Counting today, there are only 19 days left to shop for the skier on your list. And at least five of those days should include skiing.

I can’t help with the rest of your list, but for skiers, all ski areas open at this point in the season have ski shops, so you can combine your shopping with a day on the slopes. If you ski at your skier’s favorite ski area, you can simply pick up a gift card at the ski shop. It’s quick and easy and every skier has something he needs or at least can use from a ski shop.

If you want to take a little more time, talk to the shop employees about various services. Skis need to be tuned regularly. All shops have a variety of tunes, by hand or machine, with or without waxing. A gift card for a tune can be used by every skier.

If you do your homework and find out what your skier wants or needs, you can get more specific. For example, if your skier is complaining about boots, buy a fitting session. Often a pair of boots can be brought back to performance by having a good boot fitter make adjustments. I have seen numerous skiers get more performance out of their present boots by simply adding a foot bed.

For the skier with cold feet or hands, there are boot heaters and heated gloves. From a tube of lip balm to new skis, there is something for every need and budget in a ski shop. And with today’s high speed lifts, you can get in a full day’s equivalent of runs with plenty of time left for shopping. And except for those who work out all year, most of us don’t need a full day of skiing the first few days out.

Of course, there are other reasons to get out on the slopes, or at least visit your favorite ski area, in December. If you have your own Santa outfit and you’re reading this early enough, you can join hundreds of Santas today at Sunday River. Next weekend is their annual Winterfest celebration.

If all goes as planned (that means, weather permitting), Mt Abram is now open. As always this time of year, call ahead or check the area’s web site. Mt. Abram has teamed with Black Mountain, Lost Valley, Titcomb and Camden for a special deal. With a season pass at any one of these areas, you can ski by the day for half price at each of the others. Black Mountain, Titcomb and Lost Valley are all shooting for opening Dec. 19.

It’s also time to sign up for various programs. This includes team racing and junior programs, along with volunteers. Maine Adaptive Sports is always looking for volunteers to help with their programs. It takes a lot of help to assist the various levels of handicapped skiers. Lost Valley, which has a number of learn-to-ski programs, is now open in the rental shop to fit skiers and potential skiers with equipment to make things go faster when the programs actually start. Spruce Mountain in Jay is looking for volunteers who do everything at this community area, home of the $1 grilled cheese sandwich.

Black Mountain’s race program deadline is Dec.16. Titcomb’s opening day on the 19th will start with a pancake breakfast. The demo vans are at Sugarloaf this weekend and next weekend is the annual tree lighting ceremony and Holiday Gift Bazaar.

If you visit www.skimaine.com and click onto the various ski areas, you can find details on these and a lot more reasons visit ski areas between now and Christmas.

One new thing this year is a number of mountains instituting a drone policy. Apparently, there have been some problems at western ski resorts with skiers using drones to film themselves while skiing or riding lifts. From an individual standpoint this is dangerous enough. Skiing calls for our strict attention, even if we are the only skier on a slope. We never know what is around the next bend in the trail or below the next drop off. I have never even liked the idea of skiers listening to music with headphones that block out other sounds.

Focusing on the controls of a drone while skiing down the mountain is a distraction we don’t need and it could endanger not only us but result in a collision with another skier. There is also the possibility that an out of control drone could hit another skier resulting in a serious fall.

While the drone might not be big enough to cause serious damage to the skier, a trip into the woods caused by the distraction could be fatal. And that brings us to a major concern for the ski areas; a collision with a lift. There any number of ways a drone could cause problems with a lift.

I have read the policy of only one ski area in Maine on drones. Shawnee Peak has it plainly spelled out on their website. The entire policy is too long to include here, but drone use is forbidden without the express consent of the ski area. My advice is to check with any ski area before using a drone.

If you want to film or be filmed, the best bet is a helmet cam. All you have to do is follow the skier to be filmed and the camera does the rest with no risk to anyone. Actually, a GoPro would be a good gift for any skier.

That’s my final thought on gifts. See you on the slopes.