The True Meaning Of Christmas

I have been eagerly awaiting the Christmas season- every year. Christmas is like my favorite holiday; even  back when I was a kid. For me it is better than my own birthday because Christmas is a time when the whole world celebrates- and not just me. Parties are everywhere, the streets are brightly decorated- everybody is in a cheerful mood. But all this time, as we celebrate Christmas year after year, we tend to forget the true meaning of this holiday. For most of us (yes, including me) Christmas is a time to receive gifts and party non-stop all the way; but as I was reflecting today, I realized that amidst all the excitement and glamor this season brings, there is more to it than meets the eye.

Christmas is a very joyous season. Fascinating, that here in the Philippines, people starts decorating their houses with Christmas trees and Christmas lights as soon as the month of September sets in. Children await this season more than anything else because Santa Claus is coming to town with lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh. Children are reminded to be good because if they're not, they won't get any gifts from Santa. But the thing is, Christmas is not about Santa. It's not about the gifts or the parties we go to.  It's not even about whether you are naughty or nice or if you've been good or bad. Christmas is all about Jesus- His birth and the reason why He came. This season is supposed to remind us all of that one night when our Savior came; to save us from our sins.

Jesus- The True Meaning Of Christmas

Christmas is a very important time for us because during this day, we celebrate the greatest gift that God our Father gave us, His Son, Jesus Christ. This Gift from God is written in the Bible. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not die but will have eternal life.” God gave us Jesus to save us from sin.

Every Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus just like we celebrate our birthdays every year. We give gifts to our friends, our parents and our brothers and sisters to remember the greatest gift that all of us received when Jesus was born.

I don't know about you, but having realized this, I looked upon Christmas in a very different light. Sure, there are tons of parties left and right that I need to attend to; and yes, I've got gifts that I just can't wait to open. But as I continue to celebrate this year with my old traditions, I am now making it even more meaningful by adding in a new perspective on why I celebrate Christmas season. This year, I intend to make Christmas more meaningful by dedicate some time to reflect, pray and ponder on its true meaning – the birth of Jesus our Savior. 

I know you get really excited about the gifts you will receive and the parties you will be attending. But you can make Christmas even more meaningful if you take some time to thank God for giving us Jesus. You can do this by praying as well and sharing your blessings to others. Did you know that not all kids get gifts during Christmas? You can share the gift of Christmas to other children so they, too, will know the real meaning of the celebration.

Have a Holy Christmas, everyone!

Christmas Ala Barcino

I have been eagerly anticipating the opening of the 5th branch of Barcino at Rockwell set to happen this December 2010. As a Christmas tradition, my family often serve wine during our yearly Christmas soiree and get together. Year after year, yours truly is in charge of scouting the metro for the finest wine to serve on our holiday feast.

I have been a consistent customer of Barcino ever since this tradition in our family began. While there are many wine shops in the metro today; like Ralphs, Cordon Bleu, Titania and Wine Direct Makati; my favorite wine store/restaurant would always be Barcino. 

Barcino At Greenbelt Makati

Barcino is actually spanish.It first started as a gourmet shop and bar in 2004 named Barcino Gourmet. offering one of the best gourmet foods in the metro partnered with fine selected wines, sundry cheese, fuet, and other spanish delicacies. In 2006, Barcino became a stable name in the high class market and was transformed into a classy tapas wine bar. This transformation was linked to the success and recognition from some of the European and American notable wine producers. The distribution also came to play an important role in hotels, restaurants and superb events happening in the Metro.

Most notable among it's trendiest branch was the one located in Ortigas. Soon after, branches at The Fort and Greenbelt 5 were born. Contrary to many people's opinion. Barcino is not that expensive. With it's success in the restaurant and wine industry, Barcino continued to expand and with it's key to success in providing tasteful wine selections at affordable prices, thus carrying it's motto “tasteful wine for every budget”. Hence, Barcino broke the stereotype that wine is a product solely for the rich and famous people with high purchasing power. Now, thanks to Barcino, everyone could enjoy a healthy and tasteful wine anytime anywhere.

Baigorri Rosado

Barcino boasts a wide selection of the finest wines from red and white wines, to sparkling ciders and even rose and sherry wines. Last year, we purchased one of it's bestsellers- the Baigorri Rosado. For just P995, we were able to enjoy this rose wine with fruity aromas of banana, pear and pineapple. Baigorri Rosado has a silk texture that bursts with flavor on your sip. It goes very well with just about anything on your Christmas feast- from hams to salads, enchiladas, and specially spicy food. This was one of the best wines I've ever tasted and when I purchased the bottle last year for our Noche Buena, I knew I made the right choice with this.

Lan Rioja Crianza

This year, we are planning to get the Lan Rioja Crianza- a brilliant red wine with flavors of cherry and violet hues. It's a french wine stored in oak barrels for 12 months for the ageing process. It has an elegant aroma with hints of fruit. What I like about this wine is that it has a sweet taste despite of it's 13% alcohol content. The Lan Rioja Crianza is simply perfect as wine served in a glass. It costs only P1,300 and is this year's Barcino best seller! Not bad for a french wine that's truly fine on the palate.

Barcino's Magic Wine Boxes

For wine collectors out there, Barcino has also launched it's Magic Wine Boxes for this year's holiday season. Very cheap and fine delectable wines up for grabs only at Barcino. 

My dad's choice is the "Lustful Caress" collection: Finca Resalso Emilio Moro, Elsa Malbec, Baigorri Rose, Caliza, Solaguen Reserva and Viñas del Vero Gewurztraminer for P7,800.

My choice would be the "Diamond Collection" with the most elegant selection of fine wines in the Metro: Mather Teresina, Beronia III A.C., Malleolus de Valderramiro, Peñafiel Vendimia Saleccionada, Finca Resalso and Borsao Bole for only P23,135. I know it costs a lot; but for me there's just no substitute when it comes to fine wine- not even the price.

I'm pretty excited with Barcino's opening at Rockwell this month. For the past 2 years, I have been purchasing our holiday wines at their Greenbelt branch. I think it would be a nice change to visit a new branch- specially with very nice interiors like the ones on the inset:

Interior Of Barcino Rockwell

This coming Christmas will definitely be new and exciting. There's so much to celebrate for and lots of fine wine to go around. Shopping for this year will absolutely be wonderful. I can't wait to get my plans rolling for our holiday feast! How about you- what are you planning to serve for Christmas this year?

Don't Hang Yourself- Avoid The Christmas Rush!

Only a week before Christmas and even if I've been naughty and mean this year, I'm excited with what Santa would be bringing for me down our chimney on Christmas Eve. December is like the busiest month of the year. Aside from the usual everyday routine, you got events, parties, reunions, and RSVPs to attend. Not to mention that the malls are tightly packed these days and everybody is on the Christmas Rush hype. With only a few more days counting til Christmas, I'm already done with my Christmas shopping for my family, friends, loved ones and most importantly- for myself! As an event planner/socialite/event consultant, I have managed to master the art of planning- and it's a good thing I did, so I wouldn't have to add the Christmas stress to my already busy life.

Don't Let The Holiday Rush Get To You

 And since I'm in a cheerful mood tonight, let me share some of my "stress free" tips to avoid the Christmas Rush and have more time to enjoy the holiday season.

Christmas is a time of giving (of course for people like me, it's the time of receiving that I'm usually excited about) It may be a little too late to avoid the Christmas rush at this time of the month, but it's never too late to make do with next year's Christmas Rush.

• Make like Santa and avoid the Christmas rush by making your list early and ahead of time. A good way to do this is by preparing a segregated gift-list. Here's a sample of how I did it: (1) Male friends, (2) Female friends, (3) Young nieces, (4) Young nephews, (5) Female adults, (6) Male adults. by following this system, when you shop for gifts, you'll know how many toys or educational items you need to buy. Your list actually saves you time and money; plus you don't have any excuse to forget anyone you'd want to give gifts to this Christmas. The best thing about having a list is you can also track down the best gift ideas you can think of for every person on your Christmas list Note down beside the person's name the gift he/she may want/need to receive this holiday season. Just remember to check it once, check it twice (that has a certain ring to it don't you agree?) to make sure you haven't forgotten anyone and you have not duplicated their names. You wouldn't want to make the mistake of buying someone two presents would you? Not unless you're that generous. 

•  If your Christmas list includes clothes, look out for Christmas sales and bazaar openings near you. Christmas is not only a time where gifts are concerned; sales and bazaars are very common this time of the year too! Take advantage of their low prices and clearance sale markdowns. This would not only help you save a lot of money in the process, but gives you a good excuse to shop as well.

• Start planning your carte du jour for the noche buena and even for the media noche feast.  Once you know what you are going to prepare, you can start buying ingredients ahead of time. This helps avoid last minute shopping at your nearest supermarket where lines can get as far as from one corner to the other.

•  Plan your schedule ahead and make time like a day or two when you can finish all your Christmas shopping. The reason why most people panic and join the holiday rush even with a list on their hands is because they tend to do things at the last minute, or they shop for gifts one by one. If you don't want to hang yourself at the top of the chimney (that is if you have one), then accomplish everything as early as possible.

Shopping should be a leisure. Shopping for your loved ones should be a pleasure. Nothing compares to the feeling when you found the right kind of gift for your loved ones. Shopping, as always is a stress free and feel good activity- not a nightmare you couldn't wake up from year after year. Don't ruin your Christmas cheer by going through usual the hustle and bustle of the yuletide season. Planning is the key and when you learn to plan and organize all the things that needs to be done before Christmas eve, then you have lots of time left to spend with your loved ones or attending those RSVPs that just wouldn't stop coming!

All I Want For Christmas

Christmas is in the air. Only 2 days before the month of December sets in but I could already feel the yuletide season as days go by. The malls are beautifully decorated with Christmas lanterns and Christmas carols are already being played  on the radio. Christmas has always been my favorites season and this Christmas would be a blast!

With Alvin and the Chipmunks singing Deck The Halls and Mariah Carey crooning All I Want For Christmas Is You, no one can deny that Christmas is just around the corner. It has been my tradition, even as a little kid to prepare a list of the things I wanted every Christmas. I remember when I was 8 years old, I'd write a letter to Santa enlisting all the toys I want to get for Christmas. Of course, in today's generation, nobody writes to Santa anymore- they e-mail it to his yahoo account all the way to the North Pole- and I can just imagine Saint Nick going through all the e-mails kids have sent him.

Have I been naught or nice? Definitely naughty. But that won't stop me from sending Santa my own Christmas wish list this year!

Nokia N810

1. First on my list is the new Nokia N810. This is the latest in Nokia's N Series and has only been out in the market for a couple of days. I love the fact that this mobile phone has 12 mega pixels camera- great for shooting awesome pictures anywhere I'll go. It has 16GB internal memory (for storing all those videos, music and pictures) and it allows the user to stay connected on the internet with it's wide-area wireless broadband capability. More over, it has large 4.13 inch touch screen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard that just looks stylish. I could go anywhere with this baby and this Christmas, this is on top of my list!

Canon 5D DSLR Camera

2. Next on my list is a Canon 5D DSLR camera. Noted as one of the best DSLR cameras in the market today with almost 39 mega pixels! Crisp and clear sharp images that can be enlarged to bigger sizes, and more flexibility when editing or cropping the images for finishing or printing. This camera requires 2 or 4 GB memory since all the pictures it will shoot are of high quality! Being a professional photographer, this camera for me is a must-have.

Apple MAC Air

 3. This Christmas I'm also eying on the Apple MAC Air. This has got to be one of the thinnest laptops ever produced in the market today! Easy to carry without the hassle (since this doesn't carry enough weight with it.) It has 13-inch LED which is great for viewing web pages and pictures. Plus, MAC gave this gadget a glossy finish which makes it stylish to lug around. I've seen may MAC laptops in the market- but this one caught my eye just like that.

Wonder Woman Action Figure Set

4. People may find this weird, but the kid inside of me will always want to be satisfied. I've been collecting action figures for a long time now and this Christmas, I'm intent on finally completing my ccollection with this hard to find collection series. This action figures came out last year but I didn't have the time to buy them all. I want all 4 action figures on this picture (Circe, Wonder Woman, Donna Troy & Diana Prince). If I get this collection this year, I could start off with my Batman collection starting next year.

Audi A8

5. Last but definitely not the least (and perhaps the most expensive item on my wish list) is the Audi A8 sports car. This baby was released recently and is the 4th generation. Audi A8 is full sized and is an excellent luxury sedan that exudes charm and beauty from its every core. It has a 372 hp with 4.2 liter V-8 that is 8-speed with transmission right under its hood. This is good enough to compete with Mercedes Benz 8 S class, Maserati Quattroporte, Lexus LS460, Jaguar XJ/XJL and BMW 7-series. Fast, classy and very expensive- I could not ask for a better car than the Audi A8!


There you have it dear Santa- my Christmas wish list this 2010. I love the stuff you gave me last Christmas but they're so last season already. You better start looking for my stuff now, I want them fresh and early this year. Thanks Santa! I'll be waiting for you down the chimney real soon!