MERRY CHRISTMAS WORLD!!!

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Starmill's Outlet Mall @ San Fernando, Pampanga

Christmas is nearing and I know most of us would prefer an early shopping to avoid crowded malls and long cashier line ups. But of course this is possible for those who will receive their 13th month and bonus earlier.

There’s one place I heard from the news where you can buy branded clothes, shoes, accessories and lot more at prices cheaper than the malls for about 50%. Right after San Fernando Exit in Pampanga is this STARMILL’S OUTLET MALL. Never been here yet but I intended to bring my family here to check out the stuff. Prices are really low for a branded piece. Watch the news video here.

Smart holiday spending tips

Christmas is nearing and we already have some advance planning for the season’s needs. Part of that planning is buying presence to our love ones. As we all know Christmas is a spending season for people from all walks of life.

Below are some shopping tips to guide you. Remember we can celebrate Christmas without going over budget.

Plan ahead - As early as possible, list down people you want to give gifts to. Wait for mall-wide sales, inventory sales, closing-out sales, or even calamity sales throughout the year. Definitely, prices will be lower and you can start buying gifts in increments - without having to spend large amounts in one go.

Shop early - If you have a shopping list ready, try going at early hours in the day when malls or stores open. This way, you won't feel harassed when looking for gifts and if you shop early enough in the season, you won't have to compete with other buyers for limited items or stocks.

Go bargain hunting - It is fun to shop in bargain hotspots like Divisoria in Manila, the Dapitan Arcade in Quezon City, or the Green Hills "tiangge" in San Juan. You can find a lot of gift items or decorations - and haggle with the stall keepers when you buy. This means you can stick to your budget.

Look for "UK" goods - These are not imports from London, but "ukay-ukay" finds. Some of them, like vintage bags or clothes, can be jazzed up with newer items to give gifts that homemade touch. Never underestimate the value of making homemade gifts when your budget gets tight.

Recycle gifts - Don't know what to do with items you got in previous Christmases but have never used? Try re-wrapping them and giving them as gifts to people whom you think would make good use of them. Make sure you don't give it back to the source!

Want to give food as gifts? - Try homemade rather than store-bought. Homemade delicacies will be appreciated more than store-bought food and will cost you much less.

Buy in bulk - If you have a lot of people on your Christmas shopping list, and you aren't certain about what they like, consider buying items in bulk. You can purchase multiple sets of gifts like t-shirts, candles, or foodstuffs. These types of gifts are ideal if you have co-workers, employees, or sets of acquaintances. Sometimes, stores also offer discounts for buyers who buy wholesale or many items at once.

Be pragmatic and strike out names - It may sound mean-spirited but you don't really have to buy for every person around you. Sometimes you really need to shorten your Christmas shopping list to make it more manageable especially when you have a limited budget.

Clustering - Also, try to cluster the people on your Christmas list. Instead of buying for every co-worker, why not give them just one large gift - like a cake? Or instead of buying for every aunt or uncle, why not give them gifts as a couple?

No-gift season? - Make an agreement with your family members that no one should spend more than a certain amount for gifts (setting a price cap for gifts). You can even go the charitable route: instead of giving each other gifts, why not send much-needed "presents" (food, clothing, toys) to charitable organizations?

Christmas decors @ Dapitan Arcade

Christmas is nearing and Filipinos, no matter what happens, will surely find ways to feel and celebrate it. One very common tradition is the Christmas décor we put on our homes. I do understand that these items are bit expensive in malls especially on some classy stores. But in Manila there is a place where you can shop for Christmas decors at prices that suits your budget.

The Dapitan Arcade (Kanlaon St. corner Dapitan St.) in Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City is a place where you can find stuff for your house, season items and not. It is a great place for Christmas shoppers because it is not crowded, wide selection of good stuff and bargain prices.

Check items here.

Merry Christmas!!!

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Daughter asked for cellphone as Christmas gift

Family just went to mall for some additional shopping for hubby’s gifts to his technical personnel. He used to manage the Engineering Department of a radio network and annually he gives them something of use at home or in the office. It is not hard to find gift like that so we went straight on SM Marikina’s Department Store. Fortunately, unlike in other SM branches and malls the SM in Marikina was not congested with shoppers and even in the cashier you won’t find a hard time paying for your items.

Another thing hubby and I scouted for was the cellphone we will give to our daughter as a Christmas gift. Kids nowadays are far different. They are fond of gadgets, accessories and things they see around them. She keeps on requesting for a cellphone as a Christmas gift but we are in doubt if we will grant it. After weighing things, we opted to buy one for her. We chose the pink NOKIA 3110 Classic for her. I am pretty sure she will like it coz aside from the color it has a camera and FM station. Just keep my fingers cross on her promise that she will study harder.

Sometimes parents do give in on the request of their kids for them not to feel they are left behind by others. Its just that for parents, we need to weigh things first and if it is a yes or a no what is important is that we explain to them why or why not. What do you think???

Christmas Party

This week is a very special and merry one coz companies and schools had their respective Christmas parties. My kids both had their parties at school on December 19. Justin, who is in the Nursery level, had his party from 7:20am until 9:30am. I woke him at 6:30am and sent him school just right before their party started. It was his first Christmas party in the school so I am pretty sure he had a great time dancing, singing and fun with the games. They had an exchange gift worth P100.00 and he received 2 sets of puzzles, a number and alphabet puzzles.

Justin in green polo (right side).

As for my daughter, she had their party at around 3:00pm right after their periodical exam. They took the exam from 12:00nn to 2:20pm and had a 30 minute break for the snack and to change outfit for the party. She received cologne and towel by bench during their exchange gifts.

Nicole with red strap.

Hubby too had their party in the office on December 19 right after the office hours. Everybody was so happy to hear that aside from the 13^th month pay the company will be giving them bonus. He was not able to finish the party because he needs to attend in another party, a get together with his high school batchmates.

It is only 5 days before Christmas and despite different forecasts about 2009 let us feel the joy that the season brings. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Flowers for all occasions

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Simbang Gabi (Misa de Gallo)

Time flies so fast that its Christmas time again. The nine-day Misa de Gallo or what we call “Simbang Gabi” in the Philippines already started. I remember when I was still single I seldom completed the nine-day mass unlike my elder sister. Kind of hard for me to wake up so early, sigh! They say if you completed the Simbang Gabi your wish will be granted. Though I always failed to complete it, I always say my prayers and wishes to God. I know his so kind, forgiving and generous.

Selling of traditional Philippine food like bibingka, puto bumbong and salabat (ginger tea) is also common during Christmas season. We are living in Rizal so every time we visit my family in Manila during the Holidays I able to eat these foodstuffs and it always like my first time to have it, LOL. Really delicious especially when you order bibingka with more cheese and salted egg on top of it or add more butter and sugar to my puto bumbong.

Christmas is really my favorite among the celebrations. There is love, kindness and sharing among people. Moreover, hope is in our hearts and that will give us the strength and courage to go on with life no matter how hard it may seem.

Family @ Toy Kingdom & Osh Kosh

My kids’ Christmas parties will coincide on one date, December 19. Both of them will have their respective exchange gifts so we decided to go to mall and buy their presence. One of the places where we go to buy gifts for kids is Toy Kingdom. It is kind of easy to choose among lots of toys out there. The store offers free gift wrapping for every gift you buy regardless of the price so we made all the gifts wrapped up.

Aside from toys, we bought their party clothing at Osh Kosh. There are quite customers in the store as compared buying inside the SM Department Store where you need to line up in the cashier after you pick your things especially on weekends. Christmas is nearing so better yet go to malls on weekdays for a fewer mallers, LOL.

My kids & Christmas

During my long vacation from blogging, one of my tasks is gift wrapping. When I put up our 6 year old Christmas Tree the kids are very excited and waiting for the boxes underneath. After two weeks of waiting, they saw those boxes that they are asking for. For kids, it will never be complete without those special gifts. Christmas is giving. That is one message I always wanted to impart with my kids so every Christmas they are assigned to distribute the gifts.

Being kids too, they tend to expect to receive as well. My kids are still young so every Christmas hubby and I see to it that we always have gifts for them. We always tell them to appreciate the gifts that they will receive, never look at the size or the cost. Give value and importance on the thought that they are being remembered. We also told them that a gift doesn’t have to be tangible like a gift of having a complete and happy family.

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

Perfume gift sets and more

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Shopping for shoes this Christmas?

Christmas is nearing and there maybe shoppers out there who wouldn’t want to mix with the already congested places like malls, stalls, tiangge, etc. Online shopping is one solution to shop for your gadgets, accessories, shoes, and more you are planning to buy this season. If shoes are one of the stuff you are looking for then drop by at Shoebuy.com.

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Give the gift of Shoebuy.com!

Our 6 year old Christmas Tree

Christmas is fast approaching and it will never be complete without assembling our 6 year old 7 feet Christmas tree. My kids are always excited setting it but I guess more even excited with the boxes beneath it, hehehe. We bought the tree along Divisoria around September of 2002 and it only cost us P2,500 as compared buying it in the mall.

Each year we buy additional decors to fill the tree and I guess we need to buy more to fill the other spaces. As to decors, I preferred buying in the mall as they really selling great decors with all the unique and glittering designs.

It is only 34 days before Christmas so let me greet you ahead of time my dear friends and readers a Merry and Blessed Christmas! Let love and giving be in our hearts on this special day and always.

Bibingka & Puto Bumbong

Christmas is nearing and as early as now you can see Puto Bumbong and Bibingka being sold along the streets. These are the two favorites among Filipinos during Christmastime. If you gonna visit Philippines on September and onwards you will have a great chance to taste these two.

Ingredients for Bibingka includes rice flour, sugar, coconut cream, eggs, baking powder, grated cheese, butter, salted egg, fresh grated coconut and salt. Special Bibingka filled with more cheese and salted egg is being sold and really tasted great. I usually eat this during my visit in Manila.

Puto Bumbong is a purple-colored Filipino dessert made of sweet rice cooked in hollow bamboo tubes that are placed on a special steamer-cooker. When cooked, they are removed from the bamboo tubes, spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar and niyog (grated coconut). They are then wrapped in wilted banana leaves which keep them warm and moist until ready to be eaten. Like Bibingka, Puto Bumbong is inexorably linked with Simbang Gabi--the Catholic mass celebrated at dawn on the nine days preceding Christmas.

Christmas countdown

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself...
~Norman Wesley Brooks, "Let Every Day Be Christmas," 1976

On Monday is not just a brand new week but the start already of ber-months: September, October, November and December. The countdown to Christmas day will begin and Christmas songs are now on the playlists of radio stations and even at home.

Christmas means peace, love and hope. I know that there are many bad happenings all over the world but the spirit of Christmas must be in our hearts every day. Christmas is not just December 25 and together with that peace, love and hope we can make this world a better place to live for everyone.