# Christmas & Pamasko



## esv1226 (Mar 13, 2014)

How did you survive Christmas?

We don't have a car in the driveway. No one knocked to ask for presents. People thought we were away. Neighbors gave out food, candies, alcohol? etc but I think all preferred cash! Who expects gifts from us? 

The gates usually have 2 guys to monitor cars/people coming in and out. Christmas week there were 5 at a time. As we went out Christmas Day, I wanted to hand the 2 guys cash, but they pointed to the "boss" who was there. Do working guys get their share? I wonder. 

I was happy to hand out something to the garbage men, last week and this week. The postman received some cash earlier. I've given him pasalubong and always offer a cold drink when he comes. Today he delivered a letter, introduced his wife saying "mamasko". I was furious. (I didn't show it though) Would you feel the same way?


----------



## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

An interesting situation esv. Did you give her a gift? How did you handle the situation as this is something I've thought about but has never happened as we have only spent one Christmas in PH. and with the inlaws and family, saw the goings on but was never approached.
I am sure once we settle back permanently this could/will happen to us.

BTW I would be very annoyed at your postman for double dipping, a delicate situation though as he delivers your mail,,,,,,, or doesn't.
What was the outcome esv?

Cheers, Steve.


----------



## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

We don't face that problem, as on our gated community the Home Owners Association makes a list of all the money given as gifts to all of the security and maintenance team. They all had to sign that they had received their gift.
We did have a little street party couple of days before Xmas for 12 of the maintenance guys, mostly street cleaners, grass cutters etc. Simple food, few bottles of Red Horse they were very happy. My cigar collection did go down rather rapidly though.......


----------



## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

For sure they are looking for cash the Christmas gift of money its for the kids if you are a Godparent (Ninang), I and my wife stopped getting dragged into that situation by avoiding becoming Godfather/Godmother to anyone else but we already have so many kids and of course, all the In-law kids also are looking for the gift. I wanted to bring this subject up so glad ESV226 addressed it because at first, I'm thinking if everyone is handing money back and forth whats the use but I see very young couples with babies and toddlers benefit the most from this gift of money.

We don't have any way to hide we live among the general population and if we hide many will keep calling from the gate so a little embarrassing if we leave them hanging and one more thing for the neighbors to gossip over, but the wife did manage to save this year and we gave out 20 peso's we aren't rich, in those red envelopes. 

I didn't take it well when I first experienced this practice because I didn't' understand it and now feel a little embarrassed, my daughter, she's very poor we help her out all the time as best we can and this year our grandkids got money this way and I see they do benefit from it.

The other people that are on our list would be those that work or interact for us such as the bank guards, filtered water delivery man so we'd give a little more of a tip for Christmas/New Year, but if the water delivery man came by with his child then we'd give it again but he didn't do that to us, my wife mentioned today that she forgot to give to her elderly friend a 100 pesos, she came by to visit just days before Christmas it was one of those days she could walk around.


----------



## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Don't forget the beggar on the street corner.

He/she is in place to observe your house 24 hours a day. Best that she is looking for you not someone else.

Of course an Xmas gift does not guarantee that he is looking out for you but no gift will just about guarantee the opposite.


----------



## fmartin_gila (May 15, 2011)

Both pros & cons on this. The garbage/trash here is picked up Monday, Wednesday, &Saturday. Even though ours is always placed in a very prominent & visible area, we are sometimes missed and it has to wait for the next round. The garbageman hit on my Asawa last week and she chewed him out for missing us now & then and still expecting a bonus, she wouldn't give to him. Guess we will just have to see how it plays out. I realize that this is a poor country but it does kind of irk me that everybody here seems to expect (almost demand, as in tapping on the gate trying to get someone to answer them) to receive a bonus for doing a job they do receive a salary for doing. On the other side of it, I will always include a bonus added to the agreed upon price for a job well done when having some work done by any of the locals.

Fred


----------



## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

No idea about USA or Canada, but certainly in UK it's customary (at least it was when I lived there many years ago) to give a small cash gift to the milkman, postman, garbage men etc. at Xmas.


----------



## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

hogrider said:


> No idea about USA or Canada, but certainly in UK it's customary (at least it was when I lived there many years ago) to give a small cash gift to the milkman, postman, garbage men etc. at Xmas.


That was the good old days in the Uk. At one time the dustman would collect your bin from your back yard, now days you virtually have to load the bin on the back of the cart. And milkmen are nearly extinct, everyone buys from the supermarket where it's less than half the cost.


----------



## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

Gary D said:


> That was the good old days in the Uk. At one time the dustman would collect your bin from your back yard, now days you virtually have to load the bin on the back of the cart. And milkmen are nearly extinct, everyone buys from the supermarket where it's less than half the cost.


What a shame, progress isn't all it all its cracked up to be.


----------



## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Trash here is collected by the barangay and we do give to them in advance of Christmas their party each year. The same for the police (PNP) that are stationed in our town.
The groups of people trolling the streets singing (making horrible noise) Christmas caroling we ignore 100% of the time. Nothing but horrible noise and refuse to pay for it. We live in a Mt Pinatubo resettlement and as such there are as many kids as there are mosquitoes. We do give the many neighbor kids something each year and have fun but that's the extent of it.


----------



## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

hogrider said:


> No idea about USA or Canada, but certainly in UK it's customary (at least it was when I lived there many years ago) to give a small cash gift to the milkman, postman, garbage men etc. at Xmas.


It was also customary in Canada when I was growing up. We knew the mailman by name, he had gone to school and was in the army with my dad. He was wounded at Dunkirk (missing fingers on left hand) and post man was about all he could do. 

Same for the malkman, we got our milk in bottles delivered to a small portal at the back door. He would pick up the bottles and bring fresh milk for breakfast.

It wasn't always a cash gift. I remember helping my Grandmother wrap a bottle of whiskey for Dan the mailman one year lol.

However those days are gone, mail is in community mail boxes, no milk delivery available at all and the garbage is picked up by automatic collectors the garbage men seldom get out of the truck any more.


----------

