There's no place like home 🏠
And Merry Christmas from my family to yours!
Back home in the Philippines, Christmas is a thing.
We start stringing our Christmas lights, ringing the holiday jingles in malls & radios, & entertaining merry carolers as early as September. Pre-Christmas, we’ll attend about 10+ Christmas parties, one for every iteration of friend group we have. On Christmas eve, we’ll celebrate with a lavish meal (complete with a whole roast pig!) that starts in the afternoon and ends past midnight. On Christmas day, we visit both sides of our families, the kids perform dances or songs in exchange for money, and we eat even more food.
Last year was the first time I spent Christmas outside of home. Lucky me, home & family came to me instead.
This year is my first time spending Christmas outside of home and without family. That, on top of COVID-19 makes the happiest time of the year a little colder than I’d like it to be.
Homesickness hits me hard as Christmas day comes around the corner.
But if 2020’s taught us anything, it’s to channel energy in things we can control. I’m compensating for the lack of holiday cheer and manufacturing happiness through:
online parties (hosted 7+ and counting!)
stringing decorations around our tiny apartment ✨
a healthy dose of optimism — extended time away from family will only make the moment I see them much sweeter and;
gratitude for my health, for a roof above my head & many more
And if you’re one that gets to be at home with family this holiday season, no matter how much bickering you’re having with your siblings or how many dishes you now have to wash, I hope you know you’re a lucky one that has much to be grateful for, too.
Merry Christmas and good riddance 2020! 🎄🎄🎄
👀 Nudge of the week
The ultimate gifting experience.
Goody — gifting made easy, as simple as a text message.
I love surprising my friends with gifts. But the surprise is ruined when I have to ask my friends to give me their addresses.
With Goody, I can pick a gift, send a txt msg, my friend gets a delightful unboxing, adds their OWN address & then I pay. Design is beautiful, too!
Great products question traditional ways of seeing things and consequently find more delightful patterns to leverage.
Congrats to Edward Lando & team!
🚀 Project of the week
A new friend (Zack Khan, PM @ Nextdoor, KP Fellow) and I are building a no-code list of all things related to the Passion Economy! Can’t wait to share more 🙃