Anatomy of a Balikbayan Box Asian Journal, News Feature, Cynthia De Castro, Dec 24, Email or Phone Password Forgotten account? Anatomy of a Balikbayan Box. With millions of Filipinos working abroad around the world, sending balikbayan boxes -- care packages -- to loved ones back home has become a tradition, as is going to the midnight mass on Christmas Eve in the Philippines. The demand for balikbayan boxes-- returnee's to one's homeland box -- is in full swing throughout the countries where millions of Filipinos have immigrated or are working. For Filipinos in the U. Those who have children, parents, or siblings in the Philippines send boxes regularly, either on a monthly or quarterly basis. But, at Christmas time, many FilAms double their usual padala "to send" in Tagalogadding special gifts and holiday treats to the usual staple items. One Filipina nurse, Nany, padala sends boxes to her parents and siblings in Quezon City at least every 2 months, said she's always on the look-out for special sale items when she goes shopping. Whether it's just in the regular supermarket nearby, in Costco or in the outlet stores in Camarillo or Ontario, I enjoy hunting for clothes, shoes, bags or food items that are on sale. I then keep them in the box until it's full. Once I send it home, I have a new box to fill up. What are the most popular items that get sent back home to excited family members? What are the most requested items? The top 15 items that Pinoys usually send back home are: Spam Hereford Corned Beef Centrum Multi-vitamins Chocolates top on everyone' list: Other items that didn't make it to the top 15 items but are still in a lot of balikbayan boxes are colognes, pants, sandals, flip-flops, shoes, bags, wallets, and magazines. Favorite shopping places for balikbayan box items are Wal-Mart, Target, 99 Cents, Ross and Costco. For the holiday seasons, there is often an additional box to complement the regular items. That's what really counts. And for Filipinos abroad, they can't seem to send too much of those back home. Cynthia De Castro is a writer for Asian Journal. The door-to-door dilemma One of the things a typical Filipino in Hong Kong does is to pack items and send them to cities or provinces in the Philippines. These items can be of a wide variety, from bathroom soaps to baby diapers and from toothpaste from Mannings or dispensaries to stainless forks and spoons from IKEA or Japan Home. Balikbayan box is the term used for boxes that contain imported items from abroad. Balikbayan is a term for Filipinos who go out of the Philippines and decide to come back in the future. In Central, and in any place frequented by Filipinas, Sundays are meant to be busy packing days for some Filipina domestic helpers box busy gathering their groceries and stuffing them into the big box. Stripe bags are often used as convenient containers of items whose fate are sealed and are bound for the Philippines in a few days time. I used to be doing such practice. When my Filipino colleagues decided to go home for good inI decided to stay and instead pack some items to the Philippines for good. Alas, the jumbo box still have space to spare. I don't want to seal it and let it fly without filling it up. So I had to head to Japan Home and buy assorted stuff: Then I decide to add some stuff from ParkNShop such as luncheon meat or toothpaste sold in double boxes. The purpose of filling up of the box overwhelms the necessity of such items. I forex sure they will appreciate but I didn't have to buy them in Hong Kong if they can be purchased easily at the corner of our neighborhood store. But in some areas, the situation may be different. The sight of the jeepney carrying loads of boxes making a stop at a house is an auspicious sign. Neighbors gather around and see if there is anything inside the box that will end up in their hands. Chocolates for children, old clothing for the elders, things that easily make them smile. It is also common to ask for a favor to pack something for a neighbor's family if two close friends are living as neighbors back in the Philippines. So the box becomes a sophisticated postman, capable of carrying huge amount of goodies guaranteed to generate excitement and smiles. And sometimes frustrations too if the shoes don't fit or fragile cargoes break. But is it worth doing it? Time You have to pickup the box from the shop located at strategic locations in Central, Tsuen Wan, Box Long, Tuen Mun, Ma On Shan, Shatin or Kowloon City. Although they also deliver boxes right at your doorsteps at your request, sometimes delivery takes time or at unpredictable times of the day. Coming to these places to pick up the box takes time. A typical domestic helper in Hong Kong has eight to ten hours a week to spare to do all sorts of things such as make a call to loved ones, pay the bills, go to church, make some money remittance, meet a friend or sometimes queue for an OEC to me it's another form of Philippine government scam. So if someone lives in the hinterlands where delivery boxes can't penetrate, considerable amount of time should forex devoted just to pick up the box. When the box is there, you spend time thinking what to put in, deciding what to put in, buying them, wrapping them and bring the box to the warehouse. Most of the time the last step is bypassed forex a van is appointed to pickup the box. However, smaller packages such as the Bulilit Boxes still heavy enough to be carried by someone tend to be exempted from this convenience. By the time the package is shipped, I bet around hours was spent on all the steps mentioned. Money Why buy something in Hong Kong that you can buy easily in the Philippines? One of my neighbors back in Davao City tells me it's different if it comes from abroad, no matter how similar these items may be. The packaging says it's made in Malaysia and not in Hong Kong, so what's the point? It's padala buying a book from Amazon and paying a few dollars more for delivery as opposed to buying it from Dymocks at Taikoo Place. Sometimes recipients don't even need them but are obliged to use them because they're afraid the sender might be disappointed if the gifts are unappreciated. Why not send money instead? The recipients know what they need more than we do. Of course it's not padala the time they need the money instead of the balikbayan box contents. Items that are not available box the Philippines are exemptions, but they're not that much. How can I ask for something I don't even know or haven't seen yet? Effort I don't need to mention that a considerable amount of effort is necessary to make the balikbayan box delivery work. As they say it's not the effort but the end product of it. However, there are many things you can do to achieve the end product without doing the conventional laborous effort. In the end, it all depends on OFWs. Balikbayan boxes are of great help to alleviate airline baggage load, pre-packed Christmas gifts and other reasons. However, it must be done with the thought of necessity, not just because someone did and coaxed you to doing so. It's an investment of love that must be thought of thoroughly. 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