Friendship Party!
When I was a kid, it was the Christmas Cartoons on daytime TV, that ushered in the holiday mood. Then it was Christmas parties. When the parties started, whether at school or at my parents’ offices, it was definitely Christmas!
As I got older, shopping for gifts became the spark. Whether I was doing the shopping for my parents, or buying my own gifts for friends, I loved it!
Shopping was still the signal when I already started working. But it wasn’t until after the Christmas party that I could begin to relax and just enjoy the holidays. Almost two weeks of vacation was a welcome break.
Then I shifted careers and I could no longer have a real Christmas break. Fortunately though I had shifts that allowed me to still celebrate with the family. In recent years, I’ve stayed away from Christmas shopping. I feel bad because the task goes back to my parents and at their age, it could be tiring! Hehe. Next year, I promise I’ll be fit to do my own rounds of holiday gift-shopping for the family, not just for my own gifting.
This year, Christmas, just like my shopping, started quite late. The defining kick off to my long weekend was the Friendship Christmas Party with my work friends late in the evening of the 23rd. We started at midnight, five hours later than intended, and we were still up and about eight hours later. We probably could have stayed longer if it wasn’t already Christmas Eve and families weren’t expecting us. Haha!
It was crazy! I was on shift the night before and only had two hours of sleep before I headed out to do last minute shopping. Right from shopping, it was straight to the shower, and then I drove off to meet up with the gang. It took us a few more hours before finally reaching Minette’s house, not because it was far, but because we had errands to take care of on the way.
When we finally got there, we waited some more. Food was first priority, then drinking, gift-giving, then finally, Videoke! Each of us gave 50 pesos for pot money for a Videoke Challenge, and I won! Just before the sun went up, I won! Haha 
As a result, I barely had voice the next day. I also had quite the hangover. But it was all fun. Hope this is the start of a new Christmas tradition. The thing with work friendships is that they end when people move up or move on, I hope this one doesn’t.
Anyhoo, Ric (in green) was the designated photographer. Here are my favorite group shots from the bunch he took:
I have yet to transfer photos from the family Noche Buena and Christmas Lunch so I’m not done with Christmas just yet. But I will have to go back to work tonight after four days off. Not too excited, but not dreading it either. Know what I mean? My brother’s small family is here until at least after the New Year, so having Amir around is sure to keep us filled with Holiday cheer indefinitely. So working or not, the holidays aren’t over.
What ushers in the Christmas holidays for you?
