Getting ready for the Holidays

I live here in the Dominican Republic and since there is no Thanksgiving Holiday, everyone starts thinking about Christmas as early as September so that is exactly what I am doing. I love this time of the year. I love preparing to and buying gifts. I love  the reaction on people's faces when they open my gift. My list so far goes as follows:
Our neighbors and ex-pats: Cabrara, Corbitts, Kimballs, Madsens, Flakes, Antivilos, Cornishes, Woods, Lee, Martinez, Rappleyes, Taylors, villaseñors and Zivics.
Missionary couples and temple workers: Gardners, Jensens,  Almontes, Morales, etc. 
Peple in our ward: Bishop Rotellini, the Smarts, etc.
Visiting teaching ladies: Vero, Damaris, Virginia
Home teaching families: We just got them and I don't even know who they are, three total.
People at the office:  Grace, Ingrid, Katty, Elizabeth, Roxana, Diaz, Alvarado, Toro, etc
Family in Uruguay: Abuela Nela,Estela, Roberto, Sandra, Miguel Angel, Cecilia, Marcos y familia, Pamela y familia, Matias y familia etc.
My family abroad: Vane, Liz, Mari and my mom.
Our family: Andres, Gabriel, Pablo, Alejandro, Ani, Hernan, Vale, Mandy, Bianca, Cristi. 

I love giving presents. I love planning surprises and putting thought into the little details and making a gift really special. I have so much fun anticipating the other person’s excitement and reaction that giving is way more exciting for me than getting a present. Not that I don’t love, love, love getting a gift – I mean come on, who doesn’t?!? But I can honestly say that I have way more fun with the giving. My only problem is we got way too many people on our gift giving list and I can’t cut anyone off. I am going to be in Uruguay this Christmas so the least I can do is to get everyone a gift.

 This holiday season I will try putting extra thought into our gifts. Remember that they don’t have to cost money, in fact the most meaningful gifts typically don’t cost much at all! The most meaningful gifts are the ones that you put thought into making them personal and meaningful, like a handwritten card, or a digital photo frame with meaningful photos, or a handmade craft of some kind. Those are the gifts someone will hang on to long after the expensive gifts have worn out. I plan to make a book of meaningful stories to read at Christmas time. This is something the sister Andersen did and also Mary Antivilo did for their families. Shhh, but that should be kept a secret. I hope I get to give some little thing for each person this Christmas no matter how simple it is but that it would show I care about them enough to make the extra effort.