Christmas has taken a whole new meaning for me the minute I became a mom. As a kid, I do have fond memories of Christmas and I guess, the spirit of the holidays really comes alive when there are kids around. In the past, my Christmases were always spent quietly with my family in Antique. But I do remember that even in my college years, we would get presents from titas and titos based here in Manila. I guess, Christmas is never complete without gift-giving. Although it is this commercial aspect of this holiday season that I dislike the most, with a kid in my midst and considering all the generosity that I experienced in my childhood I just felt compelled to indulge her even for a tiny bit and somehow give back.
I've been cramming to search for more practical gifts to giveaway to kids for weeks now. And since the kid is now in school, the number of kids in my giftlist has tripled. It used to be just village friends, now I have classmates and school service friends to consider as well. Given a tight budget (actually, the financier of the house wasn't briefed yet and that's makes it even more difficult for me), what options do I have?
I zeroed in on 3: something art related (since my kid is into artsy-fartsy stuff for the longest time now), something edible (and probably sweet) or something useful (like hand sanitizers). I would sweat out on the smallest details but I'm trying not to because I do not want to overwhelm myself and end up stressed. So I'm also going to make it generic for everyone. I don't think the kids will mind anyways.
For something art-related, I'm thinking of a cheap clay set/a box of crayons, drawing pads or colored pens. I'm planning to check out Uniwide and Dapitan Arcade (talk of last minute shopping) tomorrow or this weekend. Hopefully that plan pans out because REALLY, I don't have time to scour other shops anymore. Has anyone been there recently? I'm running on a very tight budget of P30-40/gift so I need to be very creative.
For something edible, I'm highly considering
Maggie's cake pops. (
By the way, she has an ongoing blog giveaway. Hope on over to her blog site to see the mechanics) I've decided to give those to the kid's village friends actually. I just need to make up my mind for the other kids.
Lastly, for something useful I'm thinking of either these hand sanitizers from
Human Heart Nature or a study table organizer (anyone got leads on this one?).
I am aiming to finish wrapping up my gifts this weekend. I'm dedicating two days for that. Wish me luck, okay?
Found this bankang papel (paper boat) in my bag pocket this morning. I remember her telling me not to forget to bring this paper boat to work and she made sure I did not. Such a sweet kid. She's enjoying at extra day off from school today because of the People Power Revolution special holiday and I am so wanting to take the rest of the day off and go home to just cuddle and snuggle with my adorable, super sweet little miss. (Every Mondays actually in the past 4 years, I almost always wish the same thing. Some Mondays, I do get lucky.)
