I love giving gifts. I grew up with our family tradition of exchanging gifts every Christmas eve, and I have made it my personal annual vow to also give presents to my close friends and colleagues.
This year, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to deviate from the usual gift-giving that I do—as in material gifts in boxes or packs—and try something new and more sustainable even. I decided to give the gift of experience.
And so with the help of GCash, the mobile wallet I so love and use very often, I did my Christmas list, set my Christmas budget, cashed in and thought up the best holiday experiences I wanted to give my loved ones. Here’s my list so far:
1- Take nieces and nephews to the movies. My nieces and nephews are on their Christmas break from school, so there’s no better time to gather them in one place. I plan to bring them together on Christmas Day, when there will be lots of family movies in the cinemas. Ayala Cinemas accept payment through GCash scan-to-pay, so I’m sure our movie-going experience will be hassle-free.
2. Start my brother’s new year right with a gym membership. My brother has long wanted to sign up at a gym, but since he has just joined the workforce he’s still putting his earnings on vital needs and his savings. He couldn’t afford a gym membership yet so he has just been working out at home. So I decided to help out and give him a three-month gym membership as a gift (let’s see first how he does in a quarter). It’s easy to book as Gold’s Gym, which has several branches in Metro Manila, accepts payment via GCash.
3. Treat my girlfriends to grooming. The holidays are a huge deal for me and my girlfriends. Every year, we pick a date for our Christmas lunch or dinner, and there we exchange gifts. This year, I plan to surprise them with gift certificates to Lay Bare waxing salon, where they could get their treatment of choice. I could prepay at my closest branch using GCash.
4. Bring my cousins together on a staycation. I have three very close cousins who I grew up with and once shared a house with, our first outside of our respective family homes. This year, I want us to reminisce on those years by getting together on a staycation that would bring us right back to our bunkbed days. I found that Z Hostel, that hip backpacker place in Makati, offers the perfect kind of rooms for what I envision. And it’s perfect because they accept payment via GCash!
