It was held in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro last year (still referring to 2011) and it was such a fun, definitely memorable and laughter-filled event. As usual, the foods were overflowing with lechon, different kinds of fishes (bangus, tapas), shrimps, a variety of pork dishes, make-your-own vegetable salad, plus the usual pansit, spaghetti, ham, fruit salad, buko pandan, bibingka, ube halaya, the local specialty aroz with ibos, and a lot more. We are a few short of a hundred in total- that's all my aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, and nieces combined although not everyone's present all the time. But the food's always more than sufficient to feed us all- most of us being certified 'above average eaters' at that. I remember when it was our turn to host the reunion, there were more than 60 of our relatives (yaya's included) in attendance and you can just imagine how every meal, even the regular ones, seemed like a feast.
But I guess we would all agree that we also laugh like we never do when we're in each other's company. All of us always look forward to our annual reunion because it would most certainly be a blast. And through the years, we have improved! We now have Christmas shirts, last year we had bingo, and then next year we will have a raffle apart from the usual exchange gifts and parlor games. They attempted to hold a talent show but we only had two willing contestants...haha. It was already announced early last year but although we would've wanted to join, we could not find the time; and fine, the inspiration, to conceptualize and really practice for a dance or song number. Pero buti na lang at hindi kami nagprepare!; else, we would've competed with our little nephew and nieces' impromptu numbers; agaw pa sa prize...haha
Here are snapshots of our 2011 Christmas reunion:
We skipped to Paluan to have a splash in Calawagan (very cold waters coming straight from the mountains) on the 23rd even just for a day. The one hour-ride from Mamburao was worth it. Paluan is our father's hometown and it's where our lolo and lola's narra house still stands with minor renovations. It's now where my Tito Ler and his family lives, and where most of us stay every time we go there. We had a superb lunch featuring sinampalukang baka and inihaw na tapas.
with my sisters and cousin Tin-tin posing on top of some rock formations...medyo hanglayo
lang ng nilakad namin to indulge Kuya Mak and have this picture taken
our 2011 Christmas family photo:)- always the first part of the program
the remaining 8 of the 10 Paglicawan siblings- they're 9 thorns and a rose
with Lola Ely (their aunt and Lolo Itoy's sister) and their wives and husband; Papa is partnered with Tita Josie, whose husband, Tito Narding, already passed away even before I was born I think; not on photo is Tita Virgie, Tito Oca (who also passed away years ago)'s wife
with emcees Kuya Mak and my eldest niece Kate
I won videoke queen with a score of 100!; and I was also the first contestant so my other cousins tried to add to their scores by dancing while singing, but they still fell short of 100, ang yabang!...haha...the videoke machine seemed to love me because I sang another song and still got 100:)...and my winning piece- Taylor Swift's You Belong with Me! I had my nieces singing with me like in a choir the whole time..haha
My uncles escorted and danced with their only rose, Tita Imba, while Tito Boy, her husband, was singing something with the videoke as part of the contest. She was crying the whole time while we were all laughing. They even did 'pasabit' but in the absence of pins, they inserted the money at the back of her shirt, on the strap of her bag and on her eyeglasses..haha..
the two contenders for the talent contest
Vince showed an impromptu dance in the tune of Teach me How to Dougie while duo Kate and Kc did a well-prepared and well-executed dance in samba tune I think. Kaloka lang ang 'shirt removal' and exhibition ni Vince..haha. They both shared the cash prize equally (obtained right there and then via ambag-ambag) so no one would feel less, and because we're all biased, unworthy judges anyway.
yes, we laugh hard...and ugly...haha
on the ferry ride home
We all dread the journey forth and back but when we're there, and with each other, all the hassles we encountered would all just fade in the background of fun and laughter. We don't have big shops and malls in Paluan and the electricity is only available for a scheduled time every day but we have a lot of those here in Manila so it's just refreshing to have even just a short opportunity to bum, eat-all-you-can, enjoy the scenery, breathe fresh air, and tan ourselves soaking in the beaches and rivers.
Going home to the province gets more and more difficult every year with work and other things getting in the way but we all try our best to clear our schedule for 2-3 days to celebrate Christmas together. We get bigger and louder every year, with new nephews, nieces or adopted cousins joining our tribe; as the celebration also seem to get more and more complicated. But whatever new games or surprises we may add to the program, on the day of the reunion itself we would always find ourselves going back to the basics, but that's not to say that the plans for some additions don't seem to push through. Some do and some don't but it doesn't really matter, we're family and whatever we do together would surely be fun. Food and videoke (the usual staples) are just all it would take; because with our gratefulness to Christ and our love for each other in our hearts, we're a party in a box.
And I am looking forward to all the Paglicawan Christmas reunions to come!
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