Our annual family holiday newsletter

Dearest family and friends,

2017 has been a busy year, full of new and exciting developments. Here are a few highlights:

Giving (and receiving) with the Family Giving Tree

2017 marks our 6th year of volunteering as a family at the Family Giving Tree. Strictly speaking, it's the 7th year for me and The Pea. She and I volunteered for the first time when she was 4 years old; she was too young to do anything other than hold a tape dispenser for me, and the boys were too little to help. Even at that age, I could see her mind opening as she realized that there were little boys and girls like her whose parents couldn't get them all the Christmas presents they wanted.  Volunteer opportunities for kids under age 14 are pretty scarce. I realized we needed the Family Giving Tree just as much as the kids who would be receiving the presents.

2017 Disneyland holiday trading pins

You know you're a Disney geek when you can spend a full day inside a Disney park without getting on a single ride. There are so many other things to entertain you: the shows, the parades, the shopping, the dining experiences... and the pin trading.

If you like Disney characters and memorabilia, you'll love Disney pin trading and collecting. Half the fun is shopping for bright, shiny, new pins, and the other half is trading pins. You can trade with other pin collectors, or you can trade with cast members around the park. We started collecting and trading pins in 2012, and have been enjoying it ever since.

Disney releases new pins year round, but I have a soft spot for the holiday pin trading, because Disney's holiday pin designs are so stinking cute (click here to view some of Disney's holiday pins from past years).  Also, I love the fact that you can't get these pins at any other time of the year. Here are some of the cutest Disney holiday pins that I ran into this year:

Easter Bunny photos through the years

We used to make a big deal out of Easter when the kids were small. Every year, we would attend multiple egg hunts -- community egg hunts, egg hunts at friends' homes, egg hunts at our home.  At some of the bigger events, they would get to see the Easter Bunny, and they would treat him like a big celebrity.  But for some reason, I never made a big deal out of Easter Bunny photos. The Easter Bunny was not a big part of my childhood and I've always found him a bit creepy (as you can tell from the photo below, Baby Pea agrees with me).

25 Easter Egg fillers for teens and adults

Easter is just 1 week away! Now that the kids are teenagers, we no longer attend Easter Egg hunts, but we still like to keep the celebration going with our own egg hunts in our back yard. Easter Egg fillers graduated from candy and stickers and erasers to Lego minifigs, dollar coins, and Disney trading pins.  There are lots of teen and grown-up trinkets that can fit into an Easter Egg!  Who says the little kids get to have all the fun?! Here are some ideas for Easter Egg fillers that grownups will love:

Our Christmas newsletter 2016

Every year I write out a family newsletter to include with our holiday cards, and every year I go back and forth about sending it out. Is it really worth the time, effort, printer ink, and paper? Is it too braggy? Too swaggy? Does anyone really read it?  This year I decided to write the newsletter but only share it with immediate family. I'm truly the worst at calling and emailing my siblings and parents, so this newsletter really does keep them updated. Unfortunately, I've been extraordinarily absent-minded this holiday season (for the first time ever I found myself scrambling to buy presents for the kids on December 24!), so I forgot to send out the newsletter. Fortunately, I still have this blog, so my work isn't going to waste. 

Celebrate the holidays with Disney's Viva Navidad street party

 

Parades are one of the most popular attractions at the Disneyland Resort. Every day, people line the sidewalks of Disneyland Park's Main Street USA to stake out good viewing spots. It's not unheard of for people to get settled 60-90 minutes before the parade begins, taking turns with family members to get food or go to the restroom. We've done this many times, but now that the kids are older, they prefer to take advantage of decreased attraction wait times during parades. Besides, they've seen all the current parades anyway... or so we thought. At our most recent Disneyland visit, we discovered one of the resort's best-kept secrets: Disney California Adventure's Viva Navidad Street Party. It's festive and fun, and you can arrive with just five minutes to spare and still get a great viewing spot!

Celebrating Philippine Independence Day

Today marks the 118th anniversary of Philippine Independence Day. On June 12, 1898, the revolutionary armies of the Philippines, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, leader of the armies and first president of the Philippines, declared the Philippine's independence from Spain.

Northern California has such a large Filipino community, so it's a given that there would be Independence Day celebrations in the area. It has been a while since I've been to one of them, so I decided to take the family up to San Francisco to participate. Other than occasional trips to Goldilocks and Asian groceries for Filipino meals and snacks, I don't live the Filipino lifestyle that much. The kids are always eager for a chance to chow down on lumpia and pork barbecue, so they happily came along.

Star Wars comes to Christmas in the Park

Today we went to Christmas in the Park, the annual holiday display in downtown San Jose that features dozens of holiday dioramas and hundreds of decorated holiday trees. We've made this an annual tradition, so we're familiar with most of the holiday displays. This year, we noticed something markedly different.... as though some strange force had invaded the displays.

Yes, you know what I'm talking about... The Force!  Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens opened 2 days ago, and you'd have to be living in a rock not to notice it. Star Wars has invaded everything from underwear to socks to soda cans to soup cans to gummy vitamins, so it's not surprising that Christmas in the Park has been touched by The Force as well. We saw so many Star Wars-themed trees and displays, proving that even Santa Claus is a Star Wars fan.  Here's my pick of the best Star Wars holiday displays from around the galaxy:

Holiday Store Exclusives at American Girl

For almost a decade, our holidays have been inexorably tied with American Girl.  The Pea got her first American Girl doll as a Christmas present, and every year since then I haven't been able to resist buying her something from American Girl. This year I'm finally forced to admit that at age 14, she has outgrown American Girl dolls -- well, playing with them, at least! You can be an American Girl doll collector and lover all your life, and I think that's the way it's going to be for The Pea and for me.

Top Five Holiday Traditions at the Disneyland Resort

The Disneyland Resort is always crowded during the holidays, and for good reason. No, it's not just because everyone is on holiday. It's because Disneyland has the ability to create special holiday experiences that turn into family traditions. Their imagination and creativity and attention to detail transform park attractions that you can enjoy any time of the year, into completely different. Here are my five favorite Disneyland holiday traditions (I have enjoyed four of them, so I can personally vouch for them, and I've heard so many great things about the fifth one that I've placed it on my bucket list!).

Easy Holiday Stocking Stuffers

Today is Boxing Day, and after all the craziness of Christmas Day, you finally have some time to take a deep breath and do everything you meant to do before December 25, but didn't have the time for!  Here are 3 fun holiday crafts you can do with your kids -- and you can gift the results at your next holiday party!  (where I come from, the holiday parties last all the way till January, so it's totally not too late!).

Turkeys, Motorcycles, and Running Shoes: The Mazda Raceway Turkey Trot

The idea of running a race on Thanksgiving has always appealed to me -- do something active and healthy before stuffing your face! -- but I've never actually done it until this year.  Alfie found out that one of his favorite motorcycle racetracks, the Mazda Raceway in Laguna Seca, CA, was hosting their second annual Turkey Trot.  It's the ideal race for us, because it's not actually a race; there's no official start time, no one is timed, and there's no pressure to finish at a certain pace.  All you have to do is show up between 7am and 11am, and you can run, walk, skip, crawl, dance, or hop the 2.238-mile circuit.  Wild horses couldn't drag The Pea to an actual race and force her to run, but since everyone could go at their own pace, she willingly came along.   Alfie was beyond excited at the chance to set foot on the actual track where motorcycle legends like Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner race their bikes.  Even better, the $10 fee (just $10, the cheapest ever!) all went to benefit the Food Bank of Monterey.

A Mother's Day poem

You are the best mom in the world,

So you are the queen.

If I did not have you as a mom,

I don't know what I could have been!

You are so awesome, you have two jobs,

One job you give us toys and the other makes little kids not sob!

Every day you walk me to school,

All of this is why your (sic) so cool!

Happy Mother's Day!

                                                  -- a poem by Jammy

It doesn't get any better than this.  Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Kauai Island, Hawaii

My family has visited so many lovely beaches in the Philippines, and there are so many more we have yet to visit, we tend to overlook a certain set of famous beaches somewhat nearer to home:  the beaches of Hawaii.  Since we go to the Philippines anyway to see family, it's actually more expensive for us to vacation in Hawaii.  And since I'm biased, I'd have to say I like Philippine beaches better anyway.  But I feel incredibly lucky to have had the chance to visit Hawaii twice; once, to the island of Maui, and the second time, to Kauai.  We vacationed in Kauai 12 years ago to celebrate Alfie's birthday, and at the time we were just a family of three.

How to fail at Valentine's Day class valentines

Last year, I scored big points with 3Po and Jammy by making awesome homemade Valentine's Day cards for their classmates.  They received lots of compliments on their Rocky Road Valentines and Yoda Valentines, and I quietly smugly added another notch to my Awesome Mom Cap.  I even took the time to take pretty photos and post instructions and downloadable printables (adding another notch to my Awesome Blogger Cap).

An American Girl Christmas Greeting

It has become something of a tradition for me to post an American Girl holiday photo on Christmas Day.  If you're not into AG dolls, it might seem like a weird tradition, but as you know, I'm all about the non-traditional traditions.  This year, I enjoyed creating the photo so much that I ended up with two versions.  Feel free to send either of these cards to the American Girl doll lover in your life!

Merry Christmas to one and all, including (and especially) all you American Girls!

How to Cure Affluenza

There's no denying the difficulties of raising a child in a privileged environment without giving him a, well, sense of privilege. Money can buy many things, including knowledge and confidence and a sense that everything will work out for you, because it almost always does.

How to decorate an American Girl Holiday room

You know you're an American Girl fan when your family Christmas tree isn't up yet, it's mid-December, and yet you still prefer to spend hours decorating your American Girl Christmas tree!  And you know you're a Superfan when you do it all without the help of your daughter.  Guess which kind I am....

The good thing is, I can always justify the effort I spend by saying that an American Girl holiday scene is actually a great way to decorate a corner shelf, side table or end table.  Hey, people like to set up entire holiday villages, why not a room?  Here's how I put together this year's American Girl holiday scene:

A White Christmas or a Tropical One? How Our Family Blends Cultures During the Holidays

Growing up on opposite sides of the world, Alfie and I have very different ideas of what a traditional holiday celebration looks like. We both celebrate Christmas in the Western tradition. We both grew up with Santa Claus, Christmas trees and stockings. But that's where the similarities end. From the weather (white Christmas versus a tropical one) to the decorations (holiday cards versus Nativity scenes), our holiday traditions are literally worlds apart!

When we first got married, we alternated Christmases between his parents in England, and mine in the Philippines, so we each got to experience the holidays in our partner's culture. Later on, we began spending the holidays in the US, taking the traditions we loved best and adding a few of our own. Here are some of the ways we celebrate the holidays:

Decor
Our house is decorated like many other houses in the neighborhood: a Christmas tree in the living room, stocking by the chimney, a wreath on the door, white lights outlining the roof, garish plastic candy canes on the lawn, holiday cards on the mantelpiece. Unlike most houses, holiday cards are a big part of our holiday decor. Giving, receiving, and displaying holiday cards is a big deal in England, and we've continued that tradition in our home. Cards are displayed the traditional English way, hung on walls, doorways and windows with a plain white string. Last year I even made my own ribbon card holder to showcase our most special cards.

Also, unlike most houses, ours also has Filipino parols, or star-shaped lanterns, hanging from our porch. Symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem, these parols consist of a bamboo frame covered with tissue paper, with two hanging tissue paper tassels. I bought the frames in the Philippines, and decorating the parols is a fun holiday tradition the kids look forward to every year.

Presents
In England, as in most Western countries, Santa Claus is The Man, and Alfie received a big present from Santa every year. Santa Claus also left presents for me and my siblings, but they weren't the ones we looked forward to. Santa usually limited his presents to a few bars of candy or some other inexpensive stocking stuffer. Actually, we didn't even have Christmas stockings. Or a fireplace.  Hey, it's the tropics!

No, the big present givers in our house were the Three Kings, Melchor, Gaspar and Balthazar, the wise men who followed the star to the stable in Bethlehem and gave gifts of gold, frankinsense and myrhh for Baby Jesus. On the night of January 5, we filled our shoes with grass so that the camels would lead the Three Kings to our house and have something to munch on while the Three Kings left presents. We weren't hoping for frankincense or myrhh, but we did get the special toys that we had been wishing for all year. Nowadays, Santa and the Three Kings stop by our house to leave cool presents -- boy, are our kids lucky!

Food
We have fun decorating a gingerbread house with the kids every year. Also, Alfie's parents send the kids a chocolate Advent calendar from England, a special reminder of his childhood.

I don't think we've ever had a roast turkey for Christmas dinner. The kids are more accustomed to feasting on lechon (Filipino roast suckling pig), ensaymada (Filipino brioche), and fresh mangoes! Food items that grace our table from the other side of the world include glazed ham, mince pies and flaming Christmas pudding.  Santa Claus, however, always gets an American treat: cookies and milk.

Celebrations
Growing up, Christmas Eve was just as important as Christmas Day itself. My family always went to midnight mass, then trooped to my Grandmother's house for a midnight feast, or Media Noche, as they call it in the Philippines. Alfie, on the other hand, grew up in a country where the celebrations spill over into Boxing Day, December 26. Whereas Christmas Day is all about family, Boxing Day is all about friends: watching soccer on TV, hitting the after-Christmas shopping sales with girlfriends, drinking at the pub with the mates. We both love our respective pre and post Christmas celebrations, so we do both. The kids certainly love it -- Christmas ends up being a three-day party, with gift opening starting on the 24th and good food lasting till the 26th -- but by the end of it, Alfie and I are wrecked. Happy, but wrecked.

Our holiday celebrations may not look like everyone else's, but we love everything about it.  In fact, our holidays have become just like our family:  a blend of East and West, with some good old-fashioned American traditions thrown into the mix.  Our holidays are unique, special, and totally our own.

Disclosure: This post is part of the Favorite Holiday Traditions series, sponsored by Betty Crocker Cookies.