happy holidays!

There are so many things I'd like to talk about the holiday season but I don't know where to start. It's still not our ideal way of celebrating Christmas. Unlike most Catholics, we (at least in my in-laws' case) don't really put that much effort in Noche Buena. I miss having wonderful family dinners when I was a kid in my father's house. I grew up to that tradition and hopefully we'll be able to have that again, soon.

My in-laws place is still in the process of fixing things so we didn't have the space for a tree but we don't want Offspring to miss something traditional such as a Christmas. DK suggested that we buy her a small tree and we found a battery operated miniature Christmas tree that's perfect for Offspring.

look at how small the tree is

The photo above cracks me up. Two of those gifts (the biggest and medium sized) are for Offspring. We're trying not to spoil her with toys that why we only limit it into two gifts, one from each of us. The other gifts are for our inaanak.

in the spirit of christmas

Christmas shopping for us came in late this year. It took us quite a while and a lot of stress. For one, there are still a lot of people in the mall shopping just like us even on a weekday. And those who didn't go there to shop simply loitered and hang around just to cool off. It's awfully warm these days for a Christmas season. We didn't get to finish off our shopping list. We're only done with DK's siblings. We still have to buy stuff for half of his family and then my side. At least in my side, I know what to buy them. I actually ask them on the sly so I know what they really want to receive. But it' so hard to buy stuff for someone who you don't know personally. Honestly, I am thinking of buying them some thing edible, like pastries and wine.

baby bruha

I love statement shirts, especially cute and affordable ones. There are a lot of cute shirts out there but not as affordable as the new store we discovered during one of our trips to Market! Market!. Offspring's is wearing a size 3 shirt from LalaughKa and only cost P250. They have lots of cute shirts both for adults and kids but we wanted to try the quality of the shirts first before ordering for more. And they didn't disappoint that's why we're planning on buying more on our next trip to the mall.

Another thing I love in their collection is the availability of statement shirts for the whole family. I have my eye on the Mommy Bruha shirt for myself and Tita Sexy loves me shirt for my niece (hehehe!) There are also shirts for Tito Macho and Love shirts for the grandparents. If you're on a budget and have lots of pamangkins in the family I think the Tito/Tita shirts are great Christmas gifts.

Tis the season to be jolly, fa, la, la, la....

Filipinos are known to have the longest celebration of the Christmas season. There was a time in my life that I hated it but the past years had been good to me and renewed my love for this joyful season. But no matter how much I'm loving December, there's still something missing in our happy bubble. Christmas is all about family. Sadly, Sister #1 and her family migrated to Canada a few years ago and I miss them so much. Brother  #1 and family lives in Singapore, not sure if they'll be spending the holidays here in Manila, hopefully they will. No news yet as to how my other two siblings will celebrate their Christmas but as for us three, a visit to my hometown is as concrete as it could get. I miss the City of Manila. No matter how crowded downtown Manila is especially around this time I still love how alive the people are. The street decorations, the church mass and the food. How could I forget the food. I live near the store that's selling the best bibingka in the Metro plus it's available all year round.

Ayala Triangle, Makati City

Apart from Manila, Makati is my next favorite city. This city used to be my secondary home while I was busy being a corporate slave. Now that I temporarily quit working, I terribly miss the fast-paced life in this city.Not to mention that the Central Business District have the best Christmas decorations in their streets and buildings. The photo above was taken in Ayala Triangle during the lights and sound exhibition called Christmas at the Gardens. It's on repeat every 30 minutes from 6 pm - 8 pm daily. Offspring was initially scared of the show but she enjoyed it the second time around. The park is kid, pet and jogger friendly so don't be surprised to find all three in the park. But it's a happy and safe crowd so you'll get to enjoy your stay and there are security guards everywhere.

Toddler Talk

The Wanderer: Let's change your diaper.
The Offspring: No way!

She's 22 months.