Hawker food at Maxwell Food Center, Singapore

How weird is it that I find wrapping presents more fun than opening them? There is a shop in the mall that provides wrapping service for a couple of dollars per gift. I would gladly do it all for free!

To me, the wrapping is just as important as the thing inside. Handmade, pretty wrapping shows you care! You could be giving your loved one a journal or a camera… or you could give them the Christmas experience.

When we were kids, my brothers and I would shake the boxes, try to peek under the seams of the wrapper, and admire our respective stacks under the tree. Now that we are grown up, Christmas has become less about the magic and more about things. When I wrap presents for my family and friends I hope to recapture for them that excitement and giddiness from before. And pretty presents are just more fun!

My gift-wrapping secrets:

I source all my beautiful wrapping paper from Hollander’s. Every time I step in that shop, I find myself coming up with random excuses to give gifts to everyone I know. There needs to be more gift-giving occasions in the year.

Tie gifts up with ribbon. Ask anyone to draw a gift – they always show a box with a bow on top. Ribbon is an essential part of gift-ness.

Write neatly on a card that matches the paper. When you’ve put this much effort into making it look pretty already, you might as well go all the way.

Insert a little Christmas-y ornament like bells or sprigs of holly to make it look extra special.

Next Christmas I’m going to try more advanced wrapping techniques. Pleats and Japanese-style!

Rockwell, Makati (Home Sweet Home)

The dessert buffet at Heat, Shangri-La Hotel.

From the installation plaque:

Presence 2007

The installation’s “platoon formation” is in reference to Fort Bonifacio’s history as a military facility transformed into what we now know as Bonifacio Global City….. The subtle sounds are intended to generate good vibes resonating through the park.

Push gently on the middle part of the pipes to activate the chimes.

I went nuts pushing them all in turn. But in a martial arts movie in my head I was able to move six of them at once!