Whidbey Island is a great place to live during Christmas. No child will go hungry or wake up Christmas morning without presents under the tree thanks to widespread volunteer efforts in the community.

At the risk of missing someone, we’ll mention a few: All the groups who donated for to Help House for distribution as Christmas baskets; the Salvation Army, whose jingling bells raise thousands of dollars for local children; the Venture Club, whose impressive gift program will bring smiles to scores of children Christmas morning; the Festival of Trees and Teddy Bear Breakfast, benefitting children in the community; high school students who collected teddy bears; the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program, with assistance from the Island Gift Foundation, which is always there when toys are needed; and the various other service clubs and churches that make sure no family goes needy over the holidays.

Christmas is also brought to us by all the fine island folks who decorates their businesses, homes and yards to give us the spirit of the season; the fire departments who haul Santa around in a fire engine; and Oak Harbor Soroptimists, who turn the Blue-Fox drive-in grounds into a winter wonderland with Santa and Mrs. Claus, a petting farm, holiday characters, and a choo-choo train fun for kids of all ages to ride.

All these people and many others whose good deeds go unrecorded give true meaning to the Christmas season which, after all, is about giving, not receiving. We’re fortunate to live in a community in which giving is such a widespread tradition. What more could we want for Christmas?