Holiday lights shine at the Astoria Column.

There are few things about the holidays that bring me joy.

For years, the holidays have been a frantic time at work, with the added stress of trying to find time to buy and ship gifts, spending too much money and traveling in bad traffic over worse roads to be with family and friends for two or three days at Christmas.

But every year the spirit of Christmas finds me.

When I drive home from work in the dark and round the corner toward home, the exuberance of my neighbors’ over-the-top light displays delight me like a burst of the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

Reading the Community section of The Astorian leaves me in awe of the spirit of giving in our North Coast communities. Volunteers for holiday decorating, food drives, fundraisers, concerts, storytimes and community events. There’s no greater joy, holidays or otherwise, than giving of ourselves to help a neighbor in need.

Even in gift shopping, every year I find reason to believe that readers embrace the spirit of sharing for the good of our community.

The Astorian and Seaside Signal partner annually with Lewis & Clark Bank on the $2 Challenge, encouraging North Coast residents to exchange $100 for $2 bills, and spend those $2 bills buying an extra $100 locally during the holiday season.

The idea is to use those $2 bills when shopping so that our locally-owned retailers have a very visual reminder of how much we appreciate being able to shop in our area for gifts.

Shoppers are encouraged to email a description of their local purchases to 2dollarchallenge@dailyastorian.com to be entered in a drawing for a $100 local gift card. I see those emails throughout the season, and each makes me smile.

Those $2 bills recirculate in our local economy to remind residents how important it is to spend money at home. Every time you get a $2 bill in change, or as a tip, think about the local shopper who spent that $2 bill supporting Clatsop County businesses. Those businesses employ local residents, donate to local nonprofits and buy from other local businesses to keep that money circulating.

While the Christmas shopping season is nearly complete, the $2 Challenge runs through Friday. If you haven’t taken the opportunity to share your support of local merchants yet, drop by Lewis and Clark Bank next week to exchange your $100 for $2 bills. We’ll publish ways in which shoppers spent those dollars locally, and the winner of the drawing on Dec. 30.

Thank you to those of you who helped create joy this holiday season — my neighbors, our community volunteers and you $2 Challenge shoppers.

Merry Christmas.