A BLESSED Christmas to all! May you have the merriest time with your loved ones all through the New Year!

Christmas is a time for thanksgiving. Showered with blessings throughout the year, we need to be grateful to the ultimate Giver, and all the rest who have somehow made a positive impact on our lives.

For our annual Christmas party, shared with family and friends who are like family, we celebrated in Russian style with lots of Matryoshka dolls and a bit of vodka as well.

I transformed one of the rooms in our house into a Swan Lake room, scented with Zenzest Holiday Room Scents that good friend Michelle Asence gave me. Coming in their furriest outfits in white, guests took photos with fave photographer Willy Saw in the winter wonderland setup made of several white beanbags, which became the game prizes later that evening.

Birthday boy and Philippine Tatler editor Anton San Diego arranged for San Miguel to send over its premium specialty beers, which we perfectly chilled in a Beer Below Zero freezer, a cool Filipino innovation that makes the frosted beers hit subzero temperature. During the party, we also put the vodka inside the freezer!

Even if I am not a beer drinker, the San Miguel beer Apple Flavor, chilled in the BBZ unit, was absolutely delicious. I think all beers should be served this way. BBZ owner Luigi Nunez told me they are now available in Guam, Singapore and Hawaii. Here’s another Pinoy with an exciting future ahead in the global market.

As always, so many donated to make sure our party guests did not go home empty-handed. Purefoods has been providing premium meats for several of my parties. Its gift boxes were filled with Purefoods Ham, Salami and Bologna, and I awarded these to the winners of the Matryoshka doll-making contest. Good friends Rajo Laurel and Popsie Gamboa came up with the most beautiful dolls.

Intimate lunch

Purefoods recently held a small lunch at Oyster Bar Via Mare to present to moms what should always be the star of their Noche Buena celebrations. Christine Jacob-Sandejas hosted the intimate lunch with other celebrity moms like sporty Suzi Entrata-Abrera, culinary expert Danica Sotto-Pingris and rock star Barbie Almalbis. Via Mare owner Glenda Barretto customized a simple but delicious lunch menu for all the guests, using Purefoods Fiesta Ham in each savoury dish.

Thanks to my traveling friend Dong Ronquillo, we also gave away Suncoast’s Light Water and Vitamin Boost. Our friends from both P&G and Unilever were so generous with their products. We gave away Pond’s products, Pantene shampoo and Ambi Pur air freshener. We also had lots of Bench products and beauty treatments from Dr. Aivee Teo.

We also had cupcakes by Sonja Ocampo, created with special designs. Sonja also lent me her snow machine to really create that Christmas cheer. To compliment the sweetness, delicious macaroons by Julia Vergara (call 0917-5246464 for orders) were also served.

In keeping with the Russian theme, I ordered special caviar pie from Assumptionista chef Jill Busuego of Delicioso (check out www.deliciosophilippines.com). Her extremely addicting pies are great for midnight snacking.

We served also her smoked salmon pie when our special celebrity guest Derek Ramsey arrived from his other parties. Swatch grand dame Virgie Ramos was able to arrange for Derek to drop by our party and do a photo-op with all our friends.

Advocacies

If you are still hunting for post-Christmas gifts, head to Swatch. At the Swatch Interactive Center in Greenbelt 5, Swatch has collaborated with nonprofit organizations and educational institutions to help their advocacies.

This Christmas, the likes of Habitat for Humanity, ICanServe, Assumption College, Immaculate Conception Academy, Miriam College, San Beda College and St. Paul University will all gain from every Swatch watch sold. Swatch now accommodates school logos and inquiries, so go to the Swatch Store at Greenbelt 5 or e-mail [email protected] for details.

We also gave out prizes from CarbTrim, the first carb-blocking iced tea mix that blocks up to 66 percent of carbs in one’s food intake. This weight-management solution is made out of white kidney bean extract, a natural ingredient that blocks starch-based carbohydrates, such as rice, bread and pasta, from being absorbed by the body. Check out www.carbtrim.com for details.

For our charity portion of the night, we supported Philippine ballet artists who did a special “Swan Lake” number with Viella Galvez as the White Swan and Ace Torrado as the Black Swan. The two dancers are also teachers at Plana Forma, which is my latest workout. These exercises really tone and firm up one’s core. Visit www.forma-asia.com for class schedules.

Relief operations

In closing, I am happy to announce that HSBC is donating $250,000 to the Philippine Red Cross for relief operations for the flood victims of Tropical Storm Sendong, which badly ravaged areas in Northern Mindanao and Eastern Visayas. Truly, HSBC has been always supportive of all charities. To add to the Red Cross effort, donate at www.redcross.org.ph/donate.

So many organizations and individuals have been helping out that it is impossible to list them all. I do want to mention ABS-CBN, though, which brought down their stars to help distribute and spread cheer in the hardest-hit areas. That provides some warmth to the spirit that cash and relief goods alone cannot give.

Our Assumption HS ’81 batch has sent towels, blankets and medicines through Xavier University, which is now being used as a shelter. I’m appealing to all my batchmates to keep spreading goodwill to our fellow Pinoys. Call 0906-6150095 or 8588892 for details.

And to everyone else, may we all be safe and protected coming into the New Year!

Follow Tessa on Twitter @tessavaldes or e-mail her at [email protected]