Ah, now that Christmas is well and truly over, all of us can look forward to Chinese New Year songs at shopping malls now. *squeals in excitement* (It’s figurative, men don’t squeal. Unless they are unwrapping their FIFA13 present).
In case I haven’t, hope you had a Merry Jolly Christmas and here’s to a happier new year.
Okay, now that we’ve got the icky, obligatory stuff out, let’s talk about Christmas itself. Although Christmas is Christian, I’m glad that the spirit of giving permeates all of us during this festive period (well, some of us who bothers to buy presents for their loved ones).
Now I know, half-empty glass holders are going to say: “Christmas is SO commercialised, it’s just businesses who want to boost sales and feed the fat cats, blah blah excuse for not getting your parents anything”. And to some extent I have to agree. Businesses do exist for a profit (and they feed you every month), so it’s understandable that they want to cash in on your love. On the other hand, almost everyone is susceptible to some form of commercialisation (yeah, you included). So if you say Christmas is commercialised, go live in a cave and live off plants and insects, you hippie.
Okay, even if we go by your commercialisation argument, there’re a TON of self-made gifts that can trump a certain blue box from the smart business people at Tiffany & Co. (LOL, what a good joke eh? Materialism 1, Bryan Xie 0)
Anyhooo, my purpose of this post is to spread the joy of giving. One important note: Giving is not expecting anything in return. When you give a present, your sole purpose should be to make that person’s life better and seeing him/her smile. Because you love that person. You should never expect anything.
<Self plug special>
So, this is what I got for my family members. 😀 😀
My Father
It’s not easy finding a present for this man when you’ve given almost every golf-related item known to man(even a trophy with his name on it) except a country club membership. Luckily, I saw a nice ZARA dress shirt for him, which I originally wanted to get for myself but I was thinking he needed some long sleeved shirts. The man is trying to epitomise the uncle style of wearing short sleeve shirts everyday. *shudders*
My Mother
It’s even tougher for my mom ‘cos she doesn’t need anything. She is so frugal. To her, she’s happy to see her three sons grow up to proper, honest men who can hold their weight in the world. She’s amazing, my mother. I know she likes Swarovski so I managed to find a beautiful Swarovski snowflake charm for her.
Over here, you can see the pro-ness of my photo taking.
Picture from Swarovski website:
Picture I took:
Last but not least, my two younger brothers
We went shopping the other day and I told myself that whatever they buy today would be their Christmas present. Qi Lin only bought a tee but Qi An bought 3 items from Topman and ZARA ($200+). No photos cos they wore them already. Haha.
I guess seeing their faces light up when they get something they like is something money cannot buy (lol, pun intended). Hopefully, you went out and made some important people in your life happier this year; if not, there’s always next year + birthday + Fathers’ Day + Mothers’ Day + Brothers’ Day + Valentine’s Day……..
Bryan: Xie 
