With Thanksgiving so early this year, it seems the December holiday season has been in full swing for a couple of weeks. Hanukkah started at sundown this past Sunday and Christmas preparations are well underway, everywhere you look.

The Ladies Auxiliary of the Vera Cruz Fire Company will hold its second annual Hometown Christmas 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 8. Santa will be available for photos with your human and well-behaved furry children!

Upper Milford Western District Fire Company will host a breakfast with Santa 8 a.m. to noon Dec. 16.

Follow this paper and other news sources to find out where else Santa will make visits this month.

Old Zionsville United Church of Christ will hold its annual “cookie walk” 8 a.m. to noon Dec. 8 and its all-you-can-eat breakfast 7 to 11 a.m. Dec. 15.

Most local churches have special services scheduled Christmas Eve and some on Christmas day as well. Check the listings in this paper, or your church bulletin for what’s going on in your place of worship.

Meanwhile, regular meetings of various boards and organizations are canceled or rescheduled to work around the holidays.

The Upper Milford Historical Society does not hold regular meetings in November and December. Look for information on the January 2019 meeting in my next column.

The Ladies Auxiliary of Citizens Fire Company of Vera Cruz will not meet this month.

Looking ahead: Give a belated Christmas gift Jan. 21, 2019, when the Miller Keystone Bloodmobile will be at the Upper Milford Township building 2 to 7 p.m. Blood donations are always necessary, but during the winter, donations tend to drop off.

Please help them surpass their goal. You may schedule your donation appointment online at https://donor.giveapint.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/43263 or call the township office at 610-966-3223.

The Western District Fire Company on Route 100 will host a breakfast 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 Jan. 6, 2019. For information on the breakfasts, call the fire company at 610-966-3541 or Carol Shade at 610-966-3902.

The Upper Milford Fire Company’s ladies auxiliary meets 7 p.m. Jan. 7, 2019. New members are always welcome.

Vera Cruz senior citizens meet 1 p.m. the first and third Thursday of the month at the Vera Cruz Fire Company. All are welcome.

This is the time of year when the holiday schedule often throws off regular township meeting schedules, so check with your township to make sure the meeting you are interested in will be held at the usual time.

Lower Milford Township supervisors will meet 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 and a regular meeting Dec. 20.

Other Lower Milford meetings are as follows; unless otherwise noted, they will begin 7:30 p.m.: recreation and open space board, Dec. 12; historical commission, Dec. 11; planning commission workshop, Dec. 17; zoning hearing board, 7 p.m. Dec. 26.

Upper Milford Township supervisors will meet 7 p.m. Dec. 6 and 20. The year-end meeting scheduled for Dec. 27 has been canceled. Supervisors will hold its reorganization meeting 7 p.m. Jan. 7, 2019.

The Upper Milford Planning Commission meets 7:30 p.m. Jan. 2, 2019.

The recreation commission will not meet in December. The Joint Environmental Advisory Council also will not meet in December.

The open space committee meets 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month, only if it is required to conduct business. Check with the township office to find out if the committee will meet this month. The emergency services committee meets 7 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month, also only if required to conduct business.

The auditors will meet 7 p.m. Jan. 8, 2019.

If you have news or information for this column, which runs the first Wednesday of every month, please call me at 610-838-8923 or email me at bruce.swan@rcn.com.