happy holidays y’all!

I know that it is too late to send out my greetings through my blogs but I think that I gave out greetings to most of you through Friendster, Facebook, YM, and chikka already.

So anyway, here’s a quick update about my holiday.

We spent our Christmas at my in-laws. I’ve got some really interesting gifts and my favorite is one of the gifts I got from hubby: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I also got the Hobbit from him and so the next few weeks will be spent reading these books.

The days between Christmas and New Year were spent visiting friends and relatives and of course, shopping. There are just too many post-Christmas sales happening around so it’s really a good time to shop.  I’ve already spent most of the Christmas money I received.

Countless hours were also spent telephoning with my friends and family back in the Philippines but of course, it is not the same. I truly miss all of them and I hope to see them all soon.

I will be going back to work on the 7th of January. I will be going through a minor operation before that and I hope that I have time to heal before I go back to work.

So that’s pretty much it.

By the way, while writing this entry, I notice that Google PR has updated again and this blog still remains PR 0.

Looking Forward to Christmas

Four weeks from now we will be heading to Austria for our Christmas holiday. That could only mean massive shopping for gifts. I asked my husband’s relatives if they could send us their Christmas list so we could save time thinking what to buy but I don’t think they’d be giving it to us. Maybe it is out of modesty or maybe they just want to keep the surprise and excitement. It could also be both.

 

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In my case, I got my Christmas gift from Marcus already but even so, I am still looking forward to the occasion because these means a lot of things I enjoy like wrapping gifts, putting up the Christmas tree, decorating the house, and sitting by the fire just talking and enjoying the cozy atmosphere.

 

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Photos were taken last Christmas 2007.

Early Christmas

shanghai-christmasChristmas is always early in the Philippines. At the onset of the “ber” months; i.e. September, October, November, and December, people already decorate their homes with Christmas decors. So when I’ve seen that some of the establishments here in Shanghai are already decorated, I was not surprised.

You see in Philippines, we only get to decorate our homes to give it a feel of the season during Christmas. Unlike in the US of A, we don’t decorate our home for Halloween or for other holidays. We only get to do it once a year so we put the decorations up as early as possible and let them stay there as long as possible. I often hear people say that the longest Christmas season happens in the Philippines and I completely agree with that.

Christmas Gift Idea for Kids

We went out shopping last Sunday and the thing I noticed the most is that department stores and shopping malls are already decorated with Christmas decors. It gives me a little bit feeling of the season even if it is just November. As early as now, I am already thinking of what gifts could I give to my love ones this Christmas and I am pretty sure that most of your are also in the same situation.

If you are thinking about what gift could you give to your child, nephew, or niece, or to any child, think no more because LettersFromSanta.com lets you send personalized letters from Santa mailed from the North Pole directly to your little receiver. I am sure that you’ll see the excitement and happiness to your child as she/he reads Santa’s message.

Great Gift Idea for Your Child

letterfromsantaDo you remember how you believed in Santa when you were a kid? How cool it is to learn stories about Santa and to receive gifts from him? Do you remember sending Santa a letter? Did you get an answer to your letter?

Santa is a big part of Christmas for kids and what could be more exciting for a child than to receive a letter from Santa! Make this Christmas more fun and meaningful for your child by letting LettersFromSanta.com send a personalized message mailed from the North Pole directly to your child. Visit LettersFromSanta.com and choose the best letter and envelope for your little one.

Presents from Me

I got my husband a book about Australia—the country which is our next prospect after China. I got the book from a local bookstore here in Austria when Benjamin and I went shopping for gifts. Adding to this are two photography books I ordered from Amazon.de using Marcus’ credit card…hahaha! The credit card I got from my Philippine bank expired a year ago and until now I have not applied for a new one. Of course I will return the money to Marcus otherwise these books are not gifts from me anymore. 2007 is over and until now I don’t have New Year’s resolution/s yet. Shrug*

Christmas in Austria

23rd was dedicated for gift wrapping. Marcus, Benjamin and their parents were not allowed to come upstairs while I wrapped my gifts for them. When I was done with my gifts, I helped Benjamin in wrapping his gifts. After the gift wrapping activity, Marcus and his dad started to set up the 3.8 meter tall Christmas tree which is a real tree by the way and not a plastic tree like what we have in China. The tree needed so much work so they decided to continue working on it on the following day.

On the morning of the 24th, we decorated the Christmas tree with candles, ribbons, Christmas balls, and chocolates then we put the gifts under it. The afternoon was spent quietly mainly because everybody is secretly eager to know what presents he/she will get. In this time, my mother-in-law prepared the special meal for our dinner. At 5:00 pm, it was time to give the presents away. Everybody got dressed and gathered in the living room. Each one got his/her turn to give his/her presents away. In the end, each got their shares. I have to say that I am one of the two who got plenty of gifts (Benjamin being the other one). After the generous gift giving, we had our delicious Christmas dinner and then we spent the rest of the night sitting together and drinking wine.

The following day was relaxed. We slept until it was almost lunch. Right after waking up, we tried and showed the presents we got the previous night. At 3:00pm, we went to Marcus’ uncle’s house which is on the other side of the block. We were invited for an afternoon coffee and dinner there. We stayed there until midnight with few of Marcus’ closest relatives. It was an intimate and fun Christmas party. Expectedly, everybody got drunk except me and the minors.

All in all, I enjoyed my first quiet, warm and private (because it was spent just with relatives) Christmas in Austria.

Three Days After

It’s already three days after Christmas but we are still looking forward to a lot of activities. Some of which is a hike to a mountain, a New Year dinner at Marcus’ uncle’s house, and a musical in Vienna. I am dying to post some pictures in all of my blogs but I don’t have that much time in front of the computer here in Austria. We are so busy with a lot of things so holiday pictures will come in later. Right now, all I can manage is a brief entry to each of my blog every 2 to 3 days. Marcus and I will go back to China on the first weekend of 2008. Hopefully by then, my blogging will go back to its regular course.