Monito Monita - Exchange Gifts

Christmas is the season of gift giving. In keeping with the tradition of giving, Filipinos have their own version of exchanging gifts or Kris Kringle, it is called "Monito Monita". This is usually done among groups of friends, classmates or officemates.

The mechanics of exchanging vary, some can be as simple as asking the participants to bring a gift, on an agreed amount which are later on raffled off to the participants, on Christmas Party.

Others starts several weeks ahead of the gift-giving time which is usually the Christmas party. All participant's name are put in a box and each member will draw a name from the box and whoever you got will be your Monito/Monita and you have to buy a Christmas present for him/her. You cannot reveal your Monito/Monita's name- it will be a secret until the revelation day.

The mechanics is easy. You have to give your Monito/Monita a small gift every day or every week, the frequency depends on the rules the group have set upon. Sometimes the group choose a theme for that week like something soft, something sweet, something long and hard, something green or blue, it can be a lot of fun to see the different ideas people come up with and it get everyone in the holiday spirit.

The identity of the giver is only known at the Revelation Day when the final gift is given to participants' Monito or Monita, usually there is an agreed amount on how much the gift will cost.

In some cases, all the participants have to post their "wish list" about what gift they want to receive so it won't be hard for the giver to decide on what to give their Monito /Monita and you will receive a gift you have been expecting.

Don't ask to trade names with anyone. Maybe you don't know the person who's name you've drawn, or perhaps you're nervous to give the boss or your teacher a gift. No matter your reason, never ask anyone to trade names with you--it could get back to the person, and they may feel you have something against them. If your monito or monita is someone you you don't like, Christmas time is the time to forget your differences.