The roads are a little more congested and people are evidently more outgoing. These are some of the symptoms of the holiday season. The Philippines celebrates the longest and grandest Christmas in the Christian world, starting in September and extends to the first weeks of January. Businesses take advantage of the festive mood by encouraging people to spend their bonuses on gifts, dine outs, and get-togethers. This is good for the local economy, but not very much on one’s finances and health. Thank heavens condo living offers relief from these seasonal nightmares.
Here are 9 practices during holidays that bring us horror, and how condo living in the Philippines can help make things better.
Spare yourself from carmaggedon; live near your office or school
Traffic is especially problematic in the “ber” months. There are more vehicles on the streets because of mall sales and parties everywhere. If you add the festivities to the usual elements of Metro Manila carmaggedon (payday, flooded streets, and Friday), you can expect to spend long hours on the road. DMCI Homes Properties offers an easy solution: live near your office or school. While people are stuck in vehicles way past dinner time, you can walk or drive only a couple blocks back home.
Save on gifts; create meaningful presents in your condo home
Don’t be fooled by the merriment around you. The Christmas season can be a stressor. The Christian world has been observing gift-giving for centuries. It’s said that this is a tribute to the Three Kings who brought the infant Jesus gifts to celebrate his birth. Filipinos, however, take this tradition a little further by buying gifts for nearly everyone they know. This practice is not financially sound because your Christmas bonus and 13th month pay are better off paying your debts or starting a small investment. Choose the only people who truly deserve your generosity such your immediate family and closest friends. Skip the malls and bazaars and use your free time in your condo home to create meaningful and useful presents. You can make a family scrapbook, which your mom will surely love, or DIY organic soap for your friends.
Create DIY Christmas decorations; stop overspending
The yuletide season has always been a time when people get the urge to spend. Is it because of the enticing marketing of businesses, the flow of bonuses and incentives, or the expectation that the season is for splurging? The urge to break the bank has intensified in recent years, on the advent of social media. People are topping each other’s purchases, events, etc. If you want to impress your circle, you should be a little more creative. Everybody can buy expensive custom-made wreaths, but only you can have a DIY Christmas tree made of PVC pipes. With the limited space in your condo, you can surely come up with unique ideas for space-saving DIY decors.
Decompress at home via condo lifestyle amenities
You may have noticed that the “ber” calendar is filled with non-working holidays. Most Filipinos use these days off in malls and bazaars hunting for cheap finds. Again, this is good in boosting domestic consumption, but perhaps people should also think about saving and investing money. The long weekends should be a chance for you to decompress. One of the best tips for a stress-free holiday is to stay at home. In a condo community, you’ll not run out of fun things to do. You can enjoy the leisure pool, sweat it out in the fitness gym or read a book on the roof deck. The lifestyle amenities can save you from congested public places Filipinos typically visit this time of the year.
Stop spending on out-of-town trips
Going out on long weekends, whether to a nearby mall or out of town, entails expenses. For the many non-working holidays in the Philippine calendar, can you imagine how much you could save if you stayed at home instead? You can save your trips for important occasions such as your annual family reunion or get-together with your closest friends. Why spend in a beach resort on holidays when you can live in a tropical resort-inspired condo? You can host a BBQ party by the open grill or a family brunch in the function room.
Sleep well in your condo home
The law gives you the right to file a complaint for alarms and scandal against unruly neighbors. But this right is scarcely exercised during the long Christmas season. Perhaps no one wants to be called a “kill joy” or Mr. Scrooge? A Sunday of karaoke concert courtesy of your neighbors may be tolerable, but anything more than that is just plain inconsiderate. In legal parlance, it’s against public order. In a condo community, you don’t have to endure sleepless nights or nagging headaches. Tenants and guests are bound to strictly comply with rules and regulations, whether it’s the yuletide season or not. Noise in homes is kept in moderate volume and gatherings are held in designated areas.
Non-Christian? Relax at home
The Philippines remains a predominant Christian nation. But you should remember that there are million others who belong to other faith. There are even some who are not affiliated with any religious order. Christians or not, all students and employees in the country all have long weekends and holidays. If you’re someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas, the nightmares of this season can be extra frustrating. You’re stuck in traffic for reasons in which you don’t take part. So how can you survive through it all? Consider condo living. You can get home early and relax in your comfy space, unmindful of the chaos outside.
Hassle-free events planning
For some reason, Filipinos choose the hectic months of November and December for their annual celebrations. Are there no other available dates in the calendar in which public places are less congested? You can have your yearly get-together with friends on an August evening or a family reunion on a February. Hotels, restaurants, and other event venues are typically booked in the entire yuletide season. You can expect rents are a little higher during these peak months.
But if you can’t help holding your gathering in this period, a condo community has solutions for you. Tenants and guests, and even outsiders, can book a clubhouse, function hall, and other similar amenities. The rent fees are reasonable, the location is accessible, and there are safe parking slots.
Surviving the yuletide season as an introvert
Do you know how tough it is for an introvert to live in a country that celebrates the longest yuletide season? Imagine yourself mentally listing down a number of excuses not to join the many parties in which you are invited. Introverts, in contrast to popular belief, don’t hate people. They just abhor spending time with acquaintances, and too many social events can easily sap their energy. For an introvert, recharging in his personal space is as essential as getting quality sleep or having a hearty meal.
If you’re an introvert who needs to play your social role this Christmas season, you should live in a condo community near your office or commercial hubs. Here are survival tips: be in the party early and make yourself busy helping out organizers. This can be a valid reason for you to leave ahead of everyone. Say quick hellos to your boss, clients, and key employees who may need to know that you were there (the HR manager, perhaps?). If you can, avoid party people who may delay your premature exit. Silently retreat before the binge drinking starts when people can get weirdly social. You’ve fulfilled your social role and will be back in your condo space in no time.
Tradition, like Filipinos’ long observance of the yuletide, plays an important role on the national identity. It can stir feelings of togetherness among millions of people living in different regions but under one faith. But not everything about the things we’re used to is good for us. Perhaps we should rethink our practices and make changes in our traditions.
