"When we remember a special Christmas, it is not the presents that made it special, but the laughter, the feeling of love, and the togetherness of friends and family that made that Christmas special." — Catherine Pulsifer
Christmas will be celebrated any minute from now. Whenever we hear the months started to end in "ber", I guess many of us were excited about it. Whenever we hear someone singing the songs of Christmas, it adds to the excitement that we feel. This means that people still believe in the magic that Christmas brings to all humanity.
Excitement in a way that gift giving and partying will fall on the last month of every year. This excites us and the fact that some will also receive extra bonuses from their companies.
Aside from that, Christmas is the time when we can find time to enjoy ourselves with our colleagues and students who are also excited as we are adults.
Personally, whenever we had our Christmas party, it brought excitement to me. This year's Teachers' Christmas party was held last December 8, 2023, which falls on a holiday here in the Philippines. And because it's a holiday, our dear principal suggested having the party on that day, and everyone agreed about it.
Everyone decided to celebrate our Christmas party on a beach. We also plan to have an island hopping on one of the islands in the northern part of Medellin, Cebu - "Gibitngil Islands" after the party.
On the day of the event, everyone was so excited. Some of my colleagues were bringing with them their family and kids which brought so much joy to the party. We arrived at the venue at exactly 8:30 in the morning. Before we start, everyone helps prepare the table and the food.
The party was held at Paradizzo Beach in Medellin Cebu. It was a white sand beach located in the northern part of Cebu. The area is wide so it can accommodate many visitors in a day.
Your kids will surely enjoy the fine white sand of the place
As Filipinos, we love to prepare a lot of food during Christmas parties because aside from our colleagues, we are also sharing this food with our loved ones who are with us and celebrate with us.
A lot of different kinds of food was served on the table. We have the lechon or "roasted pig", spring rolls, seafood, pancit, and roasted chicken. We also had our famous hanging rice.
Before our lunch, each of us was assigned to a certain team for our games. Four teams were competing to win a small amount of prizes.
Game 1: Pass the hula-hoop
For this game, the hula-hoop from the first person should be passed to the last person in your group without touching the hula-hoop in the fastest time you can. You can pass it by moving your arms without breaking your teammate's hand all lined up together.
Game 2: Find your teammates blindfolded
Each member of the group will be blindfolded. The team will choose the sound of an animal. The facilitator will separate the group in different directions and using the sound chosen they will use it to find their teammates again. But the facilitator made a twist. Every member will have a banana and when they find their teammates they will have to eat the banana until all the bananas are eaten, that's the time they will be declared winners.
Game 3: Fill the cups with flour
This game will test the ability of the group to fill the cups with flour. Each member will be given a playing card. The playing card will serve as a scoop to the flour. The first player will scoop the flour from the cup and then each member will line up and pass the flour to one another. The group that fills the cup more will be declared the winner.
From the games played, everyone shared beautiful memories and had fun. The prizes are just the bonus points but the camaraderie and unity between the team will surely strengthen it even more.
At every Christmas party, it's a natural way for Filipinos to exchange gifts or "manito/manita".
Our dear principal also shared his blessings with everyone. Everyone had fun receiving the gifts because we had to take simple dance steps before receiving them which all of us enjoyed. The laughter shared will never be forgotten.
And lastly, we had our exchanging of gifts to our manito/manita which makes it even more fun by having a little dance moves as we are about to give gifts.
It was fun. All of us are preparing gifts for our colleagues even if it's only a small amount, yet it's coming from our hearts.
One of the most exciting parts of this party is the island hopping. The Gibitngil Island is just 20 to 30 minutes away from our venue. So, our dear principal suggested to have a short tour of the place.
There were 3 boats ready for the island tour. Each small boat costs Php1500 to Php2000, catering to 10 to 15 persons inside.
During the tour, this beautiful mountain formation will be seen along the way. And the crystal clear water will be seen as you get closer to the island. The island is the best spot for diving which offers a very budget-friendly entrance fee of Php20.00 you can enjoy swimming all day.
We stayed for about 30 minutes on the island and all of us enjoyed swimming and taking beautiful pictures in the place too.
As we went back to our venue, it was a little bit wavy yet, the driver in the fishing boats was still calm. So, even if we have that wavy encounter, all of us are having fun and we arrive safe and sound back to our party.
Indeed, it was a wonderful Christmas party. We enjoy ourselves a lot and share beautiful memories. It only proves that success will be achieved when unity and camaraderie work. We are very thankful for a wonderful adventure at the island hopping and wish to have a lot more as we go together as one family.
That's all for today my dear Hive friends. I hope you enjoy it!
Have a nice day everyone. 😊
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