Each year around this time a wonderful thing happens in our community. Many people from Amissville come together to help others by way of the community Christmas baskets. I don’t have the exact year this tradition started, but clearly there’s a history of Amissville being a very caring community. The project was started by the Ruritans who were soon joined by the Amissville Methodist Church. Other churches eagerly joined followed by the fire department, the boy and girl scouts and now it’s truly a community endeavor. Everyone has the opportunity to get involved by contributing food in the boxes that will soon appear at various local places of business including the fire department and the post office. We were just reminded of how much we have as we celebrated Thanksgiving. Here’s our chance to share with some of our neighbors who may not be quite as fortunate. The boxes will stay out until the week before Christmas and then will be collected. A group of young people will get together to assemble the boxes of food that will ultimately be delivered to the needy here in Amissville. In a typical year about 25 boxes of food are distributed. Next a group of local women will assemble to put together baskets of fruit. The fruit baskets, along with poinsettias will go to elderly neighbors, shut-ins and anyone they know of who has lost a spouse in the last year. So watch for the boxes and be generous! None of us knows when it might be our turn to need a little help from our neighbors!

This Saturday evening between 5 and 8 p.m., you’ll have the opportunity to continue eating your way through the holiday season! But this time you’ll be able to use the excuse that it’s for a good cause! The Amissville Volunteer Fire Department is once again holding their annual ham and turkey dinner. Whether you go for the country ham, the turkey, the wonderful side dishes or the homemade desserts you are bound to have plenty to eat. While I’m a big fan of the food, I’m also looking forward to running into some of my neighbors that I may not have seen in awhile. It’s a great place to catch up on the latest news. The cost of dinner is $12 for adults, $6 for children 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. Remember that the money goes to help the people who will help all of us when something goes wrong.

Gray Ghost Winery is holding a Holiday Open House on Saturday and Sunday, December 2^nd and 3^rd. You’ll have the chance to see the world’s largest cork Christmas display with over 50,000 corks! And there’s a 10 foot Christmas tree as well. The event will, of course, feature great food and great Gray Ghost wines. Those of you who have made this an annual event will also have the opportunity to get the 12^th in a series of holiday glasses. The cost of this event is $15 per adult and includes the food, wine and collectible glass. The cost is $7 for those under 21.