Ah, it's that time of the year again when people rush to flea markets or exquisite stores for gifts and souvenirs. While almost everyone's at it, I mind my own business coming up with three alternatives for Christmas gifts— cash, letters, and food.
1. Cash
I give a reasonable amount of cash as a gift for Christmas when I do not know and/or when I do not have a slight idea about what a person wants for a gift.
Reasons:
1. This is convenient for my part since I wouldn't need to go to gift stores and spend time internally debating for what I should give.
2. I would provide some bucks so the recipient is left with a choice whether to save the money or spend it for his/her interests. That is better than giving something that a recipient would not even appreciate.
3. It seems like a cultural thing here in my country and it seems fun to conform for a little while.
Who says, "No", to receiving money, anyway?
2. Letters
Color the Christmas atmosphere with heartfelt messages that glorify your loved ones' very existence in this world through letter composition and letter giving.
I do this very frequently especially when I do not feel like spending loads of money for gifts. I would just spend money on sheets of paper and envelopes, spend time formulating paragraphs and reminiscing memories. In a matter of time, I'd be good to go!
Here are some of my reasons why I find this a beautiful alternative:
1. It's nice to remember the past, acknowledge a person's existence, and consider the thought of my recipients being remembered without expecting at first. Receiving a letter and composing one as well are priceless deeds, hence the minimal cost of production.
2. A simple gesture such as giving letters can bear an underlying sentimental value. Letters have a tendency to be kept and reread in the succeeding years to come.
3. Food
There is a culture here in the Philippines under the name "libre" when you technically buy someone goods as a gesture of hospitality. Food falls pretty frequent in the category from the most sponsored goods ever done in most incidences of "libre".
For me, I give chocolates for Christmas the same way people give chocolates for Valentine's Day.
In a similar way, I give doughnuts and some native Filipino delicacies as treats for Christmas the way they're given as treats for a hard day's work and treats for an annual fiesta respectively.
Here are some of my reasons why I resort to giving this type of treat:
1. Nothing will be left to waste as food generally needs to be consumed right after it has been given to you.
2. Recipients of the gift will eat for experience and they would even remember you for giving them the most delicious thing they have ever eaten. That honor alone is priceless.
3. I have learned from my experiences that food is much more appreciated to receive than mere material, tangible gifts.
Other reasons why I have come up with alternatives
Aside from the reasons I have enumerated, I will further elaborate on the reasons why I generally prefer my three alternatives.
1. I seldom buy material gifts for Christmas, especially the expensive ones.
I am still a teenager with no stable source of income 😂😂 and this is why I do my best to give gifts despite this.
I am not held liable for the material desires of my peers and friends.
Giving a present is not even mandatory in the world so the recipient should not complain about what he/she would get.
Some people are so demanding to the point that they would be mad over an unwanted gift and would coerce the gift sponsor for a product replacement.
2. All three of them do not require gift wrapping
I never choose to wrap gifts for Christmas. I prefer my gifts to be put in a stylish paper bag and I am good to go.
Paper bags can be reused in the future whereas gift wrappers would be thrown away immediately after being torn up.
Wrapping gifts up with decorative sheets of paper for temporary concealment is a rather ridiculous thing to do, knowing that wrappers will be torn immediately while in the gift opening process. It's expensive and, at the same time, pointless.
There you have it.
This has been my myTake for my personal alternatives for gift-giving this Christmas.
Thank you for making it this far.
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