Planning ahead

Christmas may be the merriest season but it is also the deadliest.

According to data from the Department of Health shared to us by Pfizer medical director Dr. Tony Leachon, strokes, heart attacks, and accidents are the first, second and fourth leading causes of deaths in the Philippines, with December and January registering the highest number of deaths due to sea disasters, fire accidents due to firecrackers and overloaded electrical units with Christmas lights, lack of safety measures in roads and seaports, and strokes.

Deaths due to sea disasters may be explained by probability. There are more ships and boats plying the seas as people go home to the provinces. Fire accidents is self-explanatory. Until the government starts clamping down on firecracker factories and stores that do not bear the quality seal, then these accidents are bound to happen year after year. LED Christmas lights are said to be safer but they are really expensive. Road accidents - blame it on the booze and improperly placed MMDA road blocks.

Strokes, according to Dr. Leachon, are due to overindulgence, stress, and understaffed hospitals. This phenomenon is called Merry Christmas coronary, Happy New Year heart attack. More people suffer heart attacks and strokes on Christmas time. Worse, sufferers are more likely to die than at any other time of the year. The cold weather, he explains, constricts the blood vessels, burdening the heart. The holiday stress further wears people down. People tend to eat fatty food, drink more alcohol, and miss doctor’s appointments, skip medications, and put off diet and exercise.

I find this holiday season less stressful, though. While not on purpose, I managed to buy all sorts of stuff throughout the year, without any particular person in mind as beneficiary. I also have to thank eBay. Without having to leave the house, I can buy items that are delivered straight to me. By accumulating gifts, I also managed to distribute the cost over one year. It is not really the shopping that is stressful, it is thinking of ways of coming up with the money that is more burdensome.

The moral lesson of the story is - start early. Items are cheaper during off-peak months. One doesn’t have to wait for Christmas bazaars to find cheap but useful items. On January 2, start listing down your 2010 Christmas beneficiaries. If you charge the items to your credit cards beginning next month, by December of next year, you would have paid them in full.   

Another benefit to buying early is that you have more time to personalize your gifts. When you cram, you tend to buy stuff for the sake of buying them without thinking whether or not your intended beneficiary will be able to appreciate the gift. Just take a look at the gifts you received this Christmas. By just looking at them, you will be able to know if the one who gave it to you cared about your reaction to the gift. True, it’s the thought that counts. But wouldn’t it be nicer if you know that some effort was exerted to be able to give you a gift that you can appreciate. Like how many wines did I get this Christmas? For P200, they could have given a more personalized item - like a book that is on sale, or a pillow or golf balls with my name on it, or personalized stationery. Again, planning is everything.

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