RECENT typhoons not only caused destruction of infrastructure and properties but also caused worries for the “celebration business” now that people and companies are considering scaling down on parties for the coming Christmas holidays.

Louella Eslao-Alix, owner of Present & Such on Gorordo Ave., said that aside from the global economic slowdown, the recent typhoons that hit Manila have contributed to the decline of sales in the celebration business.

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“People these days forego with birthday parties and donate instead to the victims,” she said.

Alix said she had one buyer who recently ordered 150 pieces of giveaways for her mother’s birthday but came back and decreased the number of orders to 70 pieces.

She also had a relative in Laguna who told her that she wouldn’t hold a birthday party because she thinks it’s not appropriate to hold one now that their place has not yet recovered from the floods.

“Christmas is near and yet I can see that many companies would forego or downsize their parties and donate the money to victims instead,” she added.

She also noted that this is the first time that there are no corporate orders for Christmas coming in yet “when in fact orders come in as early as the month of September,” she said.

“This is really not a good year for the business,” she said.

Alix said there was a 50 percent decline in her sales since June. She blamed the decrease on the enrollment period and the unpredictable consumer spending. She even cut down on the number of her employees from 20 to just eight.

“What we are doing now despite all these happenings is that we see to it that we produce items of high quality. We still assure customers that our prices did not go up and we are giving more discounts,” she said.

Presents & Such has been in the business for 11 years. It designs and crafts giveaways, accessories, invitations and gift items for different occasions.