Tag Archives: Christmas

Celebrating Christmas

I am guilty of not writing a Christmas post. Been very busy with house chores.

I remember a song I’ve always loved as a child: “When Christmas time is over and presents are away, don’t be sad… Keep Christmas with you all through the year…”

People put so much emphasis on the gifting (yes, let’s admit we rather like being given new tech toys, that new bag, north face jackets and even beauty products) and celebrating Christmas without really understanding why this is being celebrated in the first place.

Did you indulge too much during this Christmas? How have you celebrated Christmas?

Scene from 2010 Christmas Day

Been looking through the many photos in my files before I put them in my online data storage and back-up hard drive. Hubby still has to do the copying of these photos to CDs.

One of the photos that captured my attention was this “stolen shot” photo of my hubby and our two younger kids in hubby’s family living room during Christmas. The camera was positioned behind a wine glass on display, hence the slightly blurred photo. I blurred their faces a bit too.

Christmas

I know, it is a lovely Christmas setting, isn’t it? 😉

The accent table in the middle has several decorative Christmas things on top of it. These have to be removed however when family members gather for lunches and/or dinner since the kids love to sit in the living room and eat there. Plates and glasses are placed on this table for the children while they eat sitting on big pillows on the floor. A special cocktail table holds the desserts in the dining room next to the dining table. This is where the children go to pick the sweets they like.

I would love to have accent tables like that in our living room but since I use the space there to do my hooping, I guess we would have to wait till I clear the room at the back of the house for that. As it is, the sofa set in our living room is pushed back against the walls while another table went that way too.

Would have loved to have a stylish living room but the children are ecstatic since they use the space to play with their toy cars.

*Stolen shot* means photo taken of persons without their consent or them knowing it.

Pinoy Christmas

What would constitute a Pinoy Christmas?

Below is a checklist of things Filipinos love to do during the festive season of Christmas:

  • Misa de Gallo and that includes puto bumbong, bibingka and tsokolate-e
  • putting up Christmas decorations and playing Christmas songs as soon as the -ber months come (and yes, these Christmas decors in the malls are displayed alongside candles for All Souls’ Day)
  • food! be it a big slab of ham or a small one, queso de bola, fruit salad, pasta or noodle dishes, special meat dishes, and even the “borrowed” roasted turkey, a Pinoy Christmas is equated with feast (and lots of medications for queasy stomachs after the binging)
  • shopping: whether one shops at the poshest specialty stores or haggle with salesgirls at the Divisoria, gift giving is a responsibility one takes to heart. And yes, no matter what happens and how little the budget is, people are none the wiser and say “It’s the thought that counts”
  • borrowed traditions: like the turkey, Pinoys are adept at borrowing traditions and acting like these have been their practice for years (insert rolls eyes emoticon here, LOL) : Santa Claus, jour après Noël, Christmas stockings, Christmas village with mini houses and even moving skaters on frozen pond (miniatures and not the real ones)

Ok, bring the snow and let’s all have a white Christmas then, at the mall of course 😀

After the Binging

The season of eating, shopping and excesses Christmas is here again!

After the holidays, people troop to the drug stores to buy over the counter medicine for LBM. They also buy diet pills that work because after all the happenings, they intend to lose weight for the new year. Wait, I think I’ve heard this before 😉

Of course being the practical slash saver slash kuripot *me is having another round of Frugal Christmas. It does me good, this frugal Christmas thing because it gives me a chance to learn how to bake goodies and my kids are happy too.

*kuripot = miser

Can’t Look at My Photos

Looking at the pics I have uploaded taken from last Friday’s post-Christmas celebration with mommy bloggers I can’t help but cringe when I see myself. I have grown immensely. Horizontally. Ugh!

I have been walking by this kiosk in the supermarket where I see boxes of nutritional supplements and weight loss capsules. I am very much tempted to get some adipex pills  for me.

I know I need to get back to my early morning rounds but my sprained ankle prevented me from picking up from where I left off. The holiday eating galore didn’t help either.

I seriously need to keep the weight off.

I feel sad going through this and I hope I won’t submit myself to opening that container with my bite size chocolate candy bars, 😀