It hasn't been the most Christmas-y season. I usually feel a mild holiday buzz sometime in December before Christmas, and this year, it just wasn't there. Sure, I felt a slight tinge as I was buying Christmas presents for some of my friends, and giving the actual gifts made me all warm and fuzzy inside, but it just wasn't the same. I'm sure getting sick less than a week before Christmas didn't help matters.

I was resigned to the fact that this was gonna be the least merry Christmas yet. Heck, I was at the mall wandering aimlessly on Christmas Eve!

Then Christmas came.

I thought I was heading out with my mom and my aunt for a quick Christmas lunch somewhere, then coming straight home. Instead, I found out we were headed to my stepdad's family gathering. I'm not close to that side of the family, so it was a little disappointing, admittedly, but what the hey. It's Christmas.

I'll admit I didn't exactly do anything... social at the party, and I was mostly just a silent observer. But it was somehow still a lot of fun watching the kids there. It made me wish I was a kid again. Things definitely seemed much simpler back when you were a kid. Now, years later, we're faced with so many Real World dilemmas and such that it's easy to get cynical and/or jaded around Christmastime. If there's one thing that was missing for my Christmases of late, it's that wide-eyed joy I once had as a child.

I suppose I was determined to get it back.

That night, after a quick dinner with the family, I headed for Joy's house for a little Christmas get-together. Now THAT was fun. The old friends - Mia, Harold, Joy, and I - were all there, as were some other fun folks. We headed out into the streets of Mandaluyong to enjoy Christmas. And wow, that was lots of fun! Particularly fun was going into Policarpio Street to look at the lights displays of some houses.

There were a LOT of people at Policarpio Street, and it's not hard to imagine why. A handful of houses were decorated with a LOT of lights. It was a nice treat for everyone. And that's when I found the day's wide-eyed joy moment. At that moment, I was just marvelling at what they had done to their houses, fascinated by the lights. I was awestruck.

After that short trek to Policarpio Street, we headed home for dinner, wine, and videoke. Pure unadulterated FUN was had that Christmas night.

And I guess that's one of the things that makes Christmas special. It's not the presents (although I got some awesome little gifts this year). It's the general spirit of the holiday.

To everyone who greeted me, gave me gifts, and spent the day with me: Thanks for making this one of the best Christmases of my adult life!

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