If you enjoy giving, this is the time of year made especially for you.

It seems when we’re younger our motives could be construed as selfish — writing Christmas lists, telling parents over and over again at length what we’d like to find under the Christmas tree.

As we grow older and hopefully wiser, our priorities shift. Many of us find that giving to someone else is a gift in and of itself. If you haven’t been finished your holiday giving, there are still some chances left to help.

There are plenty of children on Whidbey Island whose parents or guardians could use a little help filling the space under the Christmas tree. There may still be opportunities to lend a hand wrapping and organizing gifts for the Tree of Hope. Go to www.sioakharbor.org for information.

There is still time to donate a new, unwrapped toy to Toys for Tots. All toys donated on Whidbey Island stay on Whidbey Island, as do all monetary contributions made here. Bring your contribution to the Navy Band Northwest holiday concert Saturday at 3 p.m.

Finally, if you’re still working on sending your holiday greetings, consider sending an extra Christmas card to a wounded member of the Armed Forces. Mail it to: A Recovering American Soldier, c/o Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, 8901 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20889-5600.

-Kathy Reed, editor