IT'S the season of giving.
Christmas is the time of the year when people get excited in giving and receiving gifts.
It is fun and difficult at the same time. There are so many things to consider when giving gifts -- the gender of the recipient, his/her wish list, budget allocation, where to buy, among many others.
While there is this cliché "it's the thought that counts," shoppers can't help but exert time and effort in planning what to give to their manitos and manitas.
By now, some companies are starting to distribute their 13th month and other bonuses and with this, shoppers tend to become extravagant with the little extra money they got.
While Christmas is a time to be merry, it could also eat up much of our time, energy, and finances.
When Christmas shopping, how to be conscientious must always be part of our consciousness.
Giving the things our loved ones need does not mean giving them luxurious gifts. Purchasing products from micro, small, and medium enterprises does not only help the local entrepreneurs to sustain their businesses but also their employees' livelihood as well. There are great and useful products that we can give as gifts at local gift shops, all we need to do is visit their stores and shop.
Being a conscientious shopper also means being environment-friendly shopper. Being environment-friendly does not only mean buying products that contain earth-friendly materials or ingredients. Even when gift-wrapping, there are ways to be eco-friendly like recycling old gift wrappers, utilizing nature like leaves for wrappers or "bayong" as gift containers.
A simple step of using recycled gift wrappers will not only lessen your expense, but also the garbage being thrown. After all, it is not only gifts that should be creative.
While there are many gift wrappers being sold in stores and even street vendors are selling these, however, the materials being used are mostly single-use plastics, which could pile up the garbage bins.
Remember, it is partly on how you design that makes your gift look interesting.
Aside from that, giving simple, inexpensive gifts does not mean you are being stingy. Remember that price tags on gifts will not add weight for your loved ones. No matter how expensive or simple your gift may look, for them the most important thing is you remember giving them a gift.
Let us also keep in mind that there are those who are victims of calamities who need help they could get; there are orphans that long to get toys, dress, or books this Christmas. What we save from buying inexpensive products for gifts for our loved ones might go a long, long way in making Christmas for the needy special and memorable one.
After all, the greatest gift one could offer is not only through material or financial, but the thought of sparing your time, effort, energy, not to mention money, for the recipient is already a gift in itself.