Are you looking forward to Monito Monita this coming Christmas season? Count us in this 2020!
This gift giving with a twist has become a yearly tradition for many Filipinos, Christmas parties are livelier and memorable. Imagine the fun as you learn who it is who’s been giving you special mini gifts falling under a ‘something’ theme.
If you’re lucky, your crush may be your gift-partner. Now, that’ll be a treat!
Gifting with a twist!
Why do we say that Monito Monita is gifting with a twist?
First, you will not only get one present, but two, three, four, multiple gifts! There are daily or weekly gifts and then there is the main gift.
Second, you and your classmates, office mates, team mates, friends, family can have a code name to go by. Double up the mystery! Who is my monito(a)? Who is The Professor?
*Instead of using your real name, your group can use names of celebrities, super heroes, prominent figures, even fruits, or yes, city names. Whatever holds your fancy, you can use as ‘code name’.
Code Names and Themes
We have here examples of popular themes – code names for this holiday season:
- Celebrities – Actors, Singers, Athletes, etc
- Avengers characters
- Country name, City name
- Cartoon or Anime characters
- Famous movie or tv show characters – hello, Money Heist!
There are lots of potential themes or code names out there. Be creative! But if you don’t want the extra layer of mystery, your group can always use your real name.
Third reason why there is a twist is that your group or team can have a wishlist – a list of items the gift-recipients hope to have.
Your group can post a “WISH LIST” and your monito or monita partner can check it to get an idea of what it is you desire to have for the final Christmas gift. But again this is just a ‘wish’ so don’t expect too much that you’ll get what you want, just pray that whatever it is the giver will give you will be well-thought of and comes from the heart.
Aside from the first three, there is a fourth reason why we at Paskong Pinoy says that this is gift-giving with a twist, and it’s that there is a prescribed song for this. During the BIG REVEAL, everyone is enjoin to sing the Monito Monita Song!
Monito Monita Song
Here’s the complete lyrics of this famous Christmas party song when everyone is now ready to “meet” the receiver of their gifts and the person who will give them a gift. At the top of your voice, sing this!
I love my Monito (Monita)
Yes, I do!
I love my Monito (Monita)
Yes, I do!
I love my Monito (Monita)
But I won’t tell who (you)!
SOMETHING IDEAS FOR YOUR MONITO MONITA
Here comes the fun part, deciding on the “something, something” ideas that you all will follow. There are lots of ideas out there, if you want our Paskong Pinoy take, here’s our theme suggestions for your monito monita this 2020, for 2021, and even beyond.
Let’s start with the simple ideas:
Something colorful, something sweet, something round, something green, something fluffy, something cuddly, something long and hard, something sticky, something imported, something useful, something that can be found in the bathroom, something you carry in your bag, something dark, something made of paper, etc
Now, we have some unconventional ‘something ideas’ for this Christmas season’s monito monita, Yes!
- Something embarrassing to carry in the public example barbie doll for your macho manito, walis tingting for your helpful partner, t-back panty for your serious manita, etc. 🙂
- Something huge, big, bulky example a 6 liters gallon of water (heyyy, empty it haha), an ornamental plant in a nice pot, a monoblock chair, a huge teddy bear ( we bet your manita/o would be thrilled to carry it home hahah)
- Something incomplete example a sock with its pair missing, a t-shirt with one sleeve cut-off, a notebook with no cover, a watch without battery, a deflated basketball, etc.
- Something that grows, the most obvious example is giving a plant (cactus, succulent, ornamentals, seedlings), you could also give unblown balloons, or give a ‘book for dummies’ so the mind will grow, or a bag of uncooked popcorn, or a puppy!
- Something for sexy time, now definitely this idea isn’t for school children, this is best for close friends. Gift examples under this theme are lingeries, sensual massage oil, a gift voucher for spa or waxing, a cookbook with aphrodisiac recipes, etc.
- Something confusing example a jigsaw puzzle, a Lego set, a Rubik’s cube, a newspaper or book written in a language your monito or monita is not familiar with, Gundam kits!
- Something retro, this gift idea is best for those who are in their 30s, 40s, and above. Example of gifts falling under this theme are junk food and snacks that bring back childhood memories example: pewee, chippy, chiz it, nips, marie biscuit. It could also be toys or games like transformers figures, teks, marbles, POGS, jackstones, pick-a-stick, kaleidoscope. It could also be CDs of classic movies or old albums by popular artists, or old stuff like classic comics, song hits, casette tapes, vinyl records.
HOW TO PLAY MONITO MONITA
Okay guys, here’s the play instructions for monito monita, first your group has to decide on each of the following points:
- Decide if you will have code names or will go by your real names.
- Decide when the periodic gift giving will start. Have a specific start date.
- Decide how often you will give gifts. Everyday? Once a week? Every Monday? Twice a week? What day of the week?
- Decide whether or not the periodic gifts will have a minimum value or if it is ‘anything goes’.
- Decide what themes you will follow this year. Check our ideas and recommendations above to spice up your Christmas parties.
- Decide if there will be a punishment and what it is, if someone did not follow the agreed periodic gift giving theme.
- Decide whether there are prohibited items for the final gift. Example: No photo album, no mugs, no picture frame.
- Decide how much will be the minimum value for the Final gift? Minimum of P100, P200, P300, P500?
- Decide if the final gift will still follow a ‘something’ theme or if it is anything goes.
Once all those points are decided and agreed upon, you may proceed to the next steps:
Jot down all your names or code names in slips of paper and put the papers in a single container right after.
Then have each one of you draw from the box. If it so happen that someone picks their own name, there are two options – (1) reset the drawing or (2) let that one put back his/her name if there are still lots of names left undrawn.
Once you have your monito or monita partner, DO NOT DIVULGE WHO IT IS. This is very important. Keep the secret. Do not even tell your best friend. Not knowing who got who is what makes this gift giving special.
Give gifts as it comes due, follow the assigned “something idea” for the day or week. Some are more excited about the small gifts leading up to the Christmas party more than the main gift itself.
On the day of the Christmas party, gather everyone near the Christmas tree for the Big Reveal. Start singing the Monito Monita Song, then the first giver steps forward and reveal the name of her / his monito or monita and give the gift. Then this first recipient will reveal who her / his manita / manito is and so on and so forth, until everyone’s gift is given and received.
**Another twist that you can apply this Christmas 2020 is make it a monito monita charade game. Let everyone guess first who your partner is by doing a charade that describes her/him. We’ve tried this last Christmas and it was so fun, we were laughing so hard hahah.
Whether you will have Monito Monita this year or will just follow a simple exchanging gift or kris kringle for your Christmas party, it’s okay. The important thing is all of you will enjoy the company and camaraderie of classmates, colleagues, friends, and family especially this Christmas season.
For our loyal Paskong Pinoy readers based abroad, do you also have Monito Monita in your schools and offices in the country where you are at? Do share!
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