Ang Pasalubong. Bow.

“Chocolates na naman!” I would hear my daughter say. It’s either a moaning over getting the same variety each time (Toblerone na naman!) or her way of sounding off that someone or something just came in from overseas.

I have often wondered how chocolates became the “darling” of pasalubongs (give aways) from Pinoys then coming from the States. Now that the he (or she) has reached all the four corners of the world, the chocolate has become an “institution” as far as pasalubongs are concerned. Bakit nga ba?

I spent a good 14 years in Saudi Arabia myself and found that chocolates are, indeed, the most convenient. It spares you from spending time thinking what to give and they can always be had at the last minute: the duty free will surely stock it. The only dilemma was whether it would be white or dark, pure or with nuts and fruits.

Looking back, I wonder how much cavities my “haste” would have created. Would it have been better to give those kids a treat at Jollibee instead of showering them Kit Kats? A kiddie meal and a toy will surely bring a grin more than a box of chocolates that you know you will have to share with the rest of your siblings. Perhaps.

"OO nga naman, bakit chocolates na lang lagi?"

Convenient maybe but personally I see them as “impulses” more than anything. A pasalubong intended to lend proof to the all too common excuse”basta may ma abot lang”. A hit even to the undeserving.

If the idea is it exudes a sense of being imported further making the giver the prestige of being called taga-abroad, well “imported” is something one can easily find in most supermarkets like SM and Landmark. This explains much my daughter’s “Chocolates na naman!”

Can we then have something different, something to retard those cavities caused by all those imported chocolate munching? Like those battery-operated cartoon character toothbrushes instead? They don’t have those here which is why my nephews cannot get over what they got from an aunt in Chicago many a Christmas ago. Well, even then it was too late for them because most have had the effect of too much chocolate before those great little toothbrushes came. But it did teach them that brushing could be fun. And I understand those things come in tandem with toothpastes. Great pasalubong, di ba?

Or flosses (to continue with the dental theme). I do not know why locally they cost an arm and a leg. The good thing about flosses, apart from coming in different flavors, is that they are no baggage hogs. A dozen can fit in a small portion of the balikbayan box. Galing, di ba?

For the coffee lover, there are those non-powder creamers that come in cute little plastic cups. A sister, who herself has unknowingly become a major shareholder of Starbucks in Santa Clara because of all the coffee drinking she had from there, has brought a box home last Christmas and we had really great coffee moments (she even bought a 12-cupper coffee maker just to make sure we really indulge). Because no matter how much they say how that popular powdered creamer makes coffee taste great, liquid creamers are still the bee’s knees (as what a Scotsman friend would say). I have been to a few parts of Europe and I never personally experienced being served coffee with powdered creamers. Even the coffee vending machine in the company cafeteria where I trained comes with liquid creamers. They simply mix and taste better.

There are other great pasalubongs beside chocolates and most of them common everyday things. Suggestions abound: soaps, shampoos, deodorants, towels, shower curtains, bed sheets, table clothes, bottled spices, nuts (oh yeah!), Tabasco sauce, magazines (mountain biking is a personal preference), razors, perfumes, socks, cooking wares, knives, anti-gas meds, Airborne effervescent tablets, Tylenol multi-symptom capsules, vitamins, and yes, toothpastes. Stuff like these and many others are sure hits because they do fit in one’s daily needs and importantly, no one will complain it was a size too short or too big. Most are easily incorporated in the balikabayan’s grocery lists and can be the most useful yet. The list goes on and I am sure anyone reading this will come up with something.

The wife hastens to add bags. Women!

The one thing that I personally look forward in a pasalubong is SPAM. This, as far as I am concerned, should be a pasalubong staple. The drawback, however, is the weight. Well, there’s also the salt and all the bad cholesterol you can imagine that comes with this simply marvelous processed meat.

But if the balikbayan feels the outlet is still the way to go for presents, then at least insist on exact measurements. Otherwise, that great looking pair of rubber shoes might end up with your nephew’s best friend. Many times I have been asked for my size, many times I even sent a drawing of my foot and yet I still get a size too big. It makes me wonder if outlets are only for those having a size 10 foot and larger.

The best bet in pasalubongs is still to ask what the intended recipient wants. A wise mother of two grown-ups, a good friend of ours who hails from London asks her sons what they want and ever since it was not a hit and miss affair with her. It’s always one big happy family every time she’s home for a visit.

Too often we give something that is never expected and seeing dismay on the face of one we hope to please, end up giving chocolates as appeasement.

Chocolate na naman!