The gifts of Christmases past

It’s two weeks to Christmas and it’s time to panic if you have not finished with your shopping yet. With so many malls and bazaars around, this should not be a problem. The problem is that there’s a plethora of choices.

No matter what the budget you have for gifts, there’s always hundreds of models of gadgets, styles of fashion, types of furniture, fragrances, and all of the other millions of gift ideas available on the shelves and even online today. You’ll get dizzy from all the options.

Life was simpler back in the 1950s and ‘60s when I was a kid. Back then there were no malls, just department stores that carried a limited selection of goods. Despite the lack of choice we were excited when Yuletide came around.

Many of these gift options were proudly Philippine made because of the import ban. We even made our own electronic appliances like radios and televisions. Cabinets for these were made of Philippine wood although some already sported plastic cases. These were put together manually and filled in with dials, batteries, radio tubes and transistors. Printed circuits and computer chips were far into the future.

Our radios and appliances in the ‘50s had futuristic designs, of course. They were also given local names like Alitaptap, Bulalakaw and Bayanihan. Maharlika Marketing was a popular maker of electrical and electronic appliances like turntables (which played records…you know, those black discs that played all of eight to 10 selections ages ago) and TVs.

I used to love looking at ads for those and other local offerings during Christmas season. Many of the ads were already in color, even though the TVs being offered only showed black-and-white images and the radios were only in AM (amplitude modulation) not stereo FM (frequency modulation).

Del Monte pineapple upside down cakes were a ’60s seasonal favorite.

A lot of the ads featured Filipino themes and symbols like simbang gabi and parols. Like today, these ads used local celebrities or models who looked more Caucasian than Filipino. Even scenes depicting Filipino families showed them in western-like settings of living rooms with Christmas trees and paintings of foreign scenes on the wall.

Ads during Christmas also featured food and drinks, from Fibisco cookies to Darigold milk and Coca-Cola. The Coke ads were always in full color and in prominent spots like the back covers. Also popular were Dole and Del Monte, pineapple upside-down cakes were quite popular then and pineapple juice was the default drink (although usually served much watered down and with copious amounts of sugar).

Christmas was also a time to think about getting a new car, which in those days could cost as little as P5,000 for a brand-new Volkswagen. The popular brands were American but these were expensive. The Italian Fiat and the little known Toyota were in demand by those in the middle and upper middle economic strata. Back in the ‘50s, another middle class option was the Mercedes Benz, which sold their 180Ds with the little known diesel engines.

Cameras were also a popular gift item. Kodak was the main brand available and film was the only way to go then. In the ‘70s, Kodak started a brand-new service, which was printing family pictures as Christmas cards. The service lasted until the ‘90s and today still is offered, but in digital format.

Pens were also a favorite season stocking filler. Parker was the best-known brand but Scripto, sold by the OESCO Company, was also quite popular until the more up-market brands like Mont Blanc came into the market.

There was no such thing as flatscreen TVs then and television sets were as big as furniture.

Christmas ornaments and lights were also regularly advertised as Filipinos loved to decorate their homes, gardens and offices with colored lights. Of course, there were no LEDs back in the ‘60s and the main offering was incandescent bulbs. Philips was a household name for light but we had our own brand called PEMCO.

Lights, pens, cameras, cars, biscuits, radios, kitchenware, sewing machines and toys were all popular Christmas gift choices then. Clothes were not so in demand as most people had their clothes made by their sastres and tailors. All of our clothing was bespoke.

This all speaks of how much our world has changed since then. Today you can find a billion things in our mega malls or order them via the Internet on our smart phones and electronic tablets.

Shopping choices are no problem today but back then, too, we did not have to contend with traffic and the crush of humanity on the streets and in stores. Back then we willingly and gratefully gave our policemen and other officials gifts, today government functionaries and offices force businesses and individuals for Christmas “donations” whether we like it or not.

Like it or not, Christmas is just around the corner…now if I could only win the next Lotto so I could buy everyone a gift.

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Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at HYPERLINK “mailto:Paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com” paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com.