Most people make use of the holidays as a time to get away from it all. This year on my Twitter feed I saw plenty of my friends schedule vacations out of town for Christmas, and party in Boracay for the New Year.

Me? I stayed close to home. 

Not that I wasn’t in a festive mood, and I have spent my share of New Year celebrations in Boracay in the past. It’s just that I usually do these things with and around family. Within my immediate family, it’s my mom, my dad, my sister and my brother-in-law, and me. We’re very close and genuinely enjoy each other’s company. We’re also very close to my mom’s side of the family (my dad’s side has mostly emigrated overseas); we spent our Christmas at my uncle’s house in Paranaque, and went to a small resort in Cavite for New Year. This is an eksena from our New Year’s Eve festivities.

I hope you were able to spend the Christmas season with the ones closest to your heart, no matter how or where you spent it. Happy New Year!