The bells are finally ringing again! With holidays just around the corner, we can’t help but feel sentimental, excited, and even stressed because as December slowly approaches, we need to prepare our long list of things we need to do.
The streets of your community are starting to be filled with festive decorations and the cold air starts embracing you. We can hear Christmas music on FM radios, see countdowns of days left before Christmas, and shops starting to offer holiday specials. Make a a list of fun Christmas activities to try with you family!
Create Christmas traditions with your loved ones.
In other countries, they celebrate holidays after the Halloween period, but for us Filipinos, the holiday season starts during -Ber months. For some, it starts during December but for us, it starts as early as September 1.
Though because of the Pandemic, we can’t help but feel nostalgic to the times where everything was normal and kids would sing carols outside our doorsteps, the bustles, and busy streets because of all the Christmas shopping, countless gatherings with friends, family, and officemates. But then again, Filipinos aren’t Filipinos without the festive celebrations. We would always find our own way to celebrate the Yuletide season.
Suggested Read: Fancy Luxury Holiday Home | Brittany Corporation
Having fun is not only limited to going to malls, parks, and other public venues and places. The spacious floor area Brittany offers gives you countless things you could do even inside your doorstep. Here are some traditions you might still want to include on your family’s Christmas bucket list:
This is the best season to spend time with your family and whoever said that you wouldn’t be able to, inside your home?
One of the most awaited things people look forward to during the holiday season are the festive and grandiose decorations of the mansions in the Philippines. Most luxury home owners like to dress up their houses with dazzling lights, Parols, and their own creative versions of Belen. As the community itself in the whole Vista Alabang sets up their decorations, you could definitely make this a part of your family tradition wherein you could all set up a tree lighting ceremony.
Whether you’ll go with White Christmas, Filipino-themed with Parols and Belen, or just wrapping your exterior with different colors of Christmas lights. It doesn’t just stop there, setting up a grand Christmas tree inside your house where all family members could help out is also another thing you could add onto your traditions.
Setting up a Christmas tree where all gifts could be displayed underneath, dressing it up and putting up different kinds of Christmas balls and ornaments is definitely an activity for all ages, from kids to adults. You may also change your throw pillow cases and even your curtains to go with the theme. Lastly, finish off the whole look with some home fragrance of gingerbread or roasted chestnuts to really feel the Christmas season.
Is Christmas complete without a beautiful decorated Christmas tree?
The best thing about living in this modern age is that even the Pandemic can’t stop us from continuing with other activities such as attending religious gatherings, concerts, parties, and such through Zoom or other online streaming websites.
A lot of religious bodies continue their masses and gatherings by letting people watch it through the comfort of their homes. One of the most famous traditions of Filipinos would be attending “Misa De Galo” or “Simbang Gabi” which happens before dawn. Most people aim to complete all 9 masses and mostly go with their families. After attending the mass, Filipinos would buy Bibingka and Puto Bumbong on their way home to eat as their breakfast.
This could be one of the things you and your family or partner could try doing. Since activities and vendors are still limited outside, we could also try learning on making our own versions of a gingerbread house and other pastries.
Gingerbread house would also be a good idea for a gift or maybe even as a small business. After all, video tutorials are all over the internet.
For families who love music and even for those who don’t, do your own new way of greeting your family and friends. For most countries, Christmas carols are grand performances of choir, bands, singers, and such but for Filipinos, this is just people sending their greetings in a fun way. In normal times, children would go around house to house and sing while waiting for some coins and goodies in return for their performances.
This could be your new family tradition to uplift your holiday spirit where you’d record a simple and short song and send it over to others instead of an old traditional card. There’s nothing distance could ruin now that we have the internet.
Staying Connected With Family & Friends on Zoom
Finding the perfect presents for your loved ones may be a little stressful, most especially for people who give a lot of thought and wants their gifts to be personal. It is also a tradition not only in the Philippines but also in different parts of the world that people exchange gifts and give holiday during the holiday season.
Monito Monita is a tradition most families do to give gift-giving a twist. In this activity, you need to guess who you picked or the other way around through a nickname you chose. As a Christmas bucket list, it really pays off to see the smiles on people’s faces after opening your well-thought gift and holiday cards for them.
8 Fun Family Gift Exchange Ideas
Since holidays are all about thanksgiving and gift-giving, it would be the best time to give back to the needy. It could also be your year-ender activity with your whole family to sort out the things that you don’t need anymore and that may still be helpful for others. Old clothes that are just sitting in the corner of your spacious walk-in closet or the old toys that are just hidden in your storage room would bring in smiles to other people.
Organize a Christmas eve party
With Filipinos staying up all night to wait for the clock to strike 12, you could prepare games and activities everyone could participate in, to make things more exciting. Make use of your spacious Ghiberti unit in Brittany with 349 sqm floor area to put up decorations and set up tables for food and games.
Preparing a mini program in your spacious living room where children could showcase their talents, adults could play indoor party games such as the classic “Pinoy Henyo” or “Pass the Ball”, or other activities to kill time while having fun.
Reinventing the Family Christmas Party
Though most of us prepare our own new year’s resolution for the things we would like to aim for or change as the year starts, give it a twist and make it a family thing. From the smallest things like sleeping a little earlier, maintaining the house clean, to bigger commitments such as going to church together every Sunday, eating healthier food, doing exercises and having a more active lifestyle for everyone.
Portofino offers upscale amenity features to its residents such as swimming pool, basketball court, activity areas and spaces for health and fitness that you could all make use of. It’s not just a Christmas bucket list.
Amenity Area of Portofino Alabang
A family meeting where you could plan on the things you all want to improve inside your household and things you want to change to improve your relationship as a family. List down all the things you all want to goal for and buy for the incoming year and your strategy as a team on how to reach it. This could be a very interesting activity and would also strengthen your bond.
Of all the countless things you could do during, before, and after holidays, nothing beats spending it with your loved ones.
Most of us are busy with work, with studies, and other activities, some may already have their own families and are living away from their own homes.
Saving these days and spending them with your family would be the greatest gift. Mornings in your pajamas while waiting for the hot cup of cocoa, watching your all-time favorite movie while munching on those Christmas cookies, or even just eating leftovers for breakfast while catching up stories with the whole family.
This is also the best time for your other relatives to come over since you can’t really go outside in malls and parks. Cousins could all use one single room, all on their PJs staying up all night watching horror films. Adults could go over the house bar and drink some champagne or wine to finish off the year. Whoever said Pandemic could ruin the Christmas spirit?
