{Our Couple Game} 12 Gifts of Christmas

I came up with this crazy idea of doing a Kris Kringle game--- a contest between my husband and I to make our first Christmas together exciting. So we'll be having 12 gift giving days with different themes. We have a budget of P50-300 per gift and we can have our own interpretations per theme.

DAY 1: SOMETHING COOL 

His Gift: The coolest and smallest Donut desktop usb fan from Clippers Gift Shop in Robinson's Manila.  

My Gift: I gave him his favorite toothpaste purchased in our local grocery.

I still can't get over my donut fan's cuteness. So for this round, my husband scores!

JIGGER: 1
ALESSA: 0

DAY2: SOMETHING USEFUL 

His Gift: Pink Water bottle from Clipper's gift shop. Most of the time I'm dehydrated so this is just perfect. 
My gift: Burger Bags since my husband loves to make his own burger and Multipurpose Clips since he loves those chips! Both are from True Value.

 My gifts were unexpected so I win this round haha!

JIGGER: 1
ALESSA: 1

DAY3: SOMETHING FUN

His Gift: A lint remover from True Value.

My gift: A butter pod/container, also from True Value.

 My husband insists that taking out lint and rolling this brush is more fun than storing butter. Butter should be eated not stored.. okay fine. Anyway, for this round, he wins but i still think my Moo butter pod is super cute and useful.

JIGGER: 2
ALESSA: 1

DAY4: SOMETHING NAUGHTY

His Gift: let's just say... it is naughty hahaha. I don't want to post.

My gift: Whipped cream.... for all the Christmas desserts and goodies :)

Because Jigger really made sure his was naughty, okay... the point goes to him haha!

 JIGGER: 3

ALESSA: 1


DAY5: SOMETHING FUNNY

His Gift: A Panda Bear Therapy Pack that can be used as warm or cold compress. We have this bear joke so I guess that's why he associated this to "something funny"

My gift: Drunkasaurus Shirt that looks like my husband when he's tipsy (bought from Robinson's department store) & a Taz Car freshner from True Value; talk about old school. Taz was my husband's favorite cartoon character back then. He was obsessed to it!

Hands down, I win this round :)

JIGGER: 3

ALESSA: 2

DAY6: SOMETHING LONG

His Gift: Hem Tape from True Value

My gift: Cord Organizer from Ace hardware

I would never expect my husband to know what a Hem tape is so because of his effort... he wins!

JIGGER: 4

ALESSA: 2

DAY7: SOMETHING SHORT

His Gift: Rug adhesive from True Value (it's short coz' it came from a small pack, what??)

My gift: Pastillas from the local grocery. I got these because I know my husband loves those small treats. 

I score! I really don't know why he gave me this, hahaha!

JIGGER: 4

ALESSA: 3

DAY8: SOMETHING RED

His Gift: Hot Sauce from Healthy Options (my husband loves hot stuff)

My gift: Wine bottle Stopper (because gone are the days that I could finish an entire bottle by myself hahaha)

So we both tried the hot sauce and it is just awesome! Super hot and yummy and it's under P300! For this round, I win since Jigger super loved his hot sauce.

JIGGER: 4

ALESSA: 4

DAY9: SOMETHING GREEN

His Gift: Mosquito patch... ummm... because the box is green (duh!)

My gift: Green Apple Candies from Healthy Options

I was magnetized to the candy case since it had a cool "J" letter on the side. So since the candy tastes great and the container seemed to be personalized for Jigger, I win this round.

JIGGER: 4

ALESSA: 5

DAY10: SOMETHING BIG

His Gift: Laptop Case from CDR King

My gift: Microwave food cover from Howards Storage

Both aren't really big things when you define "BIG" but both are just super useful so we decided that it's a tie!

JIGGER: 5

ALESSA: 6

DAY11: SOMETHING SMALL

His Gift: USB

My gift: Miniature Black Label

A USB is really useful but it's really meant to be a small item. The Miniature black is an unexpected thing... it's super cute and inexpensive. So for this round, I win.

JIGGER: 5

ALESSA: 7 

 DAY12: SOMETHING SWEET

His Gift: Bazooka Lip Balm from True Value

My gift: Candy Crush Jelly Fish from Rustan's Grocery (My husband is addicted to Candy Crush)

Both of us loved our gifts, we both score points for this round! :)

JIGGER: 6

ALESSA: 8

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Overall, my husband and I really enjoyed this activity turned contest. It's not about the amount we give nor who scored more. It's really more of the thought, creativity, and effort. We enjoyed figuring out each others likes and personality. We were thrilled searching things as if it was a scavenger hunt. We recommend couples to do this to spice things up and have another avenue to learn each other more and communicate.

 

Dapitan: Haven for last minute budget gifts and decor

Looking for anything below P 500 for Christmas gifts, decor, and collectibles? Dapitan Arcade is the perfect place!  

December is too late to purchase Christmas decors BUT if you're a decorating addict, this actually is the best time to buy. Decorations are now on sale and sellers are willing to give good discounts before they repack and do closing inventory. 

Check out photos from my Dapitan trip :)

lovely flower arrangements highlighted with white fairy lights

Garlands and swags; assorted flowers sold by piece

Assorted Cute Santa Resin Figurines

Candy Ornaments-- 3 for P100 only

Traditional and Disco Glam Nutcracker figures

Classic and Rustic Nutcracker Wooden Figures, it's quite expensive at P850
but I think It's a good heirloom piece to pass on

Export Overrun Table top Christmas trees

For all the Candy lovers out there, here's the perfect Sweet Santa for you! 

More Santas Please

Here's a tip tough, if' you're looking for extraordinary pieces.... don't put your hopes too high. Dapitan Items are budget indeed thus it may look cheap and may be of mediocre quality. Some are spin offs from Export items. For RESIN pieces, look closely at the hands and faces. If it looks too chubby then they are just replicas from purchased items remoulded to sell at a cheaper price. Note that Resin figurines should look smooth and that little details should be defined and well placed. BUT, there really are some unexpected gems if you look hard and bargain well.

Now for those who are not into the novelty holiday stuff and are looking for houseware, there's a wide selection of plates, bowls, glasses, and vases that are to die for!

These super cute Holiday plates and bowls are so cute and so cheap.
Everything in this photo is less than P300!!!

Cool Flower vases that can be displayed year round

These are just P50 each! 

Hello Snowman Collectors! The serving plate and bowl is just P150 each



HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!
Happy Shopping & gift giving! :)



 

Confession of a Christmas Workaholic

November stormed in so fast, next thing I know... I'm already saying hello to December. 

For the past 8 years, I have been working full time for the family business making Christmas decors whole year round! Yes, one complete cycle of Christmas designing, marketing, manufacturing, and distributing. I love my job and Christmas but the holidays sometimes mean less time for myself. SeptemBER signals the start of sleepless nights; countless ingress, set ups, deliveries, and projects; take outs and bazaar food. But like what everyone says.... 

Busy days mean good business.... IT'S A GOOD PROBLEM! :)

November 2013: We did a Candy land display for Noel Bazaar 

I write not to rant but to share that I'm back to writing. I promised myself to write more and I simply can't miss out on my favorite holiday :)