At Christmastime, I like to try to get my shopping and responsibilities done at least the week before Christmas, if not before. Try, being the key word. Some years it doesn’t happen. But the years it does are sweet because then I have time to do some Christmas baking for my neighbors.

Now, the first thing I should tell you is that I don’t know my neighbors very well. We wave at each other as we come and go and sometimes exchange pleasantries at the mailbox. There’s one sweet young family across the street that I know a better than the others because their 3-year-old boy likes to talk when he sees I’m out. His mama was pregnant with him when they moved in, and we’ve chatted on the driveway several times. But honestly, it’s been months since I’ve had a conversation with them.

The second thing you should know is that I’m not much of a cook. Oh, I can cook. I just don’t like to. So I keep it simple when I bake gifts for my neighbors. I buy boxed mixes of sweet breads and cookies. Or sometimes even the slice-and-bake kind. Or sometimes I go crazy and actually make chocolate chip cookies from scratch, because that’s one thing I can do well.

But here’s the thing. When I take a Christmas card and the paper plate of goodies to my neighbors, you’d think I’d just yanked the moon down and handed it to them covered with plastic wrap. Seriously, they die. They ooh and aah, and you-shouldn’t-have like they’ve never been given such an extravagant gift. It’s amazing.

It doesn’t take much to make people happy these days. A small act of kindness or a hand of friendship goes a long way. It reminds them they’re not alone in this community, even if we don’t share dinners or hang out on a regular basis. I try to include a card that shares my faith a bit as well. Maybe a nativity scene, or a reminder of Jesus’ love inside. I hope it shows them the impetus behind my love for them.

Christmas is all about simple gifts given with extravagant love, like a baby in a manger, wailing on a clear, starry night. God gave us this Gift, exquisite in perfection and hope. We only need to accept it with the same awe and excitement that my neighbors do over a plate of banana bread and cookies. Love given, love received.

So if, by some Christmas miracle, you get your Christmas responsibilities done early this year, share a bit of love with a neighbor or someone who doesn’t expect it. It’s one way to show them the gift of love God gave us so long ago.