December may be my most favorite time of the year. Aside from my birthday, Christmas and New Year also comes in the same month. And living here in the UAE means that practically half of the month of December are holidays (no kidding!). This may be one of my most memorable Decembers in recent years. Much to our surprise, my aunt’s family from the UK gave us a short visit and decided to spend Christmas here. While my cousin Dingdong wasn’t able to come with them, we still had a good time while they were here. Here, I shall recount each event with a picture.
This is me blowing my 24th birthday cake
By the Christmas Tree at the Mall of the Emirates
Me with my cousin Jae and Tito Edwin
My second moms
This is going to the Atlantis Hotel at the Palm Jumeirah, I had to go there to interview the CEO of D-Link
This is thew lobby of the Atlantis Hotel at the Palm Jumeriah
This is the entrace to the lobby of the Atlantis
The poolside of the Atlantis. You can tell you are in an island when all of Dubai's skyline looks sos far away.
This is the Atlantis Hotel.
The aquarium inside the Atlantis Hotel kinda looks like the one at the Dubai Mall.
My cousins Mhalli and Jae enjoying the articifical snow at Ski Dubai.
Christmas Night, inside the church. The celebrant had a very heartwarming performance of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". Reminds me of how much I miss home. Good thing I have another family here to celebrate Christmas.
After going to the Church, we went to Al Ghurair City and ate a hefty Christmas dinner at Nando's.
My two Tita's.
This is us enjoying the dinner. The chicken was superb.
My aunt's family. Though my cousin Dingdong wasn't able to come with them.
The morning after Christmas, we went strolling around Dubai Festival City Mall.
A shot of the original Ortiz clan at the Festival City Marina.
Me and my super 'makulit' cousin Jae.
This my family here. Aunts, uncles and cousins who live all over UAE.
Despite being a muslim country, the UAE still manages to allow people to celebrate Christmas. Definitely, I'll be looking back at this month and how it reminded me that everything is fine as long as you are with your family.
