Because it’s been our tradition to celebrate Christmas with the entire family, all four of us (Justin, his Dad, me and his yaya) trooped to my parents’ place in Dasmariñas, Cavite last December 24.

We actually did not have a Noche Buena because we really intended to have our Christmas family get-together on Christmas Day itself. That’s because we still had to wait for my father’s older sister (Auntie Mameng) who has celebrated Christmas with us for several years now. She’s our original Santa Claus.

It’s from her that I inherited the habit of giving gifts to family and friends on Christmas Day, no matter if I’m not able to buy anything for myself anymore. LOL! Christmas is giving, right? So I give ‘til it hurts! Ouch! But I’m happy to share my blessings with the people I love; that happiness is my Christmas gift to myself.

First things first, we needed to eat. Here’s what we had for lunch on Christmas.


Yummy!
Of course, we had our photos taken beside our sumptuous Christmas feast.


Ed, Tetcha and Justin


Ate Cristy, her husband Kuya Jhun and their children Tin-Tin (oldest), Hazel and Ron; Ate Ayie is missing in action!


My younger brother Dennis, his wife Meg and their daughter Em-Em


My younger sister Meann


Auntie Mameng and family


All of us!
After eating, we proceeded to the living room for our traditional gift-giving and exchange gifts. We took more pictures of us before that, though.

The cousins


The couples and the single again


Gift-giving time!


Time to open the gifts


So happy with what I received! Thanks, Tin!


Justin playing with his new toy


Exchange gifts!
Then, it was singing time!










Isn’t it obvious that everybody wanted to sing? My son hogged the limelight, too. Never mind if he sang the same two songs over and over again. LOL! We all wished there were more karaoke machines to accommodate everyone.

As you can see from the pictures, we all had great fun on our Christmas family reunion. We’re all looking forward to a grander Christmas celebration next year!

My four-year-old son got to experience being Santa Claus for a day to the kids in my parents’ neighborhood. Since we cannot consume all of the sweet treats that we received as Christmas gifts from friends, we decided to have them distributed to these children instead. My parents added more goodies inside the small plastic bags that my son handed out to these kids.








Justin also helped his lolo (grandfather) in giving coins to the children carolers on the night of the 24th and to the other kids who knocked on my parents’ door on Christmas Day. Hopefully, playing Santa Claus last Christmas had instilled in my son the value of giving and sharing.

Like most Filipino families, we, too, observe some Christmas family traditions every year. One of those traditions has something to do with food. Each year, we make sure we have Christmas ham served during Noche Buena. Yesterday, hubby brought home Purefoods Fiesta Ham that we simply had to try for our midnight snacks last night.


Noche Buena isn’t complete without Purefoods Fiesta Ham
Another family tradition during Christmas is giving gifts. Every Christmas, I make it a point to prepare gifts for each member of the family. Christmas is the time of the year that I can play Santa to others. This is actually a tradition that started when I began earning my own money and was inspired by a dear aunt who played Santa during Christmas to us when we were young and until now. A good portion of my 13th month pay is spent on buying Christmas presents for those people on my list.


Some of my Christmas gifts, the rest have already been transported to my parents’ place in Cavite last Sunday
And of course, Christmas is celebrating with those we love. In a few hours, we will be heading to my parents’ place in Dasmariñas, Cavite to spend Christmas with them. My son is already excited to see his grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, and most of all, the gifts he would receive from them. LOL!

Christmas is really the season to be jolly, so I’ll forget about work and car insurance rate today and tomorrow. Is that okay, Boss?

Have a Merry Christmas, everyone!

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I really meant to bring our camera to the mall to find the littlest, cutest Christmas tree for this week’s theme, but because I’m so busy, I didn’t have time to do that. I don’t really need to look far, however, to join Mommy Moments this week because we have a teeny-weeny, green and glittering Christmas tree right at home.


Our little Christmas tree has been standing tall and proud at the top of our kitchen cupboard since two Christmases ago, together with its little buddies, Santa and Frosty. Actually, those three are the only Christmas decorations we have in our house since 2008. That’s because our one-bedroom condo unit is too small to accommodate a bigger Christmas tree and other Christmas trimmings, so I didn’t bother decorating anymore.

Yesterday, my son asked me, “Mommy, where are our Christmas decorations?” I pointed him to these three tiny Christmas figures, and he said, “No, Mommy, the Christmas decorations on the wall. We don’t have those.” I just kept quiet because I don’t have plans of buying anymore, next Christmas, maybe. So that’s the story of our little Christmas tree.

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I had fun yesterday meeting up with friends at Greenbelt. We’ve been doing this for a few years now, and I definitely wouldn’t miss this for the world. We used to work in one company before, and we’ve known each other for more than 10 years already. Our agreed venue was Chili’s Bar and Grill at Greenbelt 5, but we decided to transfer to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at Greenbelt 3.












Gift-giving followed. Seeing my friends beats receiving birthstone jewelry for Christmas, although I wouldn’t mind getting that as a Christmas gift. LOL! I had the most number of gifts, I think, because three of my friends here are my son’s godmothers. After satisfying our palates and our tummies, we headed straight to Starbucks 6750 for more chitchat.












I’m so looking forward to seeing them all again next year. Advance Merry Christmas, BFFs!

Christmas time is family time, so we always make it a point to celebrate it with family. This is the time that Justin gets to see his cousins and pester them. LOL! Seriously, he enjoys being with them and playing with them because he always gets what he wants, him being the youngest. The following pictures were taken last Christmas in Laguna.


What we had for Christmas lunch


Getting ready for gift-giving; Justin with his cousins and Tita Meann

Justin was all smiles as he received one of his many Christmas gifts
We'll have a different venue this year for our Christmas celebration, and that's at my parents' place in Cavite. Justin is so excited already to see the entire family. For sure, our Christmas family reunion will be a riot.

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