"One man's life touches so many others. When he's not there, it leaves an awfully big hole."

Clarence Oddbody, AS2( Angel, 2nd Class), "It's a Wonderful Life"

The season is once again upon us. It's time to find a tree at the local lot, do a little Christmas shopping at the Junction, and decorate your house. Maybe, if you're lucky, you'll have a break in the action and be able to watch "Charlie Brown" or "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" with your kids.

For many people, Christmas is about giving - giving to parents, giving to children, giving to your husband and wife.

But for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in West Seattle, giving goes far beyond the family. Giving is what the season is all about, and the whole parish gets involved.

This holiday season, for example, Our Lady of Guadalupe is hosting a Giving Tree for the fourth year for Treehouse, which supplies basic necessities and more to foster youth in King County. The parish is also helping with meals for the homeless, collecting toys for Catholic Community Services, and making "shoeboxes of joy," supplying basic necessities for adults (also coordinated through Catholic Community Services).

"People want to do something," said Jeanette Howard, Social Action Committee chair at Our Lady of Guadalupe. "We all respond any way we can. It's what Christmas is about."

Howard said the Treehouse Giving Tree offers tags that list toys and other items for foster youth. She said that teenagers are especially in need during the holiday season, and said the parish is happy to bring any and all teenager supplies to Treehouse when it brings its truckload of gifts on Dec. 12. Among the necessary items: Hip jeans and shirts, Top 40 music, cosmetics and watches.

Howard said that the parish helps with similar drives throughout the year. Basically, if you have time or energy or money to spare, there's a use for it.

"I think we should help people all year around. From a Christian perspective we are supposed to help those who need the most. That is what Christ was about," she said.

Howard said West Seattle churches have a wide variety of Christmas charitable drives and charitable efforts in need throughout the year. You can find more at www.westseattlechurches.com You can also find out more about Treehouse and also help King County foster youth at www.treehouseforkids.org.

When I think of Clarence's word to George Bailey in my favorite movie, I always smile. I also often stop in the rush of the holidays and think about those words. What difference would it make in the world if I were gone? Has my life touched many other lives? Have I made the world a better place for having been here? And as I struggle with those questions, I also I try to talk about them with my children each holiday season.

What an amazing gift we could give to our children this season if we just got them to give a bit more to others this season, to try and show some of the kindness and generosity that the people at Our Lady of Guadalupe show each year. What a gift.

So I'll end like I began, quoting my favorite movie. There was a quote hanging on the wall of George Bailey's father's office at the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan.

"All that you take with you, is that which you give away."

Merry Christmas, Husky's Deli. Merry Christmas, Admiral Theatre. Merry Christmas, Lincoln Park.

Merry Christmas, Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Lauri Hennessey writes "Children and More" for the West Seattle Herald and can be reached at Lauri@hennesseypr.com. She is a Christmas nut who, in her more shallow moments, measures someone's intrinsic value as a friend on whether they can (and to what degree) quote "It's a Wonderful Life."