While our national attention is focused on the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, preparations are ongoing, here at home, to help make the holidays happier ones for those in need.

Back in August, the Sea Coast Missionary Society of Bar Harbor started planning its Christmas program for impoverished or isolated residents of island and mainland communities from the mid-coast area to Down East Maine.

And while that effort is well under way, there are still many items on its Christmas wish list.

Of particular need, reports program director Terri Hanson, are gifts for teen-agers.

Since so many people, naturally, associate little children with Christmas, Hanson often comes up very short when attempting to make the holiday a brighter one for needy teens.

“The majority of people really donate to younger ones,” she said of the mission’s “desperate need” for gifts for young people.

“When I come to a teen-ager on our list, I feel very badly when I can’t put my hand on something.”

When asked what would be good gifts for young people, Hanson was almost unstoppable in her rush to answer.

“Makeup kits, nail polish, jewelry, movies, perfume, cologne, Gel pens and journals, any type of Nerfs, small games, tabletop football, finger bikes and finger skateboards,” she listed as gifts that appeal to teen-agers.

“Snowboards, boom boxes, computer games and anything fleece like headbands, gloves and scarves.”

And the list goes on.

“Backpacks, CD players, head phones, Discman, Game Boys, gift certificates to area restaurants or local stores,” she said of businesses in the Ellsworth area.

In other words, the Maine Sea Cost Missionary Society would like you to put on your thinking cap or, better yet, ask a teen-ager what would be an appropriate gift, and make that donation.

From the Mission’s 72-foot boat, “Sunbeam V,” gifts will be distributed to more than 3,000 children, nursing home residents, shut-ins and prison inmates this holiday season.

Mission officials point out that many recipients would have little or nothing at Christmas without its traditional red-and-white wrapped gifts.

In addition to teen-age gifts, the Mission also needs gifts for men including flannel shirts, gloves, socks, handkerchiefs and, most especially, Hanson said, deodorant.

Coloring and activity books, stuffed toys, outdoor toys and books are nice gifts for youngsters up to age eight.

For young people ages 8-14, the list includes games, clothing, sweatshirts and sweatpants, pajamas, footballs, soccer balls and Beanie Babies.

Nightgowns, gloves, slipper socks, perfume and manicure kits are on the list of items needed for women. Older adults, especially, need large-print books.

Gifts for both girls and boys in sizes six through 14 can include jeans, T-shirts, sweaters and pajamas.

Knitted gifts for all ages and sizes, such as caps, mittens, sweaters and blankets, are also welcome.

You can drop your items off at the Mission House, 127 West St. in Bar Harbor, or mail them to Maine Sea Coast Missionary Society, 127 West St., Bar Harbor 04609.

If your group would like to include the Mission among your community service projects, call Hanson at 288-5097, e-mail her at info@seacoastmission.org or visit the Mission’s Web site at www.seacoastmission.org.

On behalf of the Foxcroft Academy 2002 Project Graduation committee, Susan Killam invites you to participate in a “Basket Bingo” fund-raiser from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, at the VFW Hall on Park Street in Dover-Foxcroft.

For a $15 ticket, you are entitled to 18 Bingo games.

Tickets will be available at the door, or your can purchase them in advance by calling Killam at 997-3364.

Prizes for the fund-raiser, Killam wrote, “are handcrafted ash reed baskets, by a well-known company. These baskets are sponsored by area businesses.”

While National Honor Society members at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill have completed their annual collection of non-perishable products for the Tree of Life Food Pantry in Blue Hill, NHS members are now working on another project to help young people this holiday season.

The NHS is participating once again in the Coats for Kids Campaign.

Now through Friday, Nov. 30, you are asked to donate any coats that have been outgrown or are no longer being used.

The coats will be dry-cleaned and given to children in need.

Coats can be dropped off between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. in the GSA Library.

If you wish more information on how you can help with this annual NHS campaign, call Bonnie Cooper at 374-2800.

You are invited to attend the annual St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church holiday fair set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the church on the corner of North Main and Holyoke streets in Brewer.

Among the items you will find are dried flowers, crafts, baked goods, preserves and gifts for your family pet.

You can also participate in a silent auction, dine at the St. Patrick’s luncheon caf? or let youngsters between the ages of 4 and 11 shop at the “kids’ mall.”

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.