christmas tunes. Thanks to everyone who made this event possible.

December in Weedsport wouldn't be complete without our annual Christmas concerts. The elementary “Holiday Jubilee” was performed to the usual capacity crowd this past week, with the third, fourth and fifth graders in all their holiday finery. The high school concert will be held Monday, Dec. 15, with the annual wind ensemble's performance of “Sleigh Ride.” This year's rendition will be extra special, as it is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the song's composer, Leroy Anderson. The middle school concert will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 17; both concerts are at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium and are free and open to the public. These performances are always a great way to get into the Christmas spirit and show our support for our talented musicians.

Just because the kids are on vacation for a couple of weeks at the end of the month doesn't mean that the sports schedule comes to a standstill. Our girls' and boys' JV and varsity basketball teams will travel to their annual holiday tournaments at Cayuga Community College (girls play Dec. 26 and 27 and boys play Dec. 29 and 30), our swim team has a meet in Auburn on the 31st and our volleyball team plans to travel to CBA in Syracuse for a tournament Jan. 3.

Speaking of our volleyball team, a big round of applause goes out to varsity coach Sandy Donahue (WCS Class of '83 - holla!), who was recently inducted into the Onondaga Community College Athletic Hall of Fame in recognition of her volleyball and softball talents. Congratulations.

As my husband and I (and usually other companions as well) travel around to various basketball and volleyball games to watch our kids play, we have noticed that our Weedsport teams are not only being coached in becoming better athletes, but also in the value of teamwork, respect for others and sportsmanship. We have visited other schools in which these attributes do not seem to be a priority, and we'd like to send out a note of appreciation to our coaches for making them a priority.

And now, as I enjoy looking at the lights on my Christmas tree (and the just-beginning-to-heal scratches on my hands) and the stockings hanging by the chimney with care, I find myself thinking back on Christmases past and all of the wonderful memories. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and many cherished memories of your own.

Wendy Bates has lived in Weedsport all her life and loves to write about her community