Christmas 2020: How we made it a little more special this year

Merry Christmas, Everyone! Time flies so fast! Without knowing it, Christmas Day has passed and the months of preparation and planning all paid off. If you have been following my blog, you would know how much I love Christmas and why it's my favorite time of my year (yes, I love Christmas more than my own birthday) 

Anyway, with the pandemic and all, we are to celebrate this year a little different. Different does not really mean it's a bad thing or something negative.  

To be honest, I found this year's celebration more meaningful and memorable, and here's how we did it.

1. Christmas Lighting Event -  The Christmas tree has been the centerpiece of the festive season as early as the 16th century where families brought trees into their homes and decorated them.  This is something that I also look forward to as a kid and adult. 

When the "BER-months" started this 2020. I read in one of the mommy groups that one member said she doesn't feel like putting up a Christmas tree this year because of all the problems that are happening and a response to her post struck me the most. "This is actually the best time to put up the Christmas decorations at home. Because of these challenges and problems, the more we need some holiday cheer."

And I agree with that. Thus, we decided to put up the best Christmas tree that we could have and since we miss Disneyland, it's just right to have a Disney-themed one. 

To make it more special, we had a Christmas tree lighting (home-edition) last December 8 where we celebrated it with food and music. 

2. Simbang Gabi - It is a Filipino tradition where one attends a nine-day series of masses in anticipation of Christmas. The mass is celebrated early in the morning and it is believed that if you complete all nine days of Simbang Gabi then your wish or special prayer will be granted.

In our case, we attended the 4:30 AM mass of The Manila Cathedral via live streaming. This is actually my first time to complete all nine days and this is one of the things I am truly grateful for in the new normal. In the new normal, we don't have to go to the office so, I don't really mind waking up so early or not getting enough sleep since we're just at home. 

3. Virtual Noche Buena - I grew up celebrating Christmas at my grandparent's house where my grandparents, cousins, uncles, and aunts are all present. It was such a big celebration and we look forward to my grandma's cooking. Gifts were overflowing that we ran out of table space. 

Unfortunately, when we grew up and started having families of our own, we no longer got together as we celebrated Christmas in our own homes. Some have moved to another city and are not home during the holidays. 

Thus, this year was a little special since we all got together again via Google Meet. My family from the different parts of the country and abroad were present during our virtual Noche Buena.  

We some special Christmas presentations and games while we waited for midnight.

As you can see, this year's Christmas may be different that we even have to skip some of our traditions. However, this doesn't mean that we can't make new ones. 

So whatever you are going through right now, we hope that you were able to have a Merry Christmas, and wishing you a brighter and better new year. 

---------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for dropping by! Let's stay connected. 
Facebook -  facebook.com/mymetrolifestyle
Youtube - youtube.com/mymetrolifestyle 
Instagram - instagram.com/mymetrolifestyle