“Ber” months
When the 1st of September kicked in I received a text message that went “happy “ber” months!”, signaling the beginning of what the Philippines considers the start of the Christmas season. Some households even start stocking up on Christmas decor.
As early as October, the faux holly and mistletoe go up, plastic angels looking down on hallows eve organizers making Halloween invitations.
On the news last night I saw footage of stores in Divisoria fully stocked with holiday decor at prices too good to be true. Looks like another trip to the 168 Mall is in order.
Baby showers now and then
News of anyone having a baby always brings a smile to my face. So when our tech guy Beng announced a baby shower for his first born due in October we all happily pitched in. Beng had a list to help us along, so it wasn’t very difficult to think about what to get for the coming baby.
A few days after the party he thanked us by putting this picture up on his website:
And while I looked at it I remembered how my babies started out. Totally different circumstances they were, as we were living in the province, I didn’t have a job, and I had a bunch of sisters- and cousins-in-law who had babies and baskets full of hand-me-downs for Athelstan. Diapers were made out of old flour sacks, washed out and bleached and washed with Perla Blue so that they’d be soft and fluffy. Old blankets were cut into smaller chunks and sewn into quilts to line the convertible crib which had belonged to the eldest son of the eldest daughter-in-law of an aunt.
Honestly, this was the first time I had been invited to a baby shower. We didn’t have them in the province, as it was considered bad luck to buy anything in advance for an unborn baby. I had sat with head bowed under disapproving eyes of elder women who tut-tutted after I had bought a baby mobile while I was six months pregnant with Maui. I had gone to the local bakery and bought three dozen old flour sacks but I couldn’t clean them out because my neighbors ten meters away would cluck and shake their heads at me, and I was young enough back then to care.
When we were expecting Maia things were a bit different. We lived in Manila now, where no one cared what their neighbors did as long as they weren’t too loud, and I had enough funds to plan ahead with. Sam and I had managed to get a few things in Divisoria in preparation for the hospital basket, the one we’d take when it was time to go to the delivery room. But having gone through previous experiences such as these keeps me in awe of parents who do hold baby showers, and half of me wishes I had done the same thing back then.
The photo above is courtesy of Beng’s young wife, who patiently laid out all the gifts on the toddler bed in appreciation, and took picutres for all of us to see.
My Baclaran
Baclaran is the place where practical shoppers go for really serious shopping. Second only to Divisoria, Baclaran has been and probably will always be the biggest “mall” where one can find anything from infant’s clothing, maternity clothes, school uniforms, office attire and everything else that go with such items. Walk the length of Baclaran and you will find everything you need to build and furnish a house, go camping, assemble a cold-weather wardrobe, and get your god-child something fun for his birthday. And you won’t even have to beef up your budget to do so.
For example, Kuya Maui and I managed to get three uniform polo shirts, with three matching kamiseta, three uniform blouses for Maia plus material for two pleated uniform skirts, and two white Blue Corner tshirts tripleXL size, all for a little over one thousand pesos. A visit to an ukay (imported second hand) shop yielded two very nice rain weather jackets, each under three hundred. Some people may say that’s still on the expensive side for ukay, but then one thing I haven’t really mastered after all this time is the politic art of haggling.
Wiki before you Shop
It’s good to know that in this commercialized world there are still sites that aren’t all about making money. Oh, you still get to spend (or not spend) after seeing these sites, but only after a very thorough presentation of the good, the bad and the alternative.
One such site is ShopWiki.com, their Toys and Games Buying Guide in particular. It’s like a search engine results page for toys and games for kids, with drill-down, cross-linked pages that will keep you enthralled for hours. There’s even a section called Classic Kids Toys, where the Classic and Retro toys may make you relive your own childhood days in the backyard.
While other online shopping malls feature only stores and products that have bought advertising space, ShopWiki.com links to almost every online store, whether these stores are advertisers or not. When you have drilled down to the actual item you’d like to buy, the final step takes you straight into the online store’s website.
ShopWiki.com lets you explore your options as a buyer and gift-giver, and the bottom line is you end up with an item that you have really taken the time to evaluate and pick out.
-
About Me
