Pinoy Christmas Shopping Guide to Awesomeness: The Major, Major Problems!

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One basis of awesomeness is a person's ability to survive this season’s one of the most, if not, the most stressful activities—Christmas shopping! Everybody, young or old, male or female, or gay, bisexual, lesbian, or transgender, and filthy rich or poor, feels the pressure of buying gifts for their special someone (or sometimes even for not-so-special someone). Why feel pressured? Well, in case you haven’t heard, Christmas is the time for giving. If you really don’t know that it is indeed a time to give and receive gifts, all I can say to you is, “Hey there, Grinch!”

For some, shopping is always a breeze. It is their way of relieving stress from work or from some other bad vibes in the environment. But for others, shopping is really a hassle not just it is a waste of their time, but also it can be considered as a very exhausting physical activity.



So, before hitting the malls anytime this week for your pre-Christmas shopping extravaganza, you may want to consider first our criteria on whether what tiangge, bazaar, or mall to choose for, for your Christmas shopping spree convenience. Our research team has come up with some major problems that people experience during the Christmas shopping season. Here are some of them:

· Proximity to your place

Is the tiangge, bazaar, or mall near to your place or too far? Ask yourself if your long travel time would be worth of your schedule. Are the prices of goods there cheaper than the nearer shopping place in your area? Also, check if the transportation is more convenient to you. If you have a vehicle, check earlier where you can park or if you are commuting, know where to ride public transportation vehicles (PTV). Most importantly, can you carry your heavy shopping bags from the shopping place to the parking area or to the PTV terminals?

When considering the place of proximity from your place to the mall or tiangge, you are also considering your time management. The nearer the place, the better. However, make sure that these shopping places have all the things that you need to buy so that going to another shopping place will not be an option anymore. Keep in mind that transferring from one place to another is already a hassle, so look for a shopping place where you can go to the next with just one cartwheel or one jagger move away.

· Items you are going to buy

Are you looking for cheap toys, cute giveaways, gift for your baby in kris kringle, something cheap but classy looking gift for your boss, something that your best friend can use in his or her work, or something your sweetheart can display in his or her room or in the office table, etc.? Congratulations if you find all these things in one place.

Usually, a mall have all the items that you need to buy. Tiangges too might be another option to consider but stocks in tiangges are limited. However, if you are considering the price tags of each item that you are going to buy, you might want to try a tiangge. Some tiangges offer bulk sales or wholesale at a bargain price. If you are going to buy similar items in bulk, a tiangge or bazaar is the better option. You can ask the vendor to offer you a price that you cannot resist. Say, a PhP 30 priced mug if you buy in bulk of ten than buying it individually for PhP 40 each.That's bargain, isn't it?

· Traffic, traffic, traffic

In case you don’t know, aside from being the season for giving, Christmas is also a season of heavy traffic. If you are a regular commuter like me, I bet you also noticed the sudden bulk of vehicles on streets and other national roads. Because people are rushing to the malls for their very late pre-Chrismas shopping (maybe because their 13th month pays are delayed, hihihi), expect some heavy traffic in the coming days.

• When money talks...

Considering "sky is the limit" in buying gifts, do you think budgeting for gifts is still necessary? Well, of course! Having a budget plan in buying gifts still works! Not only you'll buy the best bargain items, you'll also have some spare money for you. Money is not always something that you can get anywhere, it is hard-earned with blood, stressful moments, physical fatigues, and tears. So, don't just waste your money buying gifts. Save up for yourself, too!

Moreover, when money talks, people tend to buy, impulsively. Avoid impulsive buying or buying unnecessary items to avoid over-budgeting of money. Stick to what your Christmas list is saying—that's the golden rule of shopping!


So there, these are some of the things that people encounter when doing their Christmas shopping. What are yours? Care to share? Write your thoughts on the comment section below. 'Till next time!