Hello Christmas Season!

Our Dream Parol, finally ready to be hung on our terrace

Christmas is my favorite holiday. Not because it's shopping or party season, but mostly because people seem to be happier when December rolls in.

Might be the cool breeze, or the 50-70% off sales in malls, or simply the idea of fun things to come - but really, people seem to have an aura of positivity in December.

And I am a sucker for positive energy.

I love being with people who are genuine, laugh a lot, and simply enjoys life. Bawal ang nega sa buhay ko. So bawal din ang nega na tao siyempre. :)

Christmas is a lot about smiles for me, and they don't always have to be mine. Natutuwa ako pag nakikita kong masaya yung mga nareregaluhan ko, lalo na yung mga bata. You can give them anything wrapped, and they'd give each present that same priceless gleeful expression like you gave them the best thing on Earth. Such a pleasure to see that. Last weekend, December 1st, hubby and I set out early, as in kakabukas-lang-ng-mall kind of early, to do our Christmas shopping. We started at 10am, and paid for our purchases at the counter by 12pm. We bought gifts for about a dozen inaanaks. Granted kulang pa din, we still have about 4-5 people on our list to buy gifts for. Pero it was our fastest Christmas shopping spree ever!

What did we do?



1. Set a similar budget for each inaanak. I thought it was just fair. And natuwa din ang budget din naman sa idea kong iyon.

2. We went to a wallet-friendly mall - The Landmark Makati. I love Landmark - so many affordable finds na gift-worthy pa din naman. That used to be SM, ganun sila dati eh, but well, they 'upgraded' their wares, and along with that, their prices.

3. Divide and conquer ang strategy. Hubby and I divided the recipients list among the two of us.

4. We didn't bring our daughter along. It makes me feel guilty not to have my little girl with me, but the Christmas shopping spree project required our concentration para matapos agad. And we didn't want to squeeze her into the throngs of people who were out do their Christmas shopping too.  She gets 'inip' easily too, so I'm sure she'd be antsy by the end of the first hour.

5. We had a handy list of our inaanaks. Ang hirap kaya isipin kung sino-sino ba sila lahat pag shopping time na. So easy to just tick off those whom we got presents for already. :)


But more than the gifts, I am excited to be spending the holiday season again with my family. My daughter is already 4, and is really thrilled with the idea of spending a fun Christmas with people she loves.I hope I can come up with a meaningful celebration this year. :)