I can’t wait to get back home for around a month to see my family and celebrate my sister’s wedding. It’s been a year since I’ve been back to the Philippines and am looking forward to escaping winter in Spain and heading to the beach. Tali is always a favourite for the family and if there is enough time, I would love to go surfing in Siargao. There’s nothing like Christmas in the Philippines and there’s no place I’d rather be.

I will be in Madrid, Spain to visit my in-laws. This will be my first Christmas in Spain so I’m looking forward to it—the restaurants, weather and overall buzz of Madrid. We may do a side trip for my birthday to one of the nearby towns.

It is my fervent wish that our family will be able to be together, complete for the holidays—hopefully enjoying the outdoors and sunshine. If all goes well, we are hoping to spend the holidays in LA where we used to go every summer pre-pandemic. I am hoping that vaccines for kids arrive soon so we will be more comfortable to travel with them. Praying for a better, brighter holiday for us all!

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I have a list of places that I think would be perfect for the holidays: London or Cornwall where my parents are riding out the pandemic; Boston where my sister is moving to; or here in Manila which has always been my favourite. I was not able to spend the holidays with my family last year due to travel restrictions, so I am looking forward to getting everyone together. Whether in Manila or abroad, I hope restrictions continue to loosen up, so we can get back to some level of normality and enjoy ourselves a bit more. For family and friends that are a bit further away, we will be sending them food and drinks for a bit of a virtual get-together.

Because of the pandemic, my family and I have temporarily moved back to my childhood hometown, Davao City. It has been a pleasure for me to watch my children enjoy the same experiences and places that I had growing up.

We will be staying in Davao for the holidays and we will be spending time at my favourite place on earth, Pearl Farm Beach Resort. I look forward to long swims and sunset drinks with my loved ones.

This is our second year missing our annual holidays in the motherland, thanks to Covid restrictions, and we are sorely disappointed. We have decided to keep it local like last year and spend the holidays in France. We have invited our cousins from Greece to come over and celebrate it with us.

We, fortunately, have my husband Paul’s French side of the family living in the same neighbourhood, so we will host Christmas Eve chez nous. I am sure to crave the festive Filipino Christmas spirit this year, and I am lucky to have Filipino friends in the city. We hope to celebrate with a comforting Filipino meal (there have been talks of ordering a lechon!) over some good old homegrown music. Nothing heals homesickness like the flavours of home!

Once Christmas is done, I hope to explore some parts of France that we haven’t seen before. I hear the Christmas markets of Strasbourg are lively and fun, so that’s on the list.

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This story was originally published on Tatler Philippines' November 2021 issue. Download it on Magzter for free.