(OMG, did I just kill someone’s childhood?)
But why have Christmases still been great and full of gifts? That’s because there’s a Santa Claus in each of us and each of us has our own personal Santa Claus. Every time you leave an extra tip for the waiter, donate some used clothes and groceries to the less fortunate or bake your famous Red Velvet cupcakes for your friends, that’s you being someone’s Santa Claus! And who’s your Santa Claus, you ask? We have our parents who have been showering us with gifts every Christmas since birth, our siblings who we argue non-stop with the entire year but love them to death anyway, our friends who have been there through thick and thin (literally when we were still young and skinny until now that we’ve put on “a few” pounds), our officemates who have made our day-to-day in the office a little bit more bearable.
Are you someone’s Santa Claus this Christmas? The iSTORYA.NET team, with the help of over a hundred thousand in the STORYA.NET community, compiled the Top 3 Most in Demand Gifts for 2011!
In third place, Travel.
www.worldwide-travelling.blogspot.com
And Dondon [C.I.A, joined December 2006] is right, this goes very well with at least a week off from work, paid vacation leave. Is it just me or has traveling increased its popularity in the past few years? I look at my friends’ Facebook pages and I see album after album of travels around Cebu, around the Philippines, around Asia and even around the world! Be it out of curiosity about the sights and cultures of another place or just for the adventure and excitement of discovering something new, traveling is undoubtedly fun for people of all ages. The joy of traveling is best shared and is best experienced with the best people in your life: your family, your friends, your significant other, your workmates.
However, in a country such as ours, traveling this Christmas has a twist to it. With so many of our family and friends seeking greener pastures abroad, traveling has evolved to include tickets for out-of-the-country people to spend Christmas with their families and friends here in the Philippines (or we can just do the reverse and send the entire barangay to wherever the out-of-the country person is working). So to beyee [C.I.A, joined May 2003], rAiNe [C.I.A., joined April 2009] and ryeaka [Premium Member, joined January 2010], here’s to hoping that someone invents a teleportation device soon!
The runner-up, so close to the top but not quite, are Cash and Gift Certificates.
Contrary to what some say about Cash being a thoughtless and effortless gift, I personally think it’s great! It’s stress-free on the part of the giver because giving cash eliminates the entire shopping experience and it’s flexible on the part of the recipient because giving cash means endless possibilities! As the recipient of the Cash or Gift Certificate, you can buy an incredible something for yourself or use it to offset what you’ve spent for other people’s gifts or use it to pay debts and buy new clothes for your children as what nwf [Elite Member, joined May 2009] would do. What other gift can be all that?
After the grueling counting of votes and careful consideration of comments, what came up as the most sought after gift for the year? Gadgets.
Christmas is that one time in the year when you can dream big and really ask for the sun, the moon and the stars. Coincidentally, it’s also the perfect time to want the more expensive things since a) that’s what your 13th month pay and Christmas bonus are there for and b) that’s what your family’s and friends’13th month pays and Christmas bonuses are there for. *evil laugh*
In this day and age, be it for work, for school or just for recreation, every household deserves a personal computer with printer and scanner, like what ladynes [Junior Member, joined May 2011] is wishing for. And who can forget the most vital gadget in our day-to-day lives? To natanoj [Newbie, joined May 2011], I really hope you get the dual sim touch screen mobile phone for your mother.
And it seems like we have a lot of photographers in iSTORYA.NET! (By the way, did you already check out the iSTORYA.NET Photography Club Photo Exhibit in the i2 Lobby, IT Park?) I hope you got your *nosebleed* Leica M9 + Summilux-M 50mm f1.4, elmasahe [Newbie, joined March 2010] and your Nikon Lens or Nikon DLSR body, zoters [C.I.A., joined December 2008]! With your new and upgraded cameras, I hope you get to capture all the wonderful Christmas moments!
If you’ve been drooling over a gadget from January to November and finally get the corresponding resources to acquire it in December, go for it! It’s still a long way until the next Christmas and that’s a lot of drool we’re talking about right there.
Gift giving has always been a part of Christmas. Just think how many Manito-Manita’s you had to shop for this year. Just see how heavy the traffic is around the vicinity of the malls during the Christmas season. Just check your bank account and trace where your 13th month went. Of course, Christmas is more than gift giving. But I have to admit (and you are welcome to admit with me) that planning, buying, wrapping and giving gifts are just so addictive!
Does gift giving necessary take you away from the true meaning of Christmas? Not really. In fact, I believe that giving is our natural expression of gratitude. We give gifts to our parents, children, siblings, relatives, co-workers and neighbors precisely because we are thankful to them and for them! It’s like a wonderful cycle of giving, receiving and thanking! Who needs Santa Claus, the elves and his reindeers? With all iSTORYAns just expressing their gratitude through gifts, we could totally shut down their North Pole operations!
I’m sure you’re thankful for something this Christmas. So Let’s Talk (iSTORYA Ta): What is the best gift you’ve received last Christmas?
By: Elisa Mae D. Yuvallos
Lifestyle Editor
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