It’s another time of the year to spend quality time with family. Christmas feels happier if you have kids at home. There is a different joy and excitement living with toddlers.  As for us, we have 2 boys who are very excited to stroll around and see new places. Since my nephews live apart, we are very eager for this holiday to spend with them.

For this year, we decided to have a staycation near SM Mall of Asia. We wanted to be just in Metro Manila for lesser traffic feels. Last year in Baguio City, though the travel time from Manila to Baguio was just 5 hours, the traffic in the city has been very chaotic. It was very crowded everywhere! This time, we chose to be more relaxed.

Where did we stay?

We rented out a condo unit at Shell Residences near SM Mall of Asia. It is a two-bedroom unit with all the amenities we need. We were happy that the unit was very spacious for 6 adults and 2 kids. The bathroom and kitchen have almost everything. The unit has kitchenware, heated shower, automatic laundry, dryer, iron and even the smallest bottles of condiments.

The two bedrooms have queen beds. The owner also added an extra mattress and a sofa convertible to bed. With the 2 AC that made the entire unit cold, the kids slept very well. The bedding is very comfortable too.

Though the unit has no terrace or outdoor drying, that was ok for us. They have a foyer that can let us dry our stuff. Some improvements may be added to have a Netflix account on their TV for more viewing time, specially for kids to not just use their cellphones. But definitely, their Wi-Fi access is strong and uninterruptible.

Shell Residences also offers pool access for guests for Php 150 each. The owner of our unit generously provided 2 tickets for the kids to use. The kids enjoyed the pool even though it was damn cold!  We were so happy to see the kids enjoying the water the day before Christmas.

As the condo unit is near everywhere, we were able to dine in SM Mall of Asia. There is a convenience store on the ground floor of the condo unit and other restaurants. We were able to attend Christmas Day mass at the Shrine of Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life church.

It was indeed a relaxing staycation for us! I am actually thinking of getting back for a longer period of time. But for now, we are happy that we were hosted by nice, owners Ms. Norly and Ms. Joann. To know more about this booking, please click here.

More of our staycation

Since we started our staycation, an eve before my birthday, we stayed first in the condo unit waiting for my brother and sister-in-law to check in on the next day.

We had my birthday dinner at Chili’s and enjoyed all the food. Baby back ribs were a hit! My nephews liked it very much. All dishes were delightful. It was not my first time eating at Chili’s so I know they serve good food and provide good customer service. So I was very happy to treat my family to this restaurant.

Chili’s desserts were very delicious, too! They even provided me with a birthday sundae to celebrate the night. We went home full and thinking to have another baby back ribs on New Year.

On Christmas Day, we attended the morning mass at Shrine of Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life church. For younger adults like me, it may take 20 minutes to walk from our condo to the church. However, as we have a senior citizen, we opted to rent a Grab car. In less than 10 minutes, we were already at the church pathway.

It was a family tradition to attend the mass on Christmas Day even we are away from our home. So, all of us were happy and feeling blessed during the mass.

After mass, we walked our way to SM Mall of Asia to have our lunch. We dined in at Shakey’s as the best nearest family restaurant. My nephew loves pizza. With his tantrums that morning, it was a delight to let his belly be filled with pizza and other delicious dishes.

My brother-in-law also came thus we are complete on Christmas Day. After lunch, we shopped for some items at the department store. The mall was very crowded. Thus, we limited our time there and headed back to the condo unit.

Other places that we visited nearby were the MET Live Mall, across was our favorite 24Chicken Store and Contis to buy a Christmas cake for Jesus.

We had a simple Noche Buena at our Airbnb condo. Our family was very blessed this year with all the provisions from our God Almighty. We are very delighted to feel his presence and celebrate His birthday.

Until our next Christmas vacation! 💜

Thank you Lord for all the provisions! 💜💜