My Christmas

I've always loved the magic and spectacle of Christmas, and this year will be no different. No festive season is complete without a tree, always a Filipino spruce festooned with glowing lights, veiled with angel's hair and laden with tasteful stars and baubles.

As my mother Lucy is Filipino and my father Tony is Filipino but of Spanish decent, the custom I was taught in my childhood was to observe the Filipino tradition of Christmas. When I got married to Wolf, we now either spend our Christmases in the Philippines, Germany or in The UK, but with the traditions I carry, my Christmases do not change a bit wherever it is spent.

For me, this season has always been a time of enchantment because I just adore the ritual of exchanging presents. I always love the atmosphere of cosy conviviality, the glow from the tree, the flickering of candlelights and that sense of mounting anticipation and excitement that precedes the opening of presents, as well as the non-stop flow of food! It is all like a fairytale and one that has never lost a scintilla of its sparkle since those wonderful Christmases of my childhood. I even still recall how my Dad Tony would always have someone come around the family home as part of my birthday and Christmas present to play the role of Father Christmas. I truly believe that the spirit of Christmas reinforces our ties with both family and loved ones and I really value the real sense it creates.

This year will be a monumental challenge because for the first time, my husband and I will be spending Christmas in London and we will be cooking a traditional English turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Despite that, there will still be other family customs we will not break. So, I'm looking forward to a cold and hopefully white Christmas this year. I only have this very warm feeling that this Christmas, we will have a wonderful time together.

I'd also like to wish everyone reading this the Merriest Christmas ever and all the best for the New Year (2007) ahead!