i love christmas

I woke up this morning to my third most favorite day in the entire year – the eve of the eve of Christmas. My birthday used to occupy that spot but ever since I turned 25, birthdays have lost their appeal and I’m replacing it with the day I get to play Christmas songs on repeat, drown myself in Toffee Nut Latte, turn up the Christmas lights  all day and bask in the knowledge that Christmas is almost upon us.

There’s only one thing I really want to say today but it just didn’t feel quite enough to say it once, so I came up with 5 different ways to say it.

Have a wonderful Christmas, you guys!

I meant to wish you all a Merry Christmas on Christmas morning but I was obviously too busy partying my entire Christmas away and too hungover to know what day it is today. So let’s just all pretend that it’s still Christmas and I’m here wishing you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS because technically there’s 12 days of Christmas and it’s day 2 of 12 so I’m WAYYY early, not late at all.

Also, I’m not drunk. When I said hungover, it meant I was high on ecstasy. Not ecstasy the drug, but the emotion. It’s disturbing that I’m having to explain this on Christmas.

BTW, we dropped off the vouchers (all $2,070 worth of it) at Melrose Home on Christmas Eve and barely made it at 7.45pm, 15 minutes before they were supposed to have their supper and go to bed. I know, right? To have to go to bed that early on Christmas Eve is sort of a bummer so I’m hoping that sometime in these 11 days, they will receive a very lovely Christmas gift thanks to all of you. I wanted to take some pictures but they didn’t really allow photos with the kids and you’ll just have to take it from me that they will be thrilled by that.

We’ll also be sending over a $50 voucher to Charmaine; that makes a total of $2,120 raised. That’s the very best part of our Christmas this year.

For accounting purposes, here’s the list of folks who made this possible.

There’s still 11 days of Christmas to go, with the New Year and my brother’s wedding sandwiched in between. Which means there’s going to be a lot of partying to be done these couple of days. Happy Holidays, y’all!

PS Melrose Home couldn’t give me an acknowledgement receipt for the vouchers received on the spot but they will be sending it over in the next couple of days. I’ll update a copy here once I get it.

Updated: Acknowledgement letter from Melrose Home. Thanks again, you guys!

This Christmas, I’m taking a cue from The Bloggess and spreading the love to this side of the Pacific. Well, I can’t give out 20 gift cards, but I can afford 3 and I’m hoping that makes a difference to 3 people, at least.

You see, Christmas has always been the best day of every year for me. Ever since I was a kid, my parents have gotten us awesome presents for Christmas every year. We wake up on Christmas morning to the thrill of tearing open the wrappers and seeing the widest grins. And it’s not just about the presents, but really what they stand for – the giving and the love.

Last year, we really wanted to bring the kids to the store and get them anything they wanted. But I had left my job to be with the kids and all we could give them was just that. The *joy* of having momma around and not much else. (Oh, we did get them a new set of clothes but we all know that when you’re under the age of 10, clothes are terrible gifts for kids) So on Christmas morning, we held hands and told ourselves that they were too young to understand. That having us around and a house full of love was enough.

We were thankful that they still got great gifts from relatives and friends but at the same time, I couldn’t help feeling a stab in the gut knowing that we couldn’t splurge on toys for them. As a parent, I want to give my kids the best presents they will ever get. I reserve the right to get them the train set that they’ve been waiting for an entire year. I need to be able to make their dreams come true.

And it sucks not to be able to do it.

This year, we took them to the toy store and they carefully browsed every single aisle before each picking out their chosen gift. As we watched their eyes open wide in wonder and look absolutely thrilled at the prospect of choosing “ANY TOY IN THE STORE FOR REAL??!!”, we felt that inexplicable joy that comes from seeing your kid happy. Absolutely priceless.

I know what it’s like to have to pass on the toys for the kids and opt for the necessities instead.

So to use the words of the bloggess, if you’re struggling for money right now and don’t know how you’ll give your kids presents then leave me a comment.  You don’t have to use your real name or leave a url or prove anything.  Just leave me a comment and your email address (always hidden and never used) and I’ll send a $30 Takashimaya gift voucher to three people who leave a comment explaining why it would make a difference in their lives right now. Or if you know of someone who could use a little help, you can leave a comment on their behalf.

Thank you for making a difference to me through your support of this blog, your kind comments and your awesomeness. It’s a privilege to be able to give back or to pay it forward. Make somebody smile this Christmas. Have a good one!

UPDATE: It’s nice to know that most of us while not filthy rich, do still have enough to go around so that means that we are feeling the effects of a GDP of 13-15%. It’s even nicer to know that there are so many who are willing to share what they have with those who might not have enough and I can’t thank you all enough. That’s what I call a real Christmas miracle.

I figured since there aren’t any on the blog who need help, I’m going to pass on the vouchers to Melrose Home a.k.a Children’s Aid Society. They have about 50 kids who are probably not going to wake up to any presents this Christmas and we can change that. I’m hoping they can each get a $30 voucher to buy themselves a decent XMAS present.  So if you would like to contribute, drop me a mail at daphne@motherinc.org and I’ll consolidate all of it by 23 Dec (Thursday).

UPDATE x 2: You guys are INCREDIBLE! As of now (22 Dec, Wednesday 12 midnight), we’ve raised $1,530! That’s enough for a $30 gift for each kid at Melrose Home plus 1 for Charmaine. Thanks for sharing the love of Christmas to kids who otherwise would not have felt it.

UPDATE x 3 : $2,120! Details.

The kids are starting to *get* Christmas. They know it means having the tree and all its ornaments. They know carols fill the air (Tru has been going ting-a-ling-a-ling ever since he watched the Veggie Tales Christmas Spectacular). They know it means having presents and cake and family parties and food.

And now they know another Christmas secret; the playgrounds that pop up in all the shopping malls.

Kirsten was walking past the open space outside Parkway Parade when she literally did a double take and then went into hypersonic mode. “Pay-gums! PAY-GUMS!!! Peas, peas..” she yelled, pointing at her chest. I was planning to blitz in to pick up some groceries but when I saw the playground, it was too good to pass up.

Because it had this. A Buzz Lightyear spaceship to Star Command.

And a Toy Story slide. And other fun driving things.

When Truett saw the pictures, he made me pinkie-promise to bring him back to the Toy Story Christmas playground. I told him I’ll do even better. We’ll try to hit all the malls to look at their Christmas installations, starting with those in the east first. And I’ll post up the good ones so you’ll know which ones are worth visiting.

Is it really November already? I walked into Starbucks today for my regular latte and instead I see this. Christmas latte. All the goodness of Christmas packed into a cup. Also, I’m not getting paid for this but I love it so much I’ll pimp it for free.

So I ordered a venti 6-pump, low fat, no whip, extra shot, toffee nut latte to go and they were all out of venti lids so the barista offered to split it into 3 small cups instead, which is how I walked out with 3 cups of coffee this morning. Not excessive at all.

Now when you do toffee nut latte, you gotta do it right. That first sip is always the most awesome. You have take in a decent mouthful, swirl it around your mouth, close your eyes, breathe in the aroma and wait for the explosion of magic Christmas sauce. The taste is like when rainbow dust meets a baby unicorn swimming in an ocean of buttery caramel.

And then you look at the mountain of work that’s threatening to eat up your email account and you think, “Bring it on, fellas. Momma’s got her magic juice.”