Sunday, December 24, 2006 Moises and Palmares: Holiday Cheers!!! By Darwin John Moises and Michelle Mendez-Palmares Singles talk
Michelle: I read in the internet a write up about holiday dating disasters. If misery truly loves company, or if you just need a jolt of laughter, check out this list of five outrageous holiday gaffes—and get some tips for recovering in case you commit them, too.
Holiday gaffe 1: A woman who had just started dating someone before the holidays went over on Christmas Eve to her boyfriend’s parents’ house. His parents had gotten her a little gift. Nothing big, but she didn’t buy them anything.
His mom called her out for it and told the woman something like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry for getting you something. I assumed you two were in the type of relationship where you would do the same.’
Tip: If you’re a guest,, always bring something—even if it’s just cocktail napkins. The gesture is more important than the gift.
Holiday gaffe 2: Here’s another reason why gift-wrapping shouldn’t be saved til the last minute.
A guy who was in a super rush before the holidays quickly wrapped presents for the woman he was dating, and her parents. He’d gotten his girlfriend a gift certificate to a fancy lingerie store, and for her parents, gift cards from their favorite stores.
Unfortunately, he put the wrong card on the presents, so the girlfriend got a card from a tackle shop and her mom got the lingerie. At least the girlfriend’s dad didn’t mind his card from the bookstore.
Tip: Wrap presents and put the cards on immediately. Identifying gifts properly becomes very important especially when lingerie is involved.
DJ: Wow! Hope these aren’t your first hand experiences Mic. Haha!
It’s gonna be Christmas tonight. If you are talking about disasters, hmm, I pulled out a couple of Christmas trivia.
Some of us may have heard about the candy cane story with its white and red stripes associated with purity and the blood of Christ. Cool. But the truth of the matter is, the candy was born out of the need to find something religious to keep a child still and quiet particularly on a looooong Christmas mass.
Parents would feel a bit sacrilegious to pass a bag of Snickers to keep a child still, even for just five minutes. A choirmaster from Cologne came up with this bright idea: why not give them a “religious” candy shaped like a Shepherd’s staff! Coolest!
And do you know that the Christmas tree did not originate from the US, but from Germany? But wait. There’s more. The tree actually goes way back to Egypt. It used to be a wooden-shaped pyramid structure covered with evergreen boughs. But the environmentalist US President Teddy Roosevelt did not like the C-tree. He once barred it from being displayed in the White House. Thus the increase in the sales of the artificial trees!
M: Interesting, DJ! And let me dish out another holiday gaffe–A boyfriend or girlfriend not mentioning that his or her parents who were invited over for Christmas dinner had certain dietary restrictions. One woman’s boyfriend didn’t tell her that his parents didn’t eat pork for religious reasons. Imagine her horror (and theirs) when they saw the hosts getting ready to bring out pork loin. Luckily, she had a couple of fillets in the freezer and dinner was served only half an hour late.
Tip: Always ask about dietary restrictions before guests come over! And if you or your relatives are the ones with the dietary restrictions—by all means, speak up. Now, do you have something more fun for a change? It’s the season of joy!
DJ: O-khay. So as not to take the role of the Grinch, I also have something to make our readers smile. Hopefully.
Once upon a time, there were three men who died during Christmas. (This isn’t a sob story, don’t worry.) They were met by St Peter at the gates of heaven. In honor of the season, they were each asked if they possessed something that symbolizes Christmas for them to get into heaven.
The first dude searched his pocket and pulled out a lighter, flicked it on and said, “This represents a candle.” St. Peter was impressed and he was allowed to pass through the pearly gates.
The second dude searched his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, shook them and said, “They’re bells.” St. Peter was also impressed and so he was allowed to pass through the pearly gates.
The third due searched his pocket for a long time, paused for a few seconds, then pulled out a pair of woman’s glasses. St. Peter was a bit puzzled and asked, “And just what does that symbolize?” Dude number three replied, “They’re Carol’s.” Haha!
M: That’s funny! Now I remember one more holiday gaffe. This will be the last. Hehehe…
A lively debate is one thing, getting up on a soapbox is another, as another woman found out. She was ranting against the commercialization of Christmas, railing against people who lavish tons of gifts on their families and friends and just then noticed that the guy she was dating got really quiet.
When she asked him what was wrong, he told her she’d just described how his family celebrates Christmas and that it was his favorite holiday.
Tip: Never talk about religion or religious observances—especially if you have a strong and/or negative opinion. Holiday times just aren’t the right time to air those beliefs. Learn from these people’s miscues and hopefully you’ll avoid making any embarrassing mistakes during your holiday interactions. Here’s to a season full of harmony and good cheer! Ho-ho-ho!
DJ: Yup! Life is too short to commit all the mistakes for us to learn our lessons. We ought to learn from others too. Haha!
Tomorrow, we’ll celebrate the birth of Christ. Some of us may have spent a huge portion of 2006 far too stretched trying to meet targets and achieve objectives as though they’re prerequisites for life to really begin.
Trouble is, we almost never get to the “living” part because, ironically, we are too busy with the business of living. And so we postpone our joy and our happiness only to find out that we’re missing on things that truly matter–our relationships, the people we love and those we consider dear to us.
As we celebrate Christmas, may we find the time to pause and reflect on the true Reason for the season. May we experience growth spurts. Not only horizontally. I hope. Haha! And may we see more of life’s meaning and a better way to live it to its fullest. Merry Christmas everyone!
