RomantiCurious

The Christmas season is my favorite time of the year and when the “ber” months come around, I start looking out for any signs of the coming holiday. When I went to eat at the snack bar in the building’s lobby, I was quite happy to see such a sign.

The sign was small – a small, table decor in the colors of the holiday but it was enough to put an involuntary smile on my face. I know this might seem weird but I just really like the Christmas season. Yes, it’s commercialized so much but you can’t deny that the cheer and spirit of giving is still very much alive.

I always notice that people carry a more positive vibe throughout the day when the holiday season starts. They are less complaining about the traffic and more appreciative and respectful of the celebratory atmosphere overall. Plus, it is pretty fun and exciting to think up and hunt for gifts for the special people in your life.

Yes, it does affect our monthly budget in a major way, but there are ways to give with more effort and less monetary cost – you just need to be creative. I have had many holidays where I gifted service vouchers to my family and friends, instead of bought gifts. There’s a voucher for a free 30-minutes massage for my grandmother for example, and a free pass for a friend to accompany them watch a movie they want to watch with someone, even though that someone (namely me) is not particularly fond of said movie genre.

There are many more ways to give gifts without buying anything. Gifting your old but still usable clothes or bags, or re-gifting items you haven’t used or don’t use anymore but still in good condition. It’s also a chance to practice your creative thinking and use your creative skills. You can draw your own decorations or do your own lettering for messages. You can even be creative in how you wrap your gifts. The creative process is pretty fun when you are doing something for your loved ones.

Because of this sign, I was so happy that I decided to celebrate by cooking one of my favorite viands – curry. Of course, I am no chef so shortcuts are in order. I used a packaged Japanese curry roux and just chopped the veggies, sautéed them a bit and let the water and roux cook everything to deliciousness.

This is a vegetarian curry, no meat, just tofu. I ate it with white and brown rice that I cooked together so I could enjoy the fluffiness of white rice, and the added nutrition and fiber from brown rice. It was savory and filling – just the right mood to welcome the spirit of Christmas and soak in the celebratory mood, as it intensifies late into December.

In the meantime, I am already thinking of creative gifts to add to my decluttered items that I am gifting away, aside from the ones that I did buy. I like doing this because it’s something extra and personal that tells the receiver that I do care to make an effort to find them a gift, not just because I had it in my pile of decluttered stuff. I want them to feel that I still made the effort to choose the item. I want to let them know why I picked such an item to gift them, because I know they will be able to make good use of it and it matches their personality or lifestyle.

Of course, I am also looking forward to the holiday treats that restaurants and mom and pop eateries will surely be offering soon. Plus, there will surely be new cute items that creatives will be coming up just for the holidays. I love browsing through these bazaars too. Finally, I am always mesmerized by the city lights and decors that sprout everywhere at this time. Then, the traffic just becomes an excuse to look and appreciate the wonderland of holiday lights and decors even longer.