We are going on a family holiday to the philippines again this August and as our flight is getting nearer I have start packing and I have accumulated so much shopping I have collected in preparation for our holiday.
Everytime we go for a holiday to the philippines, I always buy new things for everyone, it's become a habit but I always do it early if I know we're going. I shop around from the sales and buy clothes and other things as gifts and toiletries etc. I buy for my kids, my husband and of course for myself 🙂
Here is what I have packed so far, and this is not final yet as I still have a few items bought online which haven't arrived yet and I need more shopping trips to buy chocolates for family and friends in the philippines.
I must admit, I'm a bit of a shopaholic and I have so many clothes that I don't know what to bring anymore lol, I feel like I wanted to bring my whole closet but I can't. I bought so much new stuff from the sales but I still have loads of new clothes to pack. I will probably just pack loads and giveaway some of them as a pasalubong (gift).
Since it's my husband's birthday while we are away, I have bought him loads of new summery clothes to wear in the philippines. It's an early birthday present, but shhh I got them mostly from the sales 😉 and yes they are mostly from H&M.
For my daughter
My teenage daughter has her own fashion taste and style, according to her she doesn't really want most of the clothes I buy for her (teenagers, who'd have em!?), so I let her have a browse online and treat her a shopping spree for stuff she wants to use on our holiday. We will probably put the kids stuff in hand carry luggage as we need a lot of space for pasalubong, which I will tell you about in a bit.
Every time I see a clothes sale I can't resist buying for my boys. I even bought them the same t shirt each so they will look like a twins lol I just like them matching, even if there is a few years between them.
Hubby's shopping spree
Hubby went shopping as well and bought even more so that's another thing to add to our luggage.
What is filipino pasalubong?
Pasalubong is a popular Filipino tradition of bringing home something from your travels for your loved ones back at home. It can be a simple souvenir you got from the places that you went to or food that you have tried and want to bring home with you.
Pasalubong can also be a gift given to you by someone who just came from other place in the Philippines or abroad.
Often, pasalubong is associated with people traveling abroad and are coming back home, who we call balikbayan. So people returning from out of the country, like us, are almost always carrying a lot of gifts from the country that they have been to that they will be giving to those who they left here in the Philippines. However, pasalubong can also be taken the other way around. It can be something you give to other people abroad that came from the Philippines when you travel out of the country.
So far, I have pack this but I have more so they will take the space on our 2 main luggage. All of this will go to our family and friends in the philippines as our pasalubong. It's very expensive to go home for a holiday in the philippines but it feels awkward to go empty handed without giving any presents to them since it has become a tradition for us Filipinos to share blessings and be generous with anything we can give.