Ho! Ho! Ho!
The simple answer is no.
Lol.
The DTI Secretary recently said that a Php 500 (8.47 USD) budget is enough for a simple celebration for a family of four.
Oh, really? Filipinos are festive people and love to have a feast during Christmas. That's why many were offended and baffled by the statement. 500 Pesos is impossible knowing that even simple Filipino families love to flex a photo of their family standing behind their bountiful table with the caption, "Merry Christmas from our family to yours."
Kidding aside, Christmas is a celebration. It's the day where we splurge and eat something we can't afford to have in an ordinary day.
Even for me who celebrates the holidays alone spends more than the stated budget. I try my best to have my table as festive as possible and filled with the foods I want so I don't feel sad. My family can't celebrate with me but at least I have delicious foods, right? And that somehow makes me happy during Christmas.
But to be fair, I share some of it to my brother when we meet and visit our mom at the cemetery. Also, I set aside a plate for our mom on Christmas eve and another for her grave. So technically, my Christmas foods isn't just for me alone.
Moving forward to the upcoming holidays, it feels like this year's celebration is less exciting than the previous years. There's natural disasters and huge corruption issue in the government. Though it would be a nice Christmas gift if those crocs get jailed before Christmas. Lol.
Anyway, I also want to lessen my expenses a bit for my Christmas Eve foods this year because I still have other expenses in the coming weeks. These photos I shared were from my Christmas 2022 celebration. The cheesecake was so good, by the way.
Thanks for reading! ☆