Is It Worth It?

This is the question I always ask myself when plans to send a balikbayan box is up in the air again. Sending a balikbayan box is such a big chore -- I believe sending money is a faster, cheaper, easier alternative. But we had to send one lately. Here's our story.

Why?
Hubby's cousin had been hinting for a new PC. How can you refuse when he adds in his e-mail "Your nephew is number 1 in his class. It can really help him in school and would really appreciate if he has new PC". Talk about emotional blackmail. Anyway, as we have an extra PC at home we have outgrown -- we decided to send it to them. But, 1 PC is not enough to fill the whole 21 x 21 x 24 box. You have to add some stuff.

Fill her up
When you are filling up a balikbayan box, you've got to be alert on what's on sale. That is the only way to go. We filled our box with cookies for the oldies, clothes for everyone (properly tagged -- to avoid arguments), books, toys, more clothes, make-up, lotions, soaps, anything we had on hand - and a few purchases here and there. In the balikbayan box process this is the most $$$ and time consuming. Tiring too.

The Send Off
With our box finally ready, we scheduled a trip to the Filipino store. As hubby and I were about to carry our big, heavy box to the store -- I decided to check store first. True enough, the store was closed. It was either bring the box back home or more quick thinking. We called 2 other Filipino stores, one no longer have the service, while the other store charges more. More quick thinking required. Using one of our lifelines -- we called a friend. Friend was able to refer us to a carrier. Waiting for pick-up was out of the question, thus we offered to deliver the box. Good thing the receiving area was just about 25 minutes away from our place. Everything turned out well, despite the snow and very, very cold weather. We even had a mini sight seeing along the way.

So, is it worth it? Yes, it still is. All for the loved ones back home.