Taking Gifting to the Next Level

Christmas is a big event for our family. Ever since our first child was born, we already hyped up the holidays as early as October. We have established our Christmas family traditions that we have so far followed for the last seven years. These traditions include a family Christmas pictorial, our little family’s Christmas “party” at Pizza Hut (yes pizza), spending time with my parents and celebrating my father’s birthday on Dec. 24 lunch, watching the Christmas cantata in church on Christmas eve, reading the Christmas story to the kids at home, giving and opening of our gifts to the kids, praying, and then on Christmas morning, the kids get to open the rest of the presents. We have done this for the last seven years and have now included our second daughter. It is so much fun for our family. And gifts, whether to my children, other family members, relatives, or friends, play a big part of our celebration.

But since I became a mother, Christmas has always been mostly for my loved ones. I rarely thought of you know, gifting myself. I guess you become more sacrificial when you have sired cute little people who are so lovingly dependent on you. So it is nice to actually sit down and think about the things that I actually need and even want. Even just the thought of writing down my wish list gets me excited.

My Christmas Wish List
So what do I want for myself? Actually, these are more my NEEDS than my wants except one. So here they are:
1. A New Laptop – My laptop has been lagging for the longest time. I couldn’t blame her–she has served me well for like six years? It’s an Asus, by the way, so if ever I would have a new one, it would be another Asus laptop again. This would really be nice–a new 15.6″ Asus Laptop with Intel Core i7, 8GB Memory, 1TB Hard Disk, and a 2GB dedicated RAM. Lovet! I am claiming this!

2. A New Microwave Oven – Our old microwave oven got busted several months ago and we never got the chance to buy a replacement. But there are really times that I wish that we have a microwave, especially when there are things that I needed to heat up something for the kids really fast.

3. A New Handycam – I would like a new handycam so that we can continue with our video blogging. Our camera can take videos but it would be nice to have a dedicated camera for just the videos so that we can take documentation at the same time.

4. Kultura Pearl Stud Earrings – If there is one thing that I actually WANT for myself and not just for my work, then that would be a pair of stud pearl earrings from Kultura at SM. I have been eyeing a pair for several months now–smooth, round, and white pearls. But I don’t have a budget for it yet, so it is just on my wish list.

Our Family’s Christmas Wish List
Our little family is growing so we also have more needs. The kids will have to move to their own bedroom eventually so that they will learn independence. That should also give hubby and I more comfortable sleep time as we do not have to curl up just to fit in a crowded bed–all four of us. So here are some things that we would need really soon.

1. A Double Deck Bed – Our eldest daughter had been asking for a double deck bed so that she can stay on the top deck while her sister can sleep on the lower bunk. It’s actually a nice idea so that they will have more floor space as compared to having a queen size bed. It would also be nice to have one custom-made so that it could have drawers installed in them for more storage spaces.

2. A New Aircon – It gets pretty hot here in our home in the city and sleeping at night could get really uncomfortable, especially during the summer. We would like to have a new aircon with inverter for the kids’ bedroom that will be ready when they move out of our masters’ bedroom.

3. A Uratex Queen Size Mattress – When the kids move out of our bedroom next year, I would really like to have a new mattress. Ours is old, smelly, and no longer balanced. A Uratex mattress has long been on my wish list. It would be timely to have a new one next year.

4. A New Phone for Hubby – Hubby would like a new phone with a better camera so that he can take better looking food photos for his blog. He would really like an Asus Zenfone 2 Laser cellphone. Yeah, we are Asus fanatics.

5. A Samsung LED TV – For the last four years, we have been using a 14″ LCD TV. It’s still working pretty well so buying a new one is not a need. But it sure would be nice to have a newer model and a bigger one, too.

How to Give Back to Others
Despite wanting and needing many things, I have to acknowledge and be honest with you–we have been truly blessed this year. For one, hubby and I both turned 40 this year. We have our health, our jobs, our home, and our lovely children. And best of all, we still love each other like crazy. We may not be materially wealthy, but we have what we need. God has been very gracious and He is sufficient.

We believe that we are blessed to be a blessing to others and we have done that as a family for several years now. We have involved the children, which is why it is easy for them to share. However, when we do that, my husband would always say that we should not take photos nor publish them for the Bible says that we should not let one hand know what the other one is doing. So we do them, yet we don’t document them. Our record is not here in this world but in our Father’s book. And we shall continue to do it, whether it is Christmas or not.

We also intend to take part in the Merry SM Christmas campaign and let the children give SM Christmas Bears of Joy. I want to schedule a trip to the mall where I have the time to explain the mechanics to the kids so that they can internalize the meaning of what they are doing. 🙂

The kids are growing and their understanding of Christmas is developing. While they are enjoying the perks and merriment of the season, we always want to inculcate to them  a very important life lesson. We want to teach them that the season, and even life in general, is not just about ourselves. That for me is taking gifting to the next level–a legacy of generosity and kindness to my children. 😀

Merry Christmas everyone! Tis the season to be jolly! 😀

Let the holiday shopping begin!

“For more updates about this year’s “Merry SM Christmas” campaign, visit SM’s official Christmas microsite (https://www.smsupermalls.com/merrysmchristmas2015) and follow its official social media accounts at Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/smsupermalls), Twitter (https://twitter.com/smsupermalls), and Instagram (https://instagram.com/smsupermalls/); and get an insider access to all the fun happenings at SM Supermalls nationwide through Viber (http://chats.viber.com/SMsupermalls). Shoppers can actively share their holiday merriments inside the SM Supermalls by posting their photos on social media and adding the hashtag #MerrySMChristmas2015.”