Toy drive: The Joy of Toys at Christmas

You know how some people are lactose intolerant? If you don't, here's a non-medical, off-the-cuff rundown: If they drink milk or ingest milk products, they get bloated, nauseous and generally not fun to be around. Well, I'm kind of like that if you replace milk with Christmas. I get a little nauseous and stressed out when there's too much too early. Some people like to start pumping songs like the epic Bing Crosby/David Bowie duet, "The Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth," or jamming to Manheim Steamroller the day after Thanksgiving is over. Me, I like to ease into the season a little later in December.

However, even with my feelings on premature Christmas cheer, the following information is so important that I had to spread the word, even if it is about shopping for presents before Thanksgiving.

BigforkWEB Development is sponsoring the Toy 'N Joy Shop for Salvation Army families in need this year. They're asking for new children's coats, toys and clothes to be dropped off at their office at 7579 Highway 35 in Bigfork, just south of Highway 82, on the east side. What happens next is really cool.

The Toy N’ Joy Shop is for un-adopted families that are invited to go "shopping" (no charge) in the Toy 'N Joy Shop for their children, right before Dec 25.

Neat, eh? It's no secret that the recession has hit the Flathead particularly hard, and I'm sure even a single gift could go a long way for some of our neighbors. BigforkWEB is asking that donations be dropped off by Dec. 17. They're open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. And if you're too busy to drive to Bigfork, give them a call at 837-3334 and someone will come pick up the donation for you.

Now that's some Christmas spirit I could get into. I think I'm feeling it already. Eggnog, anyone?