Table of Christmas Contents

T'was the month before Christmas and all through Manila’s airwaves and even in the shopping malls, Christmas ditties were wafting. Soon after, red, green, blue and white twinkly fairy lights were all ablaze in every home, store and building façade. Not to be outdone, the avenues and streets followed this lead and the "Christmas-zation" of the whole nation had begun.

Manila is particularly kilig (read: tickled pink with the thought of making an extra buck by peddling home-cooked fruit cakes, brownies, rhum cakes and every sugary concoction one can think of on this tired planet). I don’t know if it’s because we are a predominantly Christian-populated country that this Christmas mania is played up here almost like an extreme sport, but every year it gets more and more challenging.

In fact, I get intimidated by my friends’ questions, asked as early as September, like "Is your tree up already? (what tree? I always ask, confused. Then I realize they actually mean the Christmas tree and I don’t even know where I or was it my washing lady that kept it? ) By the second week of September it gets a little more urgent: "Who decorated your tree, your house, because me I hired Miss Celebrity Decorator and she’s so nice...She accompanied me pa to Bangkok to get my décor, she’s really so galing, you want her number?" They ask this kindly, concerned about my own home’s decorating fate. (If they only knew...my good ol’ cook Malou is now such an expert.) Then the clincher query "Where did you get your tree ba?...You mean you didn’t get your tree from…" (the Christmas tree supplier to the stars). And then a look of disdain usually follows.

Back home, my tree stands askew like the Leaning Tower of Pisa from all the years of packing and unpacking it. The random décor of Christmas balls, angels, gold doodads of all sizes and colors are waiting to be put up by the little ones, the rope of lights are all tangled and I know they must be duds by now but I refuse to panic and be thrown into a holiday wreck. I can go over and buy all the lights I want from my neighbor down the street, that much I know. I am no Scrooge mind you, but I believe that Christmas is that time of year when the children take center stage, and not my hapless interior decorating (I like it edgy even when it comes to holiday dress up). So I continue to live my life ignoring the now overwhelming tide of yule mania.

And then Christmas shopping is another story. My other friend was done shopping in July while I still have to draw up my list. In California, they have a "Let’s Not Shop for Gifts this Christmas" Save for the Kids movement and I wanted to join it but you had to be an American citizen to sign up. Oh well, I’ll start the Philippine chapter next year – any one who wants to join, check out my e-mail addy at the bottom of this article.

But the good news is there are still real cool individuals who believe that Christmas is all about loving and sharing. It’s really not just about decorating your house with Swarovski crystals and gold this and silver that as it is re-creating some corner of your hearth, your home to contain this generous feeling. There’s nothing wrong with handblown crystal, gold trimmings and yuletide frills as long as it is done with the right intention. Like getting the great big family together again like no other occasion, the kids to have a special place to open the gifts that Santa delivered because they were particularly good this season. Or just because it is that time of year when the family needs that sleigh-bells- ring-snow-is-drifting kind of ambience to celebrate love for the Infant in the manger.

And to illustrate this, we asked some special people to interpret the happy family gathering areas in their homes for the holidays. Words like magical and joy leapt out of our heads the moment we stepped into these lovely palaces in the city. And as we enjoy the beauty of their Christmas corners, may we greet you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

A Citrus Christmas By Nina Halley and Bernice R. Ocampo

In Nina Halley’s home this Christmas, her holiday table is both playful and elegant, with "A Citrus Christmas" designed for her by her cousin, Bernice R. Ocampo. Nina and Bernice are used to playing house and making beautiful things as little girls growing up together. For this assignment, the two spent a fun afternoon creating this setting for an intimate Christmas Eve dinner.

The room is filled with the warm and sweet fragrance of vanilla candles, dozens arranged amid Christmas greens and copper-colored trimmings underneath a mistletoe. The sweet and tangy scent of oranges, lemon and lime, and the spicy aroma of cinnamon sticks, cloves and anise, scattered over mother-of-pearl plates, set the mood for sweetness and joy.

Tiny orange roses on a Rosenthal salad bowl are arranged by The Love Garden. The setting of gold-rimmed and cream bone china plates is contemporary Noritake, but the cutlery is from Nina’s collection of Christofle flatware "accumulated over a long, long time, piece by piece," and flanked by starched cotton napkins. The jacquard orange tablecloth is kept low-key by Christmas frill strewn across the table.

Irashaimase By Mary Ann Lumen

"Irashaimase" is Japanese for "welcome." A perfect name for the purely Zen-inspired Christmas table prepared by Mary Ann Lumen, the perfect new millennium woman. Every detail was thought of. Not surprising from Mary Ann, who always pays extra attention to detail as reflected in the choice of furniture and accessories in her beautiful condominium.

She used a gold Japanese obi with a red table runner to reflect the colors of Christmas topped with gold-lacquered plates and scalloped edges. Using her favorite color, Mary Ann picked out purple linen napkins shaped like Japanese fans combined with black and purple chopsticks. Japanese imari plates and candy boxes are carefully placed on top of the gold-lacquered plates and strewn around the table. Delicate Japanese tea cups with gold handles add a special touch. Two beautiful lacquered boxes with surprise treats topped with a whisk of Baby’s Breath flowers truly signify beauty, grace and simplicity for the coming holidays.

The Christmas Tree Table By Eda Grande

Eda Grande is a classy lady filled with a love for beauty. Her home is filled with beautiful art pieces and her tropical lush garden is an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Eda decided to prepare an afternoon tea table set in her verdant garden, a perfect place to relax from the busy holiday season. Using a marble top antique table, Eda’s Wedgewood blue-and-white antique porcelain tea setting is too inviting to resist. Fresh fruits are placed in a Lalique fruit bowl and assorted cheeses are generously arranged in a crystal platter with Christofle silverware.

An array of freshly-baked croissants and baguettes are served in a silver basket lined with crisp white linen. And, of course, fresh cut orchids from Eda’s garden top off the impeccable setup.

La Fete By Zelda Kiensle

Zelda Kiensle is a woman with refined grace and simple elegance. She and husband Max own and personally manage Philux, known for high quality and beautifully-designed furniture which are exported to Europe and North America.

Zelda named her Christmas table "La Fete" because it is meant to be festive and special. Murano crystal glasses with platinum and gold trimmings, hand-etched with engraved initials of "MZ" which Max and Zelda had specially crafted in Italy light up the table. Zelda picked out nothing less than a Bordeaux Croix de Margeux wine, vintage 1998 and a Brouilly Chenin Blanc 1997 for her holiday feast. Villeroy and Boche bone crystal with gold trimmings complement the gold Jim Thompson silk place mats and the 24-carat gold-plated flatware from England. The cheese platter, made out of olive tree wood, which the Kiensles bought in L’Orange, south of France, is used to serve Brie, Camembert and assorted cheeses with fresh grapes. Zelda prepared a bouquet of orange roses with gold and yellow mums and woodcarved candelabras as the centerpiece. The table Zelda prepared for this festive occasion is "C’est magnifique!"

A Christmas Tree Of Life Table By Dina Paterno

As soon as Dina Paterno shows us her table, we immediately feel its beauty and magic. It is so beautiful and poetic, like a fairy tale. But that’s just how Dina is. She never fails to surprise her guests and she goes out of her way to prepare her home to welcome and to make them feel special. The fortune trees planted in celadon ceramic vases and Christmas tree sculptures made of glass and silver as centerpieces bring so much life to the table. Assorted candles, miniature plants and figurines of gnomes are delightful to behold. Dina used ceramic plates shaped like leaves and banana leaf wine holders. She wrapped embroidered linen napkins with fresh kuchay stems – truly a creative touch.

Dina’s Christmas tree is just as magical as her table. Crystal glass ornaments and fairies of all shapes and sizes adorn the tree.

* * *

For suggestions, remarks and letters to Vickie, e-mail her at migasora@yahoo.com.