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By Kristine Gianna Roa

It’s Christmas in 12 days.

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When I couldn’t find a public restroom sign because every hall in the city is decked with boughs of holly, it’s inevitable that the holiday season is upon us. But I couldn’t just say “Fa-la-la-la, la-la-la” just yet. When the trees go up and the lights start twinkling, you have to start wrapping gifts by now — a whole lot of them, in fact, for a whole lot of people.

Truly daunting, I know, especially when you haven’t got much cash to drop on presents this season. Here are great gift ideas within budget that stays stylish, classic & economical.

  1. You’ve got no excuse for coming up short in the giving of gifts especially at this age of one-click Internet shopping. Shopee, Lazada, or Zalora offer cash on delivery payment options that doesn’t require you to pay in advance. If you have enough time, buy from sellers overseas who offer prices that are 50% lesser than mall prices. It’ll probably take you 15 days the most for shipping.
  2. Buy in sets. They come in less staggering prices than buying them individually and you’ll get to hit 3-4 birds with one stone all at once.
  3. Order from Avon, Dakki, Natasha, Front Row or networking companies that give you enough time to shell out payment in installments or layaway plans.
  4. Hoard Garage Sales and buy treasures that others think they can no longer do without.
  5. Racking up reward points since birth? ‘Tis the perfect time to redeem your SM Advantage cards, Watsons rewards or Rustan’s Beauty Addict cards now and start again with a clean slate next year.
  6. Because you can do better than free movie passes, iFlix, Spotify, Netflix, Smule, or IWant subscriptions are your next bestfriends. For as low as P129/month for Spotify or P370/mo for Netflix, they can enjoy premium services without the hassle of being auto-debited on their accounts.
  7. If you have foodie friends, surprise them with something they don’t already have in their kitchen. Get them a utensil or an 8-inch pan that they are missing in their lives to make cheesecakes.
  8. Buy gifts that wrap themselves and cut some of the hassle out of Christmas shopping. Brands have taken note and are helping you lighten up the load with products that are already pre-wrapped. Toiletries, wine, or chocolates, to name a few.

Now don’t these all sound too good that you’d actually want to hold on to some of these yourself? You don’t always have to scrape the bottom of the holiday barrel or be the friend, relative, lover who shows up empty-handed on gift-giving day. Even Jose Mari Chan’s latest jingle, “Pasko na — Bili na. Shopping na! Is reminding us to have a head start now.

Happy Christmas shopping everyone! And may the spirit of Christmas be always in our hearts!

 

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