’Tis the season to bond with families and friends

PETALING JAYA: For one family celebrating Christmas in Kuala Lumpur, the occasion will not only be filled with love, laughter and fun, but loud cheers, too.

From singing, family bonding and attending the midnight mass, 26-year-old Siobhan Anne will be doing all these and more.

“Christmas has always been meaningful for my family and I. We will make sure that we celebrate it with a bang, literally, with firecrackers and fireworks,” the writer said with a laugh.

It’s a tradition for her family to gather at her uncle’s home for a night of fun, games and drinking for the adults.

“The best part is when my uncle brings out his guitar or harmonica and things get really fun.

“We sing together and laugh at the recollection of old stories that warm the heart and put us in the spirit,” she said.

Siobhan said that at her age, she is still excited about receiving presents, though she admitted to getting more satisfaction from watching her family members light up when they open their gifts.

“We always put a lot of thought into the presents we give, so every gift is special.”

As for what’s on the menu, Siobhan said she can’t wait to tuck into her mother’s mutton varuval, her aunt’s meatloaf and uncle’s lamb chops.

This year’s celebration will be a little different for her family.

“We are hosting it at our place instead of going to my uncle’s,” she added.

A businessman in Selangor, who wished to be known only as Charles, said Christmas is a time of laughter, games, eating and drinking with his family.

“It’s wonderful to catch up with family members.

“As I grow older, I look forward more to this than getting presents,” said the 29-year-old.

Meanwhile, those who are not celebrating Christmas are taking advantage of the long weekend to unwind and spend time with friends.

Aida Najwa Azmi, 22, who is studying in the capital city, will not be going back to her hometown in Kedah. She will be going cycling with her friends.

The final-year student said she wants to spend as much time with her friends as possible before they graduate.

“As we are approaching the end of the semester, I also have a lot of assignments. So I will focus on that after having some fun with my friends,” she added.

This is also a super busy season for restaurants.

A cook in Kuala Lumpur, Putra Johan Jaafari, said even though they need to postpone their holidays, they are in high spirits, seeing streams of customers dining in.

He said the restaurant he works at was fully booked even before the celebration.

“As cooks, we are happy when our restaurant is busy and has a lot of customers. Of course, we make mistakes sometimes but as a team, we help each other out,” he said.