Holidays are something we all can’t wait to celebrate. For some, it is a vacation from work or to visit some relatives. For me it was the latter. All holidays are great but we all have experienced one that was the best.
Christmas is probably my best holiday experience. I visited and met family members on my father’s and mother’s sides. We ate a lot of delicious foods and desserts. I had a blast playing with all of my cousins either on the phone or in real-life games.
First, we went to my father’s side of the family. They were in Sto. Tomas, Mindanao. The house was big but it only had one floor. The entrance to the front door had a staircase with a porch. Through the front door is the living room, to the left is the dining room, and to the right are three bedrooms and one bathroom. The back door was the entrance to the kitchen and the main dining table; the first dining table I mentioned was rarely used. There were also some houses nearby that were owned by grandmother’s children who moved here with their families. They also had a banana farm and a chicken farm at the back.
During our two-day stay, there were a lot of vehicles parked inside the lot which made it look like a huge garage. The sky was clear and there were no signs of rain. Inside, I heard the TV playing, people laughing and talking, while outside, dogs barked and howled. The house was filled with the aroma of delicious food laid out on the dining table. There were a lot of different kinds of food from fried chicken, hotdogs, some vegetables with meat. The desserts and drinks were also worth noting, with a mix of coldness and sweetness right after a meal. I liked the mango float the most.
At that time, all of the members of the family were present, which made it more memorable. My father drank with his brothers, while my mother talked with her sister-in-law. On the other hand, the children and I played hide and seek since it was night. After that, it was time to open our presents.
After that, we went to my mother’s side of the family. We visited their house in Angelia homes in Tagum City, which is where I was born. Their house was small but was enough for us all to celebrate. Inside, they didn’t have any expensive furniture; just simple working furniture was enough for them. I was greeted by my joyful little cousin and my two aunts and grandmother. I couldn’t recall what we ate there and the weather as well since we only stayed there for a day. There were two cars outside and our celebration was inside their small house. We were all singing Christmas songs while sitting at the table. My cousin and I played some games on the phone.
Lastly, we had my swimming team’s Christmas party. We were in a small inland resort that was reserved for us, where we stayed overnight for two days. The boys and I had so much fun playing pool, basketball, darts and swimming in the pool.
In the evening, we had a total feast! There were so many delicious foods that were the same as my father’s side of the family, but some more types. There were more desserts but the drinks were just juices, since carbonated drinks are bad for athletes. The whole team was there and it was amazing seeing our once small team grow to become like a big family. The sky had no clouds and the temperature wasn’t too cold or hot. All we could hear was the joyful laughter of our team as we played to our hearts content. Even our parents and my coach drank all night.
We slept in one room while the girls had their own. Some of the boys even had no sleep and this was bad because in the morning, after breakfast, there were games like tug of war etc, which had prizes we could win.
The tug of war was against the girls and we were at a disadvantage since we were all tired from playing a lot the night before. However, we were still able to win, although just barely. The parents laughed at us for not sleeping properly. The prizes we got were just some candy but it was alright.
And that was the greatest holiday I’ve had, for now. No one knows maybe there will be more to come even greater than this. But it was the memories, the bonds, and smiles on our faces that made it great.