If the recent balmy temperatures have been making it tough to capture the full Christmas spirit, let me prescribe a visit to the Museum of Arts and Sciences.

Both the museum’s 2012 “Festival of Trees” (more than 30 fabulous Christmas trees created by some of the area’s most celebrated decorators) and “Home for the Holidays” are exhibitions certain to stir the soul regardless of age.

I should point out, too, that the annual Secret Shop is now open, offering children the opportunity to shop in private for pre-wrapped gifts for parents, siblings and others. The youngest member of my family still enjoys this service enormously, and her parents appreciate the reasonable prices.

A packed week

At last weekend’s taping of “A Grand Mercer Christmas,” Macon native Robert McDuffie stood on the stage of the Grand Opera House and touted not only Macon’s well-known musical past but also its burgeoning musical present. McDuffie proclaimed “Macon supports the arts,” and he also put in a plug for the city’s architectural heritage. These words will next year reverberate in America’s living rooms.

Meanwhile, guess what? Our holiday entertainment calendar is packed again this week. This weekend will see the final performances of “Meet Me in St. Louis” and “Miracle on 34th Street,” plus some of the most popular holiday musical events, including “A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols,” a delightful sacred musical event at Mercer University on Friday and Saturday. For a break from holiday music, the Ehnes String Quartet will be in concert Sunday.

Some of that architectural heritage that McDuffie spoke of will be on display this weekend in the Intown Neighborhood Association’s Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes. This weekend also will see the opening of the Middle Georgia Art Association’s Holiday Artists’ Market.

Tuesday brings Mercer’s David Keith leading the combined Choral Society of Middle Georgia and the Mercer Choir in Handel’s “Messiah” in the ethereal surroundings of St. Joseph Catholic Church. The indefatigable Keith will be back in action at Wesleyan College on Thursday morning leading the Morning Music Club’s “Christmas Chorale.”

Meanwhile, the Nutcracker of Middle Georgia will have taken over the Grand Opera House and, at least on stage, snowflakes will fall in Georgia.

Contact Larry Fennelly at LarryFennelly@AvantGuild.com.