Christmas is a special time of the year full of cheer and spending time with family and the people you love. But one thing we can’t forget about is giving and receiving. Nothing makes me feel more amazing than giving the people I care about gifts from my heart. The problem is that this isn’t always easy. I get headaches thinking about what I’m going to buy for my family even though I know them so well. I could just go out to Walmart and pick up the prettiest shirt I see for my mom. For me though, that just isn’t enough. I always feel like my gifts have to be personalized. “What would she like: lotion or perfume? What did he just tell me he wants? Was it a video game or CD? What is their favorite color or movie? Can I make it with my own hands or do I have to spend money. How much money do I spend?” The questions go on and on in my head, and it doesn’t even begin the first of December. I start thinking about gifts sometime during the summer by trying to pick up hints the person leaves me. The tricky part is wondering if they asked their parents for that certain thing; it isn’t like you can just ask them if they did because that makes it obvious. Christmas presents aren’t the only gifts I struggle with finding; birthdays are hard, too. Gift ideas are especially hard to come up with if the person’s birthday is near a gift-giving holiday. In my case, this is my problem for three of the people closest to me. Being that I am already terrible at coming up with a single gift, having to think of two presents makes things extra tough. One thing I don’t want to do is give an un-thoughtful gift to someone I care about most. I can’t stand when my sister or best friends don’t know what they want. I wonder sometimes if they do that to me as a test; if I don’t make them happy with their present then I don’t know them well enough. Luckily this year hasn’t caused too many headaches. When I’m out, I like to search for things people would love – and this could be anything from anywhere. I get excited when I know exactly what I’m going to get everyone on my Christmas list. The best part is how happy my loved ones are after seeing what I got for them. Then come the hugs making me feel so warm inside and as though I did a good deed. Right now, all I’m looking forward to is seeing their faces light up with joy as they tear open the wrapping paper.