By Will Tuell

Even as last-minute gift-givers scurried around to finalize those must-have purchases last week, some area youth and their families made sure that the true meaning of the season — a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ — was not lost in the shuffle. That’s not to say that Santa, his elves, Rudolph, and the gang weren’t on everyone’s minds, but for the children of Larrabee Baptist Church in Machiasport and those attending the Machias Valley Christian School, Christ truly took center stage.