Advent calendars are being opened and Christmas trees are being put up, but Port Vale are in the rather unique position of being a League One team that is still alive and well in all three cup competitions.
Andy Crosby's Valiants have proven they are knockout kings this season and their December schedule will provide their fans with plenty of festive cheer.
This Tuesday they go to Bolton Wanderers in the second round of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
Next week it's Stevenage in an FA Cup second round replay following their 1-1 draw last weekend – with a trip to non-league Maidstone United awaiting the winners.
But the most exciting part is that Vale will host Middlesbrough in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup seven days afterwards. If they progress, they are certain to face a Premier League side for a chance at Wembley.
Alfie Devine, the 19-year-old attacking midfielder on loan from Tottenham, celebrates scoring Port Vale's winner against Mansfield in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup
The teenager has had an exciting year, including a tournament with England U20
In September, Devine trained with Gareth Southgate's England squad
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For Alfie Devine, the 19-year-old midfielder on loan from Tottenham Hotspur to Vale, the cup excitement is just the continuation of an exciting year.
The teenager played for England at the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina in May and was then invited to train with Gareth Southgate's senior players in September.
“I'm enjoying it at the moment,” Devine tells Mail Sport. “Obviously there was a managerial change, with Ange Postecoglou coming in and he wanted to look at every player.
'I had a good conversation with him at the start of pre-season and everyone decided that it was probably best for me to go out on loan this season. It was the right time to go out.
“All the guys and staff at Vale made me feel very welcome and I really settled into the group. Tottenham's staff are checking in all the time. I've had good feedback.'
When Devine scored Vale's winning goal to beat League Two Mansfield Town in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, it caused a wave of excitement on social media among Spurs fans.
Given the injury crisis Postecoglou is currently struggling with, they may wish they had retained him.
But Devine's focus for now is purely on Vale's Cup adventures.
Tottenham decided that Devine would benefit from lower league experience and League One club Port Vale were the beneficiary
The midfielder played for England Under-20 against Italy last month
“Obviously teams in the Championship, League One and League Two want to do well in the cups every season because you get rewarded the later you get through the rounds,” he said.
'In the Carabao Cup we just kept winning and winning and winning, and then we reached the quarter-finals.
'It's a huge game and then it gives us the chance to get that Premier League side we always wanted.
'But you can't forget that Middlesbrough are a very good team. They made the playoffs last year, so no one is looking past that.
“All the boys are looking forward to it, especially when we drew at home, which made our chances even better to be in front of our own fans. We need everyone to get us over the line.'
Devine played in the EFL Trophy for Tottenham's under-21 team and certainly sees the value of the competition.
'It does give you the experience of going to a Football League pitch and playing against men. The experience you gain is enormous,” he said.
Devine celebrates his goal for England against Italy at the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina
Chatting with Harry Kane during pre-season training in July before the striker's departure
“Everyone's path will be different but the majority will be on loan and if you get a decent amount of games in that league you'll be pretty well prepared.”
The same goes for the England Under-20 international who was called up to make up the numbers for Southgate during a September training camp.
Chelsea duo Lewis Hall and Bashir Humphreys, who is on loan at Championship club Swansea, knew in advance that they would go a step further. Divinely not.
'It was halfway through the warm-up and Joe Edwards – the England Under-20 boss and now at Millwall – just came up to me and said they needed an extra player for the first half of training and you're passing. , Devine explains.
'It was obviously nerve-wracking when you first went over it. You look at England and you look at Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, all these types of players that you look up to as a midfielder, and now you're training with them.
'I felt a bit more comfortable there with Harry Kane and James Maddison. I spent pre-season with Maddison and I know Harry from Tottenham.
“That made it easier, but if you're going to do that at that age, it's about enjoying it to be honest and I've loved every minute of it.”
Another formative experience came in May when Devine represented England at the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina, scoring in matches against Uruguay and Italy. It brought some unexpected challenges.
Devine was part of the England Under-19s the year before, who were crowned European champions.
Devine became the youngest-ever Tottenham player at 16 years and 163 days when he played in the 2021 FA Cup against non-league club Marine and scored.
“They love football, they really have a passion for it and that's how football should be,” he said. 'But it was a shock.
'The first game against Tunisia there was quite a big crowd, but it's only England against Tunisia, so you don't really expect many people to come in Argentina.
'But our national anthem was still booed by everyone and we get booed at the ball and you think 'this is a bit different'.
'When we played against Uruguay, it was one of their days off in Uruguay, and it was completely packed with about twenty thousand players (27,231 in La Plata). There were thirty members of our family in their section and the rest of the stadium was against us.
“It was nerve-wracking at first, but then it buzzes you and it gives you that little bit extra, which was good.
'The match we played against Italy was another full stadium and I have never seen a crowd that was so supportive of Italy, that is not in Italy.'
Last year England was successful at the Under-19 European Championship
A group of boys born in 2003 and 2004 required a crash course on the 1982 Falklands War and Diego Maradona's 1986 'Hand of God'.
'After the match against Uruguay we had a day off and questions were asked: “Why are they like that against England?” We explained it and it made a little more sense,” Devine said.
'The boys handled it well. When you're actually in the game you don't really notice it.
“The national anthems and at halftime and all the time when you have to run in because things are being thrown at you, it's a bit crazy!”
Sports are in Devine's blood. His father Sean played rugby league for St Helens and Oldham in the 1980s and 1990s, and although Alfie enjoyed watching the sport, following in his footsteps was never an option.
Instead, it was the visits to Anfield to see Liverpool as a young player that made more of an impression and it is perhaps no wonder he became a midfielder.
Devine says he idolized fellow midfielders Steven Gerrard and Luka Modric growing up
“Growing up, Steven Gerrard was my idol because I would go to almost every Liverpool game with my grandfather, father and mother, or sister,” he said. 'I was also at Liverpool's academy when I was younger.
'As you got older and started to understand the game a little better, I loved seeing Luka Modric play for Real Madrid.
“Even now, no matter how old he is (38), he's still one of the best in the world.”
Both Gerrard and Modric were quite handy in the pressure cooker of the knockout competition. More like Port Vale.