When I arrived last November, all the places I went to were already decorated with Christmas ornaments. Christmas is certainly earlier here in Manila. Not only that, the offices I visited had gift baskets on the floor, gifts on the table, from clients and friends.
Dati rati we send out gifts around the second week of December. Pag dinala mo sasabihin, uy ang aga ah. Tapos naging first week of December. Ngayon beginning November right after All Saint’s Day, bigayan na ng regalo.
I won’t be surprised that soon, October would be the start of Christmas season. Sobrang traffic daw kasi if we wait till it’s December before we shop for presents. Actually it’s very easy to buy gifts, what I find troublesome is the delivery / distribution. Pag ipinadala ko sa driver or security or messenger, naku kung saan-saan napupunta, minsan hindi nakakarating dun sa taong bibigyan ko ng regalo.
Our showrooms have simple decorations. This is the Christmas tree in Ford EDSA.
Our staff are the ones decorating our offices. There was a time when I hired one of the manufacturers and exporters of Christmas decors. He decorated Ford EDSA’s showroom with gold and clear balls. He covered the facade of the building with hanging Christmas lights. It was nice in the evening but during daytime, the front of the building looked like a jungle full of hanging vines. Edmund had the lights removed. Sayang ang ibinayad ko.
Makati Ford’s Christmas tree looks anemic and kawawa. It needs more ornaments.
This would be the second year that we’re not putting up our towering Christmas tree here at home. Last year we spent Christmas and New Year abroad. This year, same thing. We do have three simple Christmas lanterns outside, the ones I bought at the Pampanga lanterns exhibit in Robinsons Galleria.
This Friday I am going to leave some coins on the window sills and by the doors to attract prosperity. Let me count how many doors we have here…….. I think 30, excluding those in the garage level.
Window sills ———–I think 42, excluding those in the garage level.
72 x 2 = 144 kasi one coin on each side of the door and window. Oh stairs pa pala. I also place coins on each side of the steps. Let me count….44 steps for two stair cases excluding those leading to the garage and exterior stairs. For sure the coins would disappear in a few minutes if I leave them outside. I also place coins on hallways, etc. I need about 250 pieces of coins. Edmund keeps a lot of coins for this purpose. He also covers our kitchen counter with coins only when we are here. Baka kasi magdisappear.
Merry Christmas. I hope everyday feels like Christmas.
