Reunions are almost always a reason to celebrate, eat and be merry. And we did just that last week. Apparently, my brother-in-law who works in Macau went home for the weekend to have a medical check up and to see his family, and his extended family which includes us. So off we went to Toho Chinese Restaurant to pig out last weekend. Our household helper was overwhelmed with the amount of food my in-laws ordered. I myself found it rather hard to resist the food. Next time, I’ll make sure I bring Fastin with me, an effective appetite suppressant.

Tomorrow marks the last day of the month of November, then comes the merry month of December. Activities and reunions are starting to fill my calendar. Friends now living and working at far flung countries, are homeward bound now that Christmas is fast approaching.

Only one month to go and I’m bound to finally put my 2009 organizer to rest. Wow! 2010 is just around the corner.

Next year, is going to be a momentous year. My husband and I will be celebrating 10 years of loving each other and growing together. We are also trusting that the Lord to answer several faith goals and prayer requests that we have.

Right now, I’m just happy at where I am. It is nice to sit back and reassess things and simply wait on the Lord’s revelations.

Here in the Philippines, the Yuletide season is celebrated as soon as the “BER” months start. Earlier this afternoon when my father turned on the radio, I heard several Christmas carols being played already. And it’s just the 1st of September you’d say! Well, yes that’s how excited Filipinos are about the Yuletide season. Pretty soon the department stores will start selling Christmas decors and Christmas trees and of course, bargain markets will start setting up soon where you can find just about anything you need and want to give as gifts. Nonetheless, despite the long preparation for Christmas, come December, you will still bump into a lot of people who are trying to cram up their shopping list. I am not new to this kind of set of as well. For a couple of years now, I’d put off shopping when I have the time and money for it thinking that there’ll still be time to get it. And when it’s only a few days away from Christmas, I’d beg my husband to accompany me in getting the gifts I could have bought months ago. I’d always end up tired and over spending. I’m sure a lot of people who got used to procrastinating their Christmas shopping ends up just the same.

Last year, in order to avoid ending up broke and dead tired, I made a pact to organize my Christmas shopping. This year, I intend to do the same thing. Let me share it with you.

1. Have a list.  – List down all the names of the people you need and you want to give a gift to for the coming holidays.

2. Organize your list. – Thanks to Microsoft Excel, you can actually sort your list. You can tag them according to age, relationship and gender. If you start creating a spreadsheet, you may want to keep it for the next year. A friend of mine shared this tip to me. What she does is that across the name, she will also write down the gift she got that person for that year. On the following year, she will just add another column where she will then write down what gift item she got that person for that year. That gives her a way to make sure that the gift she gave the previous year will not be the same for this year.

3. Identify your budget. – Due to the global financial crisis, this is something you may want to identify as soon as you are able to come up with your name list. You can be more detailed and go on with specifying a maximum budget for each person you intend to give a gift to.

4. Never go over your budget. – It is sometimes irresistable to grab that lovely V-tech toy for your adorable nephew or godchild, nonetheless, you have to remember that you have a strict budget. On the other hand, the child will be grateful for a gift carefully chosen no matter what it costs.

5. Start shopping early. – Don’t wait for the last minute. You will find yourself less stressed when you get to complete your shopping early on. So when you find something that you think will be a good gift for someone, and you have the money for it and provided it doesn’t exceed the budget you have for that person, go ahead and purchase it. It will save you a lot of time, money and energy to avoid the Christmas rush.

I certainly hope the tips help you guys.

christmas