Thanksgiving passed me by faster than a turkey on the lam. What happened? One day I was pawing through the Halloween candy and the next thing I knew, all the talk was Christmas and the holidays.

The Chamber of Commerce was not just all talk, though. Passing by Ram Pasture last Saturday I noticed Rob McCulloch’s Newtown Tree Service, Steve Carmichael’s Connecticut Tree Doctor, horticulturist Dan Dalton and Stan Perrone of Kesco Electric replacing bulbs and making sure the Ram Pasture Christmas tree is all set for the chamber’s 7 pm Annual Tree Lighting on Friday, November 30. There are always tasty doughnuts and piping hot cider ready at 6:30 pm, though, so give yourself plenty of time to get there, partake of the goodies, and mingle with friends at Newtown’s kick-off for the holiday season.

Local and regional religious leaders joined with members of Newtown Congregational Church in welcoming Matt Crebbin as the senior pastor at the West Street church Sunday, November 18. Matt was installed officially and welcomed heartily by the congregation of the nearly 300-year-old spiritual community, with lots and lots of singing, as Father Bob Weiss noted. But what other church can get the entire congregation to gather on the altar for a rousing rendition of The Hallelujah Chorus? Welcome, Matt, from the whole community.

How does the latest Harry Potter movie end? That’s what moviegoers were left wondering Monday night after a motor vehicle accident on Main Street left a number of residences without power, and also affected the movie theater within Edmond Town Hall. According to two ladies who walked from town hall to the accident scene near 70 Main Street, the movie was stopped briefly around 8:30 and then came back on but without sound. “They couldn’t get the sound to come back, so we decided to leave,” one of them said. They live close enough to the town hall to walk to the movies regularly. A few other movie patrons, including Pat and Dick Hubert, were curious about the abrupt ending to the movie, but once they left the building and saw the police and fire activity near the Soldiers & Sailors Monument, they had their answer to why the movie ended early, but were still left wondering what happened to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and everyone else at Hogwarts. I won’t tell if you don’t.

If you read through the holiday supplement that comes with this week’s Newtown Bee and start considering whether or not to head to Westport Country Playhouse for its presentation of A Christmas Carol (or even if you haven’t… yet), here’s something that just may help you make up your mind: Newtown residents are in for a treat this year thanks to the appearance of one of our own young stars. Meaghan Elliot, an eighth grade student at NMS who has already done work with Yale Repertory Theatre (among other stellar achievements, including a fantastic academic record), has landed the role of Martha Cratchit in the full production at the Playhouse. Tech rehearsals were running this week, previews begin this weekend, and then opening night is Friday, November 30. Meaghan’s mom, Cheryl, is lending a hand behind the scenes, and says it’s been a fun way for the family to kick off the holiday season. The theater’s website has all the pertinent details including not only curtain times and dates, but also details about Insider’s Insights and other special programming; visit WestportPlayhouse.org. Tickets can be ordered online or by calling the box office at 203-227-4177.

Traveling by air this holiday season? Be forewarned, that what you see may not be what you get. Caitlin Weber, daughter of Jack and Kim Weber, and a student at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., got a taste of that last week as she tried to make her way to Albany for an interview with Albany Medical School. At the airport, Caitlin watched in dismay as her flight, ON TIME one minute disappeared, and popped back up on the screen CANCELLED. Apparently, not enough passengers were booked, so just like that, the airline pulled the flight. Showing her true perseverance, though, Caitlin juggled her way through the flight schedules, ending up in Newark via Atlanta at 2 am. She arrived in Newtown at 4 am, with just enough time to catch two hours of sleep before driving to Albany. Despite the stressful journey, I’m sure Caitlin was able to put her best foot forward at the interview before collapsing for a long, long catnap.

As did I, napping through what I thought might have been a mêlée at the November 2 Killers of Comedy Tour that brought the controversial comedy troupe to the Edmond Town Hall stage. No bang came at the end. Nothing went wrong.

In the days prior to the performance the “what-ifs” had town officials concerned about the type of audience the act might bring. No alcohol and no one under age, the Board of Managers stressed in the weeks before the performance. A few Newtown police officers joined the comedy house’s 15-member security team. I eavesdropped at a recent Board of Managers meeting where I heard Sandy Motyka say essentially that it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“There’s an example of why we have to plan. We did the right thing ahead of time — you have to plan for it so it goes smoothly,” she said. Maybe the act didn’t appeal to everyone, but we cats know about being choosy. It’s OK.

While I was listening in on the managers, I also discovered that the hard work, planning, and support behind the newly formed Mary Hawley Society ended in a successful gala on October 27 in the Alexandria Room. Again Ms Motyka offered her thoughts. “I can’t thank the people who helped enough. Everybody worked together. Every time I asked someone for something, they did it.” In all, the society raised some money, but also awareness that the group will be the fundraising organization to help with town hall expenses. First things first, they want to refinish the kitchen and get the buffets and coffee back in service. I’ll be sitting by the stove waiting…

I hope you will be waiting, too, next week to… Read me again.