When I was still handling employee relations and engagement one of the programs and budget requests that I would allocate and get approval for is the Christmas Baskets with Ham to be given a week or two before Christmas.
I remember when I had to first explain to my Australian boss the significance of the Christmas basket and Ham in the workforce as she said they never had that custom in her country in giving it to their employees yet she understood the importance and would be very supportive of the idea.
While we have seen an increase of people wanting gift cards majority of the workforce still likes getting Christmas Baskets.
The contents can vary depending on the budget allocated but I would usually preorder as early as September taking into consideration the estimated headcount we will have by end of the year. Typically you start having resignations during the early part of the 1st quarter when most people have received most of the bonuses, tax refunds, and leave conversions so your December numbers are mostly stable.
Your basket would most likely contain some sort of pasta noodle, spaghetti sauce, cheese, and then for dessert a can of fruit cocktail, condensed milk and all-purpose cream. This would be around PHP 500 to PHP 1000 ($ 10 - $20 USD) and a separate item of ham which could be PHP 280 to PHP 600 ($5 - $8 USD)
By ordering early you tend to get discounts, freebies, and even some sponsorship on minor prizes for raffles so it's a win-win for me.
While those who are more well-off may find it funny but for your average worker taking home a Christmas basket brings such happiness as they could have a simple holiday dinner together.
Christmas for a predominantly Roman Catholic country like us is the biggest fiesta for Filipinos. We have a culture that fiestas are filled with food, sweets, and drink and so the addition of ingredients from a Christmas basket goes a long way, especially in these tight times.
Cities and municipalities have adopted the practice in recent years and would often give out Holiday baskets for their senior citizens and indigent people. Again simple happiness in a simple holiday dinner together.
Due to the pandemic for the last two years, a lot of companies had to forgo this tradition because the priority was to be able to at least provide the 13th-month pay of most employees and it is definitely a privilege and not a guaranteed benefit.
I was happy to see most people posting what their company or city provided as they bragged about the contents. Some were simple, while some will make you sigh with envy as it would contain gourmet items and even wine.
There is a Filipino term that you will see echo when someone shows something good and that is "Sanaol" which has two words joined together, the first one being "Sana" which can mean Hope, wish, or May and the second word is a Filipino styled word of All and thus spelled out as OL. This word roughly translates into " may/wish all have the same"
It is good to see that some things are returning. The logistics though has changed as before you could just have it delivered to the office and given out to the employees per department. It is actually one of my favorite things to see people smile when they get their baskets.
Now we work with delivery and logistics service providers in order to do the deliveries. For those really far away we ended up providing gift cards and I could see the disappointment in their faces but they know how things are.
While some companies have worked with major grocery chains and as long as there was a branch near them they could get their Christmas basket and ham.
So as with any gift, the purpose of the basket is to provide a means to show we care and that we want them to have a piece of happiness together with their family.