Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year! Everyone’s excited and all caught up in preparing for their Christmas hanash, it may be a Christmas party, reunion, gala or vacation with friends, family and even workmates! This is the season where people can spend without any guilt! We all deserve some pampering and spoiling after all the pandemic news and struggles we have faced over the last 2 years of our lives.
Exchange gifts is one of the highlights of Christmas. We can all agree that this is one of the most awaited parts of any Christmas event. Children are the most hyped up when it comes to receiving gifts, who wouldn’t want a new toy from Santa Claus, right? Adults mostly spice things up when it comes to exchanging gifts, they try to formulate crazy and funny themes, draw names for anonymity, and limit budget for participants to get creative, and to hype up the event a little more!
But of course, as a Filipino, everyone has their worst exchange gift experience. People know and appreciate that it’s the thought that counts, but there are gifts that will literally end up collecting dust in the corner of our home. Here is a list of some of the worst exchange gifts Filipinos are just tired of getting every single year:
Mugs
Mugs can be good gifts. But there are only so many mugs one needs in a day, and unless that mug you gave is something overtly unique, chances are it will be dumped at the back of the kitchen cabinet with all the other received beverage holders. Plus, if you’re giving it to someone in a condo living, storing them can be a huge hassle. These days, it just seems so lazy and effortless to give mugs as gifts. And yes, people can tell you're just trying to get into the gift-giving budget your group of friends set this year.
Towels
Towels come in handy; it’s always good to have spares at home just in case. Majority of us had already received a box of towel on at least one of all the Christmas parties we’ve attended especially back in our elementary or high school days. Why would you give a towel to a kid or to a teenager right? At the same time, they do seem a little unimaginative as a gift; there’s not much you can say when you receive a towel except, “Oh! Thank you!”
Picture Frame
Empty picture frames seemed like a strange gift to give. Suddenly, you must find a photo to slip inside it, but which one? We get the “sentimental” aspect of the gift, but maybe people would much prefer that there be a photo inside of it with their special someone’s instead. A photo frame is in the same league as a mug. Also, with all the social media platforms we have, who even prints photos nowadays?
Food/Plastic Container
Nothing gets more practical than a food or plastic container. They are useful, and if you’re a neat freak, they’re pretty much a godsend. But like towels, they do tend to take up a lot of space especially when the receiver has a lot to spare. Maybe the receiver would be a less Grinch-y if you add some yummy food inside, though!
Planner/Calendar
Probably most groan-inducing gift of them all. Yes, like most of the gifts here, they can be quite useful at home or in your workspace, but there really is something about these two that say, “Sorry, I had no idea what to give you.” And with the pandemic still very much here, we don’t need another reminder of how our precious days are just flying by and how we can’t do anything over these unpredictable and unending lockdowns and covid variants.
Gift Certificates
Gift certificates are just a form of money in a less useful and more restrictive kind of way. Money can be used anywhere; gift certificates can only be used on specific stores. This is also just as lazy and effortless as mugs and towels. It’s like telling someone to go buy for themselves because you don’t have the energy to do it. Plus, some gift certificates have expiry dates. Most stores won’t tell the people about this, but if carefully checked at the paper, the certificate will become completely useless after a certain period.
Perfume
Unless it’s already a scent you know the receiver loves or already wears regularly, chances of them not using it is high. Fragrances are very personal – quite literally, as you need time to let your body react to a perfume for you to know if it smells good on you throughout the day. This one’s just too high-risk. This may also be seen as offensive if the receiver is sensitive about other’s perception of them.
Christmas-themed gifts
Just because it’s Christmas doesn’t mean people want to receive Christmas themed shirts, mugs, or worse, decorations and ornaments. We all celebrate Christmas once a year so unless what you will be giving will be useful for the rest of the year, this kind of stuff will end up being dumped again on the corner of the house.
Most of the things in this list are given so often because of their practicality. But sometimes, receiving nothing at all is much better than receiving the gifts mentioned in the list. Although Christmas is the season of giving, there are just some gifts, especially during this obligatory present-swapping season, that we’ve received one too many times or gifts we already had enough.
Millennials nowadays are more into the decorative and interior design stuff where they can personalize their condo design, room, and even workspace. It may be a light, a lamp, curtains, table decorations, chair, sofa, everyone’s into these stuff that can make their home and even condo living a little bit more ig-worthy! Maybe try to get a little creative! Research on the current trends, after all we all have the platform to know what’s new, what’s trending, what’s out of the market.
If you want your gift to really count, and not just the thought behind it, then spend a little more time choosing it!
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