So take the time to show your appreciation to your group’s GM for all the work they do. Some retailers have a GM’s Day sale; maybe you could pick up that supplement your GM has been eyeing. Or just say “thanks” the next time your group gets together. A little gratitude goes a long way.

Or, on the other hand, why not just go with the flow? Totalcon, as it’s affectionately called, is back for another year of miniatures, roleplaying — particularly in their living campaign TC Realms — board games and more at the Holiday Inn in Mansfield, MA. Hie thee hence, young gamer, for four straight days of gaming. Come back with your dice or on them!

Check out the website to see what programming is on offer. You might find something you don’t want to miss.

SnowCon, in the Bangor, ME area, returns for its second year with another weekend of games and game-playing. Why spend a weekend out in the cold skiing and sledding when you can relax indoors, sitting around a table with friends and a copy of your favorite game? It’s a great way to unwind from the stressful holiday season, as well.

And what better way to celebrate the new year than with four days of utter nerditude? Arisia 2010 is coming up in a few short weeks, so get the gang together and pile into your Constitution class compact for the drive to Boston and geek bliss-out. In addition to a gaming room, Arisia has everything else you’d expect from a big, multi-genre convention, including a musical act!

Invented by Dresden Codak, a forum user over at Koala Wallop, and promoted for a second year last December, Pretend You’re a Time Traveler Day invites people to spend a little time today acting out the part of a visitor from another era getting their first glimpse of late 2009. Dresden Codak gives lots of examples of what you might do, including giving random strangers a phone number they must call in thirty years’ time, being a Victorian inventor scandalized by contemporary fashions or dressing as a warrior from a dystopian future amazed to find other living human beings.

Those wondering just how they might have come to arrive in 2009 may find this instructional film of use.

In two weeks time, bellies still groaning from Thanksgiving dinners that couldn’t be beat, gamers will arrive in Stamford, Connecticut, for full helpings of adventure, with a particular emphasis on Living Forgotten Realms and Pathfinder Society.

December is traditionally a busy month for family gatherings and holiday activities, so be sure to squeeze in that last weekend of gaming before the new year!