I wore my Sea Princess mermaid costume and tried to get into character. I wasn?t quite Ariel, but it was good enough for my daughters
MONTHS AGO, THE HONG Kong Tourism Board held a Halloween Road Show to promote their two premiere family parks?Ocean Park and Disneyland.

Hong Kong has been the holiday destination of choice for Pinoys for so many years. Usually, we head there for shopping or for food, but last month I got to visit Hong Kong without once hitting the boutiques of Tsim Sha Tsui or eating at any restaurants in Wan Chai.

Instead, my daughters and I spent the entire weekend at HK Disneyland. With Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific cutting fares, my thrifty husband was able to book us all at a reasonable rate. And from the airport, the park is just a short taxi ride away.

There are two hotels to choose from?Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and the Hollywood Hotel. Both are equally charming but my recommendation is the Disneyland Resort because of the romantic Victorian setting. There is a free shuttle service for travelling from the park to the hotels, so it is all very efficient. Check out hongkongdisneyland.com for details.

My two girls, Annika and Athena, loved being able to meet the various Disney princesses all around the park and hotel. Although we were there just past Halloween, I wore my Sea Princess mermaid costume and tried to get into character as well. I wasn?t quite Ariel, but it was good enough for the girls.

Like every Disneyland around the world, Sleeping Beauty?s castle is the center of the park. We ended each day here, watching the fireworks that transform the castle into a fantasy land of colors. Our Disney trip is one that my girls will remember forever.

The surprise of the visit for us were the stage shows ?Festival of the Lion King? and ?The Golden Mickeys.? Each is a 30-minute song-and-dance program, complete with stunts, props and Broadway-style production values. The parades are also pure magic, including a High School Musical live parade.

I might add that the Disney cast is composed of a lot of kababayan Pinoys, which makes it even more delightful. Cris Villongco, granddaughter of legendary diva Armida Siguion-Reyna, told me she had just finished a yearlong stint as one of the talents in ?Golden Mickeys.?

We met at the 79th birthday bash of Armida at Whitespace. As befits this talented family, the bash was a blowout?complete with all the singing and dancing possible in one evening. Even better, Armida was surrounded by all her beloved family and friends, including her admiring next-door neighbors, Dennis and me.

Humanitarian watch

Christmas is coming and I?m sure we are all trying to think about how to celebrate it for our children. This year, we should try to spread the spirit of the holidays with as many less fortunate children as possible.

Swatch is doing its share with its ?KC Cares, Swatch Shares? campaign, recently launched in celebration of the 20th anniversary in the country of this iconic watch brand. The Swiss-made watch company is supporting KC Concepcion?s humanitarian activities that focus on food for education.

Every Swatch bought from the Fall/Winter 2009 Collection can feed a hungry child for a month. Check out the watches and the Season?s Collection, which includes the Christmas Special Star Edition Swatch watch. This could indeed be the perfect holiday gift?enjoying your new Swatch while knowing that you?re sharing with needy kids.

Other Swatch gift options are the limited-edition Swatch watches, with a portion of sales donated to the ?500 at 150 Sesquicentennial Scholarship Campaign.? The campaign?s objective is to support 500 Ateneo scholars. Swatch Philippines has already donated the first million pesos to deserving scholars.

And as the New Year approaches, we should watch out for the Cory Aquino Swatch, to be launched on Cory?s birthday, Jan. 25, 2010. Proceeds will go to the Benigno S. Aquino Foundation for Deserving Scholars. Limited to 801 pieces only, reservations at Swatch stores are now being accepted.

And as we all think about meaningful Christmas gifts, think about charitable foundations, like the Pamana Pag-Asa of Marie Eugenie Solidarity Foundation. This charitable foundation was established by the Religious of the Assumption and has the objective of building a more humane world. Support the foundation by ordering their products, like lifestyle bags and cards. Call Maite Gallego at 0918-9026073 for details.

Microsoft 7

Giving back is not good enough sometimes, as with Microsoft Philippines, which is giving forward. Microsoft just launched Windows 7 with a ?Pay It Forward? campaign.

The program selected seven Windows 7 icons?director-actor Audie Gemora, lawyer-cum-motivational speaker Alex Lacson, entrepreneur/professor Jay Bernardo, businessman George Tan, dedicated mother Ligaya Salonga, all-around artist Zoe Sandejas and me?and each of us got to select a beneficiary who would be gifted with a laptop, with Windows 7 installed, of course.

I wanted to select my secretary, but Microsoft Philippines managing director John Bessey told me that the beneficiary should be a person or group that would otherwise not have access to technology. So I chose the Gift & Graces Fair Trade Foundation.

Microsoft is living proof of how technology can empower people, and their latest product, Windows 7, is further proof of how we can all achieve excellence through tech. And I don?t even need to be a techie to know that!

Rockwell bazaar

On a final note, don?t miss Rockwell?s Moonlit Bazaar this weekend and the next two weekends, which features shopping till midnight for one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts. The Rockwell Tent will be home to a variety of non-fashion items, knick-knacks, home accessories and other unique gift ideas for these three weekends. The Moonlit Bazaar is open from noon to midnight, with free mojitos from 10-12 in the evening.

E-mail the author at seaprincess@inquirer.com.ph.