I hazard to guess that this year’s Christmas will be full blown and all out compared to the last two Christmases. The atmosphere leading up to December was so euphoric. Malls had even foregone their usual Halloween decors in favor of the holiday ones.
For us, it would be our second Christmas in our new house. We, however, had to do away with the Christmas tree because we have a new cat who may likely go excited with the sight of glittery ornaments.
Few decors at home
I just took out some of the garlands and wreaths, and some more ornaments that were (hopefully) out of reach of Milky. At least this year’s decors would not be a glitter explosion.
In our apartment, we did not even remove last year’s small wooden Christmas trees as we have three cats. Worse, two days ago, they ran after a small lizard that left one of the trees devoid of balls. Poor tree.
At least the three of them managed to wear these souvenirs from the pet clothing store in front of Yoogane from Seoul. It was a challenge to get them all in one shot. This year, we’ll have to manage with this collage.
The three kitties with their gifts from Seoul
Also in the last two weeks, we have been trying to slowly do our Christmas shopping on weekdays. I am very vocal of not being the biggest fan of shopping as a whole. That’s especially the case during the holidays.
It was, is, and will be overwhelming.
For some reason, we still did not manage to finish everything before the Friday rush leading up to Christmas. To be fair, we already made it a point to come before lunch and leave before the rush hour.
Starbucks at Greenbelt 1
Thus on this Friday, foreseeing how crowded the malls would be, we opted to move around with our e-scooter instead. That way, we won’t have to wrestle our way against the thousand others trying to book Grab.
There were reports that Grab drivers, together with Angkas riders, had been turning their applications off. Partly the traffic, and partly the rising oil prices, but surely wholly bad news for everyone.
Hey! Hey! Hey!
After the last minute errand, we then went next to Wildflour for dinner. We normally do not eat there because of the price.
But thanks to a BPI credit card promo, we decided that perhaps it won’t hurt to have dinner there again. The last time we were there was more than 2 months ago, using the same promo. The deal would lapse by December 31 and we needed that second go.
We had the usual stuff as last time: calamari, chorizo and gambas, salad, clam chowder, and beef bourguignon (which we normally would not order LOL).
50% off at Wildflour. Thanks, BPI!
Before wolfing everything down
We strategically had dinner at Wildflour because it would be a short ride going to Ayala Triangle to watch the light show after.
After dinner, we scooted our way to the venue.
It was already packed with revelers.
Officially known as the Festival of Lights, the management had halted the light show due to the pandemic. Even last year when the situation had supposedly improved, they still decided not to have the show. It was the first time since December 2019 that the light show was up again.
Last Friday before Christmas at Ayala Triangle
Should have brought a selfie stick, but oh well
It was supposed to start at 6:00 pm. There was an on-going mass when we arrived, thus the light show would start at exactly 7:00 pm. We took the opportunity the just sit down somewhere instead, and fed some (fat) kits with the kibbles we always have with us.
When we heard that the mass was about to wrap up, we stood up again and walked towards the middle with our e-scooters in tow to get a decent view.
The show started with oooohhhhs and aaaahhhhs from the audience, most audibly from the kids. That was admittedly the first time I felt the season that hard.
Mon with the lights
The kid here was very ecstatic
I could not remember when was the last time we have watched the show, despite how accessible this place should have been. I did not know where to look as well. LOL All I knew was it was so beautiful and festive.
And crowded.
The show went on for 20 minutes with almost everyone (including me) pointing our cameraphones at every angle we could capture.
As soon as the show finished, we immediately went out of Ayala Triangle. There was also a huge crowd trying to get in the park as much as there were more trying to get out.
The Christmas crowd back at Ayala Triangle
I was delighted that I finally managed to convince myself to visit Ayala Triangle before Christmas. I had been too lazy these past few days that I’d rather watch Netflix/Disney+/HBO Go than brave the Christmas crowd.
But at least we crossed this off of our list.
At the RCBC intersection of Ayala Avenue
