At Home With MrsC

Raising a family, making a home.

Christmas Gift Ideas

I know it’s late, but here are a few Christmas gift ideas

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I have not done any Christmas shopping! As in wala. Okay, no, I just realized I bought presents for my family (mom, dad, siblings) at the Cuenca bazaar last weekend, but that’s it. No gift yet for MrC, no gift yet for the kiddo. December has been crazy! But it’s a happy kind of crazy that I’m grateful for, so that’s okay.

I now know how I can fix my schedule better next year, but alas that is another 12 months away. Guess I will just have to make the most out of these last 6 days before Christmas, and see what I can buy and make, super duper last minute.

If you guys are as delayed as I am this holiday season, you should check out these gift guides that we’ve put up on The Asian Parent Philippines. They’re helpful, I promise! Click on each photo and they will take you to the articles.

When in doubt, go for gift cards.
Ideas for everyone in the family, all below P500 – great for the budget conscious!
Gift ideas for babies and toddlers – for all your inaanak needs!
Something for the most important woman in your life.
Gift ideas for your mommy friends!
Gifts for foodies (Kalookies will be in Alabang this weekend, Dec 20-21 at TUFC!)
Something for the big kids.
Gifts for dad
Thoughtful gifts that don’t cost any money at all!

 

So, what are you giving as gifts this Christmas? Happy holidays, you guys! Don’t let traffic bring you down! 

Tanzan atbp

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I haven’t been bazaar-hopping much over the past couple of months because the traffic and parking situation just drives me crazy. I miss the days when the bazaars here in the village were more of a neighborhood thing, but then there really was no stopping the whole Alabang bazaar season from growing into the huge annual event that it is now. 

So anyway, let’s rewind back to the day when I saw Bend Accessories at Cuenca. Francine was sharing her stall with another crafty mommy from the south, Sheryl Fernandez. I ended up spending a few minutes on Sheryl’s side of the booth because I was so interested in her Tanzan atbp display.

Tanzan
Tanzan atbp at the Cuenca Bazaar

 

Sheryl makes accessories like key chains, bookmarks and magnets out of bottle caps. I love that she makes each and every one by hand, and that you can request for the designs to be personalized to your liking. So Pinteresting!

She made me one, and it’s been hanging on my purse ever since I got it. I don’t know if it’s the 90’s kid in me, but I like hanging key chains on my bag zippers. Lol. Do you guys do that, too?

There's my tanzan! It's next to a reusable coffee sleeve I got from CraftAvenue
There’s my tanzan! It’s next to a reusable coffee sleeve I got from CraftAvenue

 

Cute, right? These make really nice personalized Christmas gifts. They are affordable, too, at PHP80 to PHP200 per item.

As if the Tanzan accessories aren’t cute enough, Sheryl packages them in matchboxes covered in decorative paper. So all you need to to is add a ribbon and a gift tag, and you’re all set for Christmas. Scroll back up to the first photo, and you can see the boxes in the upper right. 

Thank you, Sheryl, for my bag bling! I really love it!

For orders and inquiries, you can contact Sheryl Fernandez of Tanzan atbp at 0977-1445573 or tanzanatbp@gmail.com. You can also find Tanzan atbp on Facebook and Instagram.

Bend Accessories

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Okay, technically I didn’t find Bend Accessories at a bazaar. The owner’s sister is a work at home mom and they sent me a couple of bracelets and a nice personalized keychain a few weeks ago. But I did finally meet Francine, the owner and creator of these wonderful accessories at the Cuenca Bazaar (sorry, don’t ask me which one it was, they are all just “Cuenca Bazaars” to me) one Sunday.

 

I was walking around, waiting for the little boy’s soccer game to end. I remember I was alone because that was the day after MrC’s out of town bachelor party extravaganza, and so we left him at home to catch some extra Z’s. I saw the familiar Multifunctional Accessory Kit on display, and of course I just had to introduce myself to the unsuspecting Francine.

 

She and I talked for a pretty long time. I was excited to find out that she’s from Muntinlupa, and she makes everything herself by hand. I’ve already promised my sisters-in-law that I will get them Multifunctional Accessory Kits also, and I want to get more colors for myself. I swear, they are so nice and colorful, and easy to wear and versatile. Super perfect for someone like me who rarely accessorizes! Promise, look at my photos and you’ll see that I hardly have any bling on. These, I really like, though. They are so nice that I got a lot of compliments on my arm candy when I (finally) wore it last week at The Urban Food Collective!

 

Everything that Francine sells is super inexpensive, too. The Multifunctional Kit is PHP300. Keychains go for PHP50 – PHP100 depending on the design or engraving. She can also add charms for an additional PHP20 each. The Stretch Bracelets are only PHP130 – PHP180 each. All so affordable, and perfect to give out as Christmas gifts. Comes in a nice box with ribbon, too. See?

2Bend
Christmas gift idea!

 

THANK YOU, Francine and Faith for sending me these kikay goodies. I super appreciate it, and I really, really love them! Will be sending you my orders soon! 🙂

If you want to order, you can contact Francine of Bend Accessories at 0926-6212046, or email bendaccessories@gmail.com. Like BendAccessories on Facebook, and follow them on Instagram @bend_accessories to see what’s new.