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Drive By Santa! A Filipino Christmas Story

πŸ“… 2024-12-24⏱ 19:46
πŸ“… 2024-12-24 Β |Β  ⏱️ 19:46 Β |Β  πŸ‘οΈ 47.8K views Β |Β  πŸ‘ 6.3K likes Β |Β  πŸ’¬ 1.8K comments

Pea and her team load up a vehicle with 70 food packs and 140 toys and drive through provincial streets and mountain villages doing surprise Christmas giveaways to families who have nothing. The video is primarily a feel-good vlog showing the interactions, but it also reveals stark realities about poverty in the rural Philippines.

Preparation for the giveaway ​

  • Pea bought a wide variety of toys: dolls, cars, action figures, playsets β€” "everything a little kid would like"
  • For food, they assembled traditional Filipino Christmas feast ingredients: rice (about 200 lbs total, portioned into 5-lb bags), chicken, beef, corned beef (Pea notes it was her favorite growing up), canned goods, noodles, and coffee
  • Each food pack could feed a family of about six for a day
  • Pea enlisted her brother Mark to help with the prep and packing
  • Total: 70 food packs for families and 140 toys for kids
  • The "sleigh" was a vehicle driven by Kuya Mario

The delivery strategy ​

  • They avoided busy town centers because they'd "get swarmed like piranhas"
  • Instead they targeted people walking alone who weren't carrying packages β€” reasoning that people already carrying bags of gifts and food are doing okay, while those with empty hands are the ones who need help most
  • They drove around ambushing people at random β€” "if they don't have a smile on their faces, we're going to give them one"

Notable encounters in town ​

  • One woman (addressed as "Nay") received food and was genuinely surprised
  • A group of kids received toys at a roadside stop
  • At a gas station, they gave food packs to several women β€” one exclaimed "thank you Lord"
  • One mother had four boys (ages 3, 4, 5, and 9) β€” they gave food and toys to the whole family on their motorbike
  • Lucy (Pea's assistant, dressed in an elf costume) admits she never imagined her job would involve wearing a costume and handing out goodies β€” but says this is her favorite part of the job
  • Pea catches Lucy trying to stash some rice for herself, chases her jokingly

Going into the mountains β€” where poverty is deepest ​

  • Pea deliberately drives "deep in the woods" because mountain residents rarely go to town and are mostly poverty-stricken
  • This is where the most striking moments happen

The children who have never had a toy ​

  • Multiple children, when asked "have you had any toys before?", answer "no" β€” not just no recent toys, but no toys ever in their lives
  • One smiley little girl had never had a toy before and chose a Barbie β€” her face lit up
  • Several girls received their first-ever Barbie dolls and were visibly overwhelmed
  • One girl wanted to be a doctor when she grows up; Pea gave her a toy doctor set
  • A 10-year-old boy confirmed he has no girlfriend ("Good," Pea says) and received a RoboCop figure
  • One toddler was more interested in grabbing Pea's microphone than any toys
  • A baby who "doesn't like me," as Pea jokes, eventually warmed up to a Power Rangers toy

Interactions with adults ​

  • A 73-year-old grandmother ("Nani") was asked her secret for looking so young β€” "Moringa leaves"
  • An 18-year-old girl's relationship status: "It's complicated." Her Christmas plans: celebrating her mother's birthday and the birthday of Jesus
  • One man received food and confirmed it would be his family's Christmas dinner β€” he was going to share with his whole family
  • A man in sunglasses told Pea "I love you" repeatedly (Pea thinks he was drunk) β€” he said he loves her and her country; Pea played along affectionately while protecting her microphone from him
  • One family's mother-in-law was in the hospital, leaving the kids without their usual caretaker

Pea's observation about Filipino emotional expression ​

  • She notes that "a lot of people say Filipinos don't really emote β€” we've got stoic faces"
  • Many recipients had stunned expressions rather than big visible reactions, which she attributes to either surprise, shyness, or cultural norms around emotional display

Final tally and what's next ​

  • All 70 food packs and 140 toys were given away completely

  • Pea teases that this was NOT the main Christmas special β€” something bigger is coming on Friday (which turned out to be the house build for Lucy)

  • The video closes with a rhyming narration set to "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" adapted for the occasion: "No stockings were hung, not even a tree / not much of a Christmas for you or for me / But outside the road such a cheerful clatter... / The children stared at as they looked right through her / to the big bag of presents provided by viewers / The kids were all filled with incredible joy / as they finally got their very first toy"


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