“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more?”

The classic Dr. Seuss tale follows the transformation of the Grinch, a bitter, cranky, cantankerous and crabby cave-dwelling soul who not just despises Christmas, he hate, hate, HATES it. With a heart “two sizes too small,” the Grinch can hear the merry dancing, singing and laughter from the bright and cheery town of Whoville, home of the warm-hearted Whos. Annoyed, ever so annoyed, the Grinch plots to steal Christmas — not just the trees, not just the presents, not just the bright lights glowing in the night or the star atop the Christmas tree — but every single scrap, every bow, every box, every present. Everything.

Disguised as a wrinkled and barely-passable Santa Claus and with his loyal dog Max disguised as a reindeer, the Grinch makes his way stealthily down the steep, snowy mountains toward Whoville, where he slides, slithers and maneuvers his way down the chimney of one house, and then another, stealing the presents, the trees and even the log for the Christmas fire.

After stealing from one house, he does the same thing to all the other houses in the village of Whoville. He only briefly stops in his yuletide theft, when interrupted by Cindy Lou Who, where he quickly spins a tale, sends the tot back to bed and sneaks out the door, leaving nothing behind.

Repeating his nefarious actions stealing Christmas from every home in Whoville, the Grinch and the loyal Max head back up Mount Crumpit, where the Grinch plans to toss every last scrap of Christmas into the abyss. He is shocked when, instead of tears and cries of sadness when the Whos discover the absence of everything, he hears the joyful sounds of a Christmas song.

He is puzzled, the Grinch is, as he listens to the Christmas song and sees the Whos gathered in a circle singing and cheerful. He realizes that maybe, just maybe, Christmas is about more than presents and feasting. His shriveled heart grows three sizes that day, relates Dr. Seuss in the book.

The Grinch does a 180 and turns the sleigh around and returns all of the Christmas presents, all of the Christmas trees, and even the Christmas log — every last scrap is returned to the Whos in Whoville. The Grinch then joins in the celebration and in the Whos’ Christmas feast.

We have our own Whos in the community in the form of the Sandpoint Lions. Always cheerful and always wanting Christmas to be merry and bright, they work hard to make Christmas something special for each and every youngster in the community. But the Lions aren’t the only Whos around — everyone who donates, everyone who drops a coin in one of the various and assorted coin jars, also gets to claim Who status (and the Grinch after he reformed).

Also firmly in the Whoville camp are the folks at the new Sand Bar. The bar is hosting an ongoing raffle now through Dec. 17 with proceeds going to the Lions' Toys for Tots drive. Tickets are one for $5, three for $10 or one free with each new unwrapped toy donated to the Lions. For more information, check out their Facebook page.

To date, the annual Christmas drive has raised $17,483 of the Sandpoint Lion's goal of $50,000 for this year’s Toys for Tots campaign — the same as it has been in past years. The Lions make the most of the money by bargain shopping, and with the assistance of generous local businesses.

Sign-up applications are available at the Bonner Community Food Bank and on the door of the Lions Den at 609 S. Ella Avenue right by the caboose in Lakeview Park. They can also be downloaded at bit.ly/3x7md4o.

Registration started Nov. 1 and ends on Dec. 17. Those filling out the application are reminded to be sure to fill out both pages and return your application promptly.

As last year, the application form includes information for parents to detail a wish list for each of their children as well as their favorite color and TV show or movie. This allows the Lions to fulfill as many wishes as they can.

Donations for Toys for Tots can be dropped off at the front desk at the Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can also drop off donations at Columbia Bank’s Sandpoint branch, 414 Church St., or at the Ponderay branch, 300 Bonner Mall Way; and at the Ponderay and Sandpoint Starbucks.

Donations may be mailed to the Sandpoint Lions Club, Box 414, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

Donations made by check are preferred. Be sure to include a note with your check indicating that it is a Toys for Tots donation. If you wish to make an anonymous donation, please include a note.

If the donation is being made in someone’s name, be sure to also include a note.

Information: Sandpoint Lions Club, 208-263-4118