Every year, my wife and her girlfriends from her elementary and high school days at CSA would get-together before Christmas to have dinner. The married ones would bring their husbands, and the single ones would drag their current boyfriends. It had always been a fun event. Each year was different. One time, it was in one of her friend’s house. On another time, it was at a restaurant in High Street. This year though, since her friend F. and her husband M. recently bought a house on sale in Paranaque, a few houses away from the apartment that we’re renting, and since most of her friends currently reside in the South, they decided to have the Christmas dinner there.
The couple had their backyard “pimped,” complete with tables and chairs covered with white linens, scented citronella candles to drive away pesky insects, crystal glasses and silver cutlery, and a spot light to boot! Good thing it didn’t rain that night! Of course, we brought our current favorite cake from Conti’s, Frozen Mango Tart! There was also this wonderful salad made of fresh greens, mangoes, tomatoes, red and green peppers, and crunchy “croutons” made of steamed and then fried hito. My wife plans to recreate that on our Niche Buena. There was some steamed lapu-lapu that was equally pleasing, and since it’s very cold dining al fresco at night, there was my favorite sinigang na hipon! And while this wonderful spread doesn’t exactly “match,” such is the outcome of potluck dinners all drowned by a bottle, or two, of Asti!
There’s nothing like meeting up with old friends and talking about the recession to the mundane every day things. From the many get-togethers that we’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of, I think this is one of the best. I wish I had a remote control to rewind back to that night. Good food plus good company!
First photo taken by Kumareng Grace.
For three or four nights now, we’ve been missing a lot of sleep. We’ve been rushing with our Christmas shopping, hitting the stores on sale so we could somehow stretch that peso, and trying to go over the list to double check if we’ve missed someone, that we get home pretty late. And by late I mean around 10 PM. This wouldn’t be much of a big deal except that we have to get up at around 5 AM, and with the cold December weather, that makes getting out of bed one big struggle. And don’t even get me started on how we manage with the cold shower. Since we don’t have a water heater installed, those first few seconds under the shower would literally make you jump to your feet.
Breakfast is a big part of our life here at the office. It’s when we talked about the silliest and dumbest things, let loose, and satiate our grumbling stomachs. There is this small bakery near our apartment that makes one of the best pan de sals I’ve tasted. It’s best eaten while still hot from the oven. I usually have my wife tear me a piece so I can munch on it while driving off to work. (Of course, if we have bread toasters at the office, then reheating the pan de sals would have been excellent.) This pan de sal brings back fond childhood memories of when my mom would have me buy pan de sals and I would start eating on my way home. It looks the same, it tastes the same. The ultimate Pinoy food. And while I do enjoy my pan de sal with herb cream cheese, butter, jam, etc., for me, nothing beats dipping it in my coffee to get my morning fix.
You see, initially, we planned to give away sugar cookies to friends this Christmas. We have a LOT of small boxes that we weren’t able to use from wedding last February. And so to finally be rid of it, we thought of packaging the cookies in those boxes. My wife found a terrific sugar cookie recipe from Cookie Craft (a cookie recipe book), but she wasn’t too satisfied with the final result, so that plan folded up.
While it may seem easier to shop for gift items, what with the sale and bazaars all around, the truth is that it’s actually pretty challenging looking for items that particular person (particularly guys) will like. If I ever get to choose between generic gift items and food gifts (like sugar cookies), I’d most definitely choose the cookies. Of course, I wouldn’t mind receiving an LCD TV (I mean, who wouldn’t want that!), or a clock, or heaven forbid even a scented candle.
MarketMan is currently featuring cookie recipes from his very generous and talented sister. First off are the sugar cookies. The recipe can be found in MarketManila.com, and be sure to read the comments because you will learn a lot from there. Some people even provide cooking/baking tips! So if you’re still wondering what to give out this year, then consider cooking and or baking some goodies. Better check back MarketMan’s site for an update of the other yummy cookie recipes. Oh! I’m still hoping that my wife could get around to making some sugar cookies even just for us!
Photo from MarketManila.com.
How’s the sale season treating you? Have you tracked down just how much, so far, you have spent Christmas shopping? How much is your Christmas shopping budget, anyway? Do you still remember how much you spent last Christmas? There is this article on the Inquirer on how to have a “sensible” holiday spending. Because, really, we have to be aware of how much damage we’re creating in our wallets. And I’m sure a lot of people has maxed out their credit cards. Here are some of the holiday mistakes that we might find ourselves into.
You get “blind” during the holidays. With the 13th, 14th, and whatever bonuses you receive during the end of the year, it’s easy to get carried away in the season of giving.
This is the time to be prudent. If you have debts, this is the break that you’re waiting (praying) for. It’s best to try to settle debts. Just tell your parents, brothers/sisters, friends, colleagues, etc., that you won’t be able to get them anything this year because you are in deep financial stress. Wouldn’t it be a much better gift to yourself and your family that you are debt free. Plus, they might consider giving you moolah to help you pay your debts!
You’re having a “gift guilt.” After making homemade chocolate chip cookies as your Christmas presents, you suddenly get an angst attack and decide they are not suitable to give away at all. Or you decide to upgrade your Mom’s gift to something more expensive. Or your grumpy boss or an office enemy gives an unexpected present, and you feel obliged to reciprocate. Such situations, among others, could put you on the spot and lead you to spend more than what you originally budgeted.
The key here is to stick to your budget/plan. So you gave away some cheap holiday treats. So what? It’s the thought that really counts. No kidding! Stop beating yourself out and be proud of what you gave. If your husband/wife gave you that Samsung widescreen monitor that you’ve been drooling, and you gave him/her just a small Hallmark card, then just write some little note of appreciation for their generosity. That’ll surely warm them up!
With all the sale (madness, I tell you) that is happening all around us, we (that is, me, my wife, Mordsith, Pido, Kumareng Grace, Abel, and Cat, with eks planning to join this year) never got around to planning this year’s outreach project. I previously posted here how our first attempt at reaching out went. It just felt so good to bring joy to others that we planned to do it again this year, and maybe every year. It actually didn’t cost a lot than buying a 4-GB flash drive, which is only like 500 pesos, especially if you have cool friends very much willing to share their time and resources. But as I said, with all the madness, it didn’t push through.
Our church has this Candlelight Service every twenty-fourth of December that starts at 6:30 PM. After the service, which is at around 8:30 PM, some pastors and members of the congregation would go to different hospitals around the metro to bring baskets filled with real Noche Buena food. Let me say that again, REAL Noche Buena food. Not sardines and noodles, because who would want to eat that during Noche Buena, right? I’m talking about hams, heaping rice portions, cheese, and other goodies. Any member of the church can volunteer and help, from the packing to the distributing of the Noche Buena baskets. And so now, it has become a tradition, of some sort, that the church brings food to the hospitals.
As an alternative to the outreach project that didn’t push through, my wife and I volunteered to be a part of this Noche Buena project. So after the service on the twenty-fourth, you’ll be seeing me and my wife, probably along with her family, in our best shirts bringing good food to those unfortunate enough not to spend Noche Buena and Christmas in their homes. Remember this rule?
We’re still way off on our list. Way off! So last Wednesday, we had to dash off to the mall again. There were so many people! My wife actually made a list of items that we need to get so that we won’t accidentally miss something, but it was really tough navigating through the maze of people.
I was able to get two toy cars for 130 pesos (I think?, it was on sale) at Toy Kingdom for the house help’s son, Dayunyor, along with other cooler toys for other kids. He has been bugging (begging) me to get him toy cars for the longest time, or maybe “borrow” one of the toy cars prominently displayed in my car. And since I’m not up for letting him “borrow” one of my priced possessions, I decided to get him two!
But the highlight of the evening was a trip down Classic Confections at Greenbelt 5. We’ve been fanatics ever since they were still starting out at a small booth in Salcedo Market. Now, they have an actual cafe. We bought our fix of favorites: Almond Rocca (which they now call Almond Crunch) and Calamansi Bars! I wish I had a pocket video cam so I could have documented how delighted my wife was. She actually tore the wrapper apart after stepping out and took a piece of the Almond Rocca. We initially bought just one small pack (of course). But after a few more steps, she told me to head back and buy three more! It’s that good. So good in fact that we gave out the Almond Rocca in tin cans and the Calamansi Bars to some guests and suppliers in our wedding! So go get your fix!
Classic Confections
Greenbelt 5, Makati City
Photo from Table for Three, Please.
Tomorrow, at about lunch time, which is usually at around 1:30 PM, we will be having our 400-peso exchange gift, followed by a potluck lunch to which we’ve been assigned to bring mashed potatoes and a potato salad. I’m super excited. I wonder what I’ll get. I posted my list of three items here (actually, it’s four items) that I’d like to get. I don’t really care which item it is. I don’t even care if it was purchased on sale. Because, really, I kinda need those around.
Of course, I’m rooting for the Snap Watch. But when we were at the mall the other day, I dropped by this outdoor specialty store in Glorietta to check for the watch. No Snap Watch in sight. Hmmm.. So getting the watch seems very slim right now. I read somewhere that there is a new sporting goods store (Bratpack?) in Greenbelt 5, and that store might have it, so if ever I don’t get it, I’ll be sure to check that store on our next mall trip.
Maybe he or she was like me, who went to the mall and grabbed the first item on the list that I saw. Just to get it over with. 
I have a funny feeling that I’ll be getting a stack of blank DVDs. I think I should have added new SD cards to my list. That could have been more helpful!
A couple of weeks ago, my wife and her bestfriend J. decorated Vien’s Christening. This time though, it was a bit different from her previous event because the decorations were a bit tamed, that is, sans lady bugs and flower balloons, and they were going for something “refined,” nothing too tacky or bright, just simple decor in blue, green, and white for the big boy’s christening.
J. used onsies to highlight the decor, which she printed and then individually cut. My wife’s hunt for cupcake toppers, which I posted here and here, was a resounding success, party because I wasn’t with her. I was at home watching Scrubs and eating Oishi Cheese Clubs while I should have been having my green tea fat burner. She has trouble shopping when I’m with her with my “Are we done yet?” expression so I’m sent home to wait.
Anyway, everything turned out perfect. Ka and A. (Vien’s proud parents) were very happy with the decor! And the cupcakes were beautiful. See the details here.
Can you believe it? In less than 10 days, it’s Christmas. So on Wednesday, we’ll be hitting the malls again. We’re still not done with our gift list. And we still have to pick some stuff for ourselves too! I just hope the stores still have their sale sign on so we could somehow get the cheap ones, I’m mean get our money’s worth. I’ll also be silently, if I still have the energy, taking notes on items that she might like.
I still haven’t figured out what to give my wife. I initially wanted to give her something that she would really, really like, but it was too pricey, so I’m back at square one. I really suck at giving gifts. You know what I gave her last Christmas? Nothing. Because our February wedding was coming up, and we still have a boatload of stuff to deal with, we agreed to not give each other gifts. And the year before that, I gave her a Bob Marley CD and DVD collection, unwrapped, and I took an old ribbon from a gift I got earlier that day and loosely tied that around. When I handed it to her, guess what? The ribbon fell off! Really! It was totally embarrassing! Then she pulls out this really great gift for me in silver wrapper that made me much more of a complete idiot. I’ve always wondered how and why she fell for me. I never thought my good looks can get me this far. 
Inside was a USB Flash Drive that I’ve been wanting so much. Back then, a 256-MB USB costs thousands of pesos! Now, a 4-GB USB goes for less than 500 bucks!
So any ideas? What are giving your wife, husband, or partner this Christmas? What particular gift would you like to receive this Christmas?
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