I am in a similar situation, I have to travel at the end of the month and expect to get my COPR at any time now. I'll have to travel on my temporary visa and get the PR done when I get back.
You can't ask for emergency PR card when it's the first time it is issued. However, if you have free time during your travel and have already sent in your passport, you can go to a Canadian embassy and ask for a travel authorization ($50) which can get you back in Canada without the PR card.
If you want to speed up the passport process, you could send it with ultra-express mail and include prepaid express mailing for when they return it to you, but there's no guarantee it'll take less than 3 weeks even with that...
If you have another visa right now, I suggest you wait until you get back from the December trip.