Christmas was one of the events we were truly looking forward to last year. We were especially excited to celebrate because we had new family members—yes, with an “s”—since I now have a nephew and a newborn younger cousin to welcome during the cool Christmas season. It would be our first Christmas together. As an excited Tita and older cousin, I carefully planned how to make our Christmas feel special and not boring. It was my nephew’s first Christmas, and he is very special to me, so by the month of October, I had already saved a small amount of money to buy and wrap gifts. These were not only for him, but also for the people who patiently take care of him and continue to love him while I am away.

I may only have the role of a 'Tita', but I wanted to show a small gesture of gratitude because I never want my nephew to feel or hear anything negative in the future. I also suggested having a “bunutan” among the family members in our house, so we could all have an extra gift to unwrap on Christmas Day.

But before Christmas arrived, my aunt, who lives in the USA, asked me to buy some Christmas decorations because our old, extra-small Christmas tree had been with us since my cousins and I were still kids. She asked about my plans for Christmas, and I shared them with her.

Since I was the one available to handle these preparations, I also mentioned my plan to give out gifts. Because of that, she gave me a budget to buy Christmas decorations so the gifts could be displayed there until Christmas.

My grandpa helped me to put up decorations because I didn't know that decorating a 6 ft tall Christmas tree would make you exhausted. I actually started to open the leaves of the Christmas tree when I woke up in the morning. We finished decorating it around 9 AM.

And here is my cutie potato… meddling in our business. Lol

On December 16, we went to our bayan to watch a field demonstration. It was not part of our original plan, but my older sister wanted to watch it, so I decided to come along—especially since she would cover everything I needed, from fare to food. It had been years since the last time I watched street dances from different schools, and I wondered if it was still the same.

The next day, I attended a meeting of PWD officers with our barangay captain, who then invited us to attend Barangay Night later that same day. Again, I did not really want to go, but my sister wanted to watch because our aunts, who are public officials, were going to have an introductory number at the event.

After a few days, it was time to start preparing. All of my orders arrived in just one day. I bought all of my gifts from TikTok Shop because there were many discounts, which helped me save money. It was also hassle-free, since I didn’t want to go out—buying online was much better than going to crowded places. The day they arrived was also the day I wrapped all my gifts for them.

My nephew had his first Christmas pictorial. He was so cute, and he really enjoyed watching the Christmas lights.

Before Christmas Eve: The Preparation time.

My sister and I went to the market in the morning to buy ingredients. One thing I have always disliked is that they tend to plan purchases on the same day they are needed. The market was crowded with many shoppers, and it was hard to move through the lanes. Although I was given priority, even the priority lane was long. As a result, I could not even take pictures.

Anyway, we got home around 2:00 p.m. and did not have a chance to rest because we needed to prepare the ingredients we bought.

I also had to put up the decorations on the wall. Since I was already tired and had very little energy left, I asked for help from my younger cousin, and I am glad that he helped me.

At night, my sister cooked the maja, and my grandmother prepared the crab, shrimp, and hotdogs with marshmallows. Meanwhile, I cooked the spaghetti and also helped my sister make cordon bleu.

My aunt helped me grill the pork barbecue that I had marinated in the afternoon, after my cousin and I finished putting up the decorations. Since she had just arrived from her daughter’s house in another barangay, this was the only way she could help. I was glad she arrived at that time, because I could no longer do everything on my own. The lechon chicken was ordered by our aunt, who is currently in the UAE.

And this is the view of our Christmas celebration. Oops—maybe you are wondering why there are a lot of gifts. Not all of them are from me. Some are from my sister, grandmother, mom, my aunt from the USA, my uncle from Rosales, and my younger cousin, who was not present because she chose to spend Christmas with her grandparents in Asingan, Pangasinan. And guess what? Of course, most of the gifts were for my nephew. Lol. 😂 Sana all.

Our First Family Christmas Pictures together.

After we ate and celebrated, we gave out our Christmas gifts. My nephew opened his presents even though it was already 1:00 a.m. He still had the energy to open all the gifts he received, and I do not even need to wonder if he was happy with them… can you guess? HAHAHAHAHA 😂🤣

And here is what I also received.

I am so happy with the blanket I received. Yes, I was happier to get a blanket—because why not? It is a sign of adulting. Charot. 😂 Thanks to my Secret Santa, who knows my favorite color, and now I do not need to buy a new blanket. Huhu. 😩

And that is everything that happened and how we celebrated our Christmas Eve. I am satisfied and happy because my nephew enjoyed his first Christmas. We never experienced this when we were his age because our family was poor back then. But now, we are thankful to God that we are able and given the chance to celebrate Christmas like this. My nephew had the opportunity to experience opening gift wrappers and received new clothes and toys from the people who love him. I know he is still too young to remember all of these, but Subukan nya lang talaga mag-post in the future ng "Healing my inner child" nakooo 😂 Anyways, I know this is a late update, and I am sorry about that, but I hope you enjoyed reading! 😘🥰