Late Post: Crafting with Kids - Christmas Tree

I know, I know, Christmas is over, but please forgive me for this very late post.  I have been very busy the past few weeks and was not able to update my blog on time.  Still, I would like to share this post as this could also give you guys an idea on your future craft activities with your angels.

The materials needed are:

1. Christmas tree template (just google for this one).
2. Punchers of different shapes
3. Colored paper
4. Paint
5. Glue

Materials

First, I had the kids paint their trees green and paint a star on top of the tree.  Once they were done, we let it dry.

Let's paint the tree green

Then I let asked them produce different shapes with the use of punchers.  This was a little difficult for my youngest as the puncher was a bit hard, so I had to give him an extra hand. 

Punch, punch and punch

Just look at how colorful the shapes were!

Cutesy!

This was the part they got most excited about.  Have your kids stick the cut-out shapes to the tree.  Just let them do their own style and try not to be perfectionist about it.  This will help your kids be more creative and confident, too.

Stick them up

Look how colorful they are.

Finished product

Thumbs up

Mission accomplished!  Another fun and easy craft completed.

Late Post: McDonald's Fun Day

I am pretty sure that only a few of us know that McDonald's Khalidiya holds a "Fun Day."  How did I know?  Well, my family was dining in one time and one of their staff approached me and asked me if she could have my phone number and told me that they will call me for if they will hold one.  They are also posting an announcement near the cashier a few days before the event.  The staff called me approximately after three months and informed me that they are going to have that event.  However, due to my super hectic schedule, we weren't able to go.  

Just a few weeks ago, I received another call from them saying that another Fun Day will be held.  This time around, I decided that I should take my kids there.

So what's in store for the kids who are going to participate?

The event was only good for two hours, but I assure you that not a single second will be wasted.  They have like about five parlor games, singing and dancing, and of course the opportunity to have your pictures with one of their mascots.  Aside from these, their games come with prices!  But hey, do not expect prices like the ones given on TV shows.  The prices are mostly the happy meal toys from the past, and the kids loved it.

Special awards are also given like the "Early Bird Award," "Best in Art," "Most Active," "Best Dressed," and so on.

At the end of the Fun Day, the kids will also be given certificate of participation for the said event.

Did I have to pay for it?  Well, not really.  I only needed to purchase two happy meals for my kids to be able to join the Fun Day, meaning I only had to pay AED 20 for all of these!  Believe me, it was really worth it.  The kids had fun and their tummies got filled up, too.

I am looking forward to more Fun Days at McDonalds.


McDonald's Khalidiya
Zayed the First Street, Opposite RAK Bank
Khalidiya, Abu Dhabi
Telephone number:  (02) 6666065

The Christmas that was and the New Year that will be

I celebrated my last Christmas in the Philippines in 2007.  Since then, I have been celebrating Christmas abroad here in the UAE.  Christmas back home is different.  It is more fun in the Philippines as they say.  However, having lived in a foreign country for almost 10 years, I have learned how to adapt well and accept things as they are. 

UAE has been very accommodating to Christians like us in this special occasion, which I am very thankful of.  However, Christmas is not a holiday here, it is just an ordinary day.  This means we had to work on Christmas day.

So we celebrated Christmas without my better half, as he had to work night shift on that day.  We just had our usual Noche Buena and gift giving for the kids and attended Christmas day mass the day after.

The kids had all sorts of gifts from friends - toys, clothes, etc.  I wasn't really expecting anything on Christmas, but I received the best gift so far.  My daughter made this "notebook" from scrap.  I think she had the idea from our usual craft activities during the weekends.  He just put whatever she thought was cute and helpful and made this special notebook just for me.

My daughter's Christmas gift to me

New Year's Eve was a little bit different.  I asked my husband if he could file a day off on that day so that we are complete in welcoming the New Year.  Fortunately, his big boss gave him a go so we celebrated the New Year with the whole family, Charlile included :)

 Obviously, all of us wore green as they say it is the lucky color for the year of the wood horse.

We had our usual media noche, but compared to the previous years we didn't make it grand.  We only had enough for the whole family and a few friends.  As a tradition, I asked my children to jump a couple of times so that they will grow tall and scattered some coins for luck and prosperity throughout the year.  We also had the 12 round fruits and 7 dried fruits on the table.  And while Dubai was having the grandest NYE celebration ever, Abu Dhabi was - blah!

Looking back, 2013 was full of ups and downs, failure and hope.  I have lost some and I have gained some.  Life is like this.  It's always bittersweet.  It could never ever be a bed of roses.  I know this New Year, I will have a lot of challenges along the way, a lot of changes and new beginnings.  I am looking forward to a better New Year, but along with it I am preparing to face the future trials that it may bring and equipping myself with faith, prayers, love and hope. 

Late Post: Abu Dhabi Science Festival

As a mom, I want my kids to be involved in every activity there is possible.  One of these activities that my kids went to was the Abu Dhabi Science Festival.  The festival ran from November 14 to 23.  The main festival was at the Du Forum in Yas Island.  However, there was also a mini-festival held at the Abu Dhabi Corniche East Plaza for those who will not be able to go to Du.  These are one of the times that I was really thankful that we live just opposite the Corniche Beach because whenever there are events like this, we just need to cross the road and not worry about parking or traffic at all.

Abu Dhabi Science Festival

There were many activities that the kids loved doing.  We were welcomed with bubbles near the entrance of the festival.  The just beside the bubbles corner was a scale that you need to balance by shooting basketballs on each side.  My youngest enjoyed this activity, as he really loves basketball!

Balancing balls

 There were many musical instruments that were on display and with which the children had the chance to play.  They had drums of all sizes.

Drums

 There was also this giant xylophone, which you could literally sleep on.

Giant xylophones

 The metallophones, which you had to hit with a slipper to be able to produce sounds.

Metallophones

 For the wind pipe to produce sound, you have to wind up a lever for some time.  It was actually kind of difficult for my little boy to do so a little help from mommy did the trick.

Giant wind pipe

You can also check how fast you react on something.  Lights will blink from this board and you have to hit the square that lit up as fast you could.  The more you hit, the better you performed!

How fast do you react

There was also an area where kids will be taught how to make a kite.  It was really so educational, as I also learned how to make one myself.  I was a kid of the 80s, but I haven't been able to make or fly a kite.  It was such a delight for me to see that my kids are actually doing something that I haven't done while I was a kid.

Let's make a kite

My youngest attempted to fly the kite with the help of his father.  He was really into it and did not stop until he was able to make the kite fly in the sky.  I can say that for a first timer, he was actually good. 

Flying a kite

 The kids also had the opportunity to see the stars and the moon through a telescope.  They were really surprised and amazed on how different the moon and starts looked like compared to what they usually see in their coloring books.

Telescope

This was the fun part for me.  For one night, the kids became archeologists, which is another frustation of mine.  They were asked to dig in a sandpit and look for treasures, study those finds and make an estimate of how old the treasures were.  My kids were actually competitive with each other and each wanted to find more than the other.

Archeologists for a night

 At the end of the activity, they were also given this certificate stating thay they have been a "digger" for a day.

UAE digger

 Finally, they also had the chance to see and learn how simple levers work.

Levers

We should always make a conscious effort to expose our children at this young age to activities that would catch their interest.  Kids are like a sponge.  They are able to absorb knowledge by seeing and observing first hand.  It is always good to expose your children to a variety of experiences.  One will never know how these exposures can influence their choices in life in the future.

Dinner Buffet: Gems Restaurant at Cristal Hotel

My colleagues at work and I were looking for a place to celebrate Christmas together.  In our department, we are only eight so we cannot afford to celebrate it grandly as our number is limited.  So we decided to just have a buffet dinner and luckily we found a promo from Groupon for dinner buffet at Gems Restaurant in Cristal Hotel.  It was so cheap!  We only had to pay about 60 AED per person.

Christmas Tree 

Last Friday, we paid the restaurant a visit.  Cristal Hotel is located near Madinat Zayed Souk and New Medical Center.  The hotel was spotless.  It was really clean and inviting, taking into account that it is not located in one of the posh areas in Abu Dhabi.

Gems Restaurant

There were only a few Christmas decors in the resto to remind you it's the holiday season, but hey I am in an Arab country so having a few Christmas decors is better than having none at all.  I was surprised when we got in as the restaurant was literally empty.  So when a restaurant is empty, it only means one thing - food is terrible.

Bread and soup station

Erasing that thought on my mind, I went ahead to their bread and soup station.  Sady, I wasn't convinced by the bread/ornament arrangement and didn't even try a piece as it didn't look good for me.  There were two choices for the soup.  Based on my and my colleagues' review, soup was F-A-B!  Seriously, I could sit there and savor the soup the whole night.

My soup

Then we head off to the salad bar.  The selection was limited.  There were a few premade salads, mostly tuna based, and a few greens and dressings.

Salad bar

I had a couple of greens and tuna with Cesar's dressing on it.  I also tried their Thai beef salad.  The flavor was great, but the beef was as hard as rubber.  

My salad plate

There were also some appetizers such as spring rolls, samousa and fries, but I did not try any of those and couldn't give any feedback.  However, based from my colleague who tried their samousa with vine leaves, she said it was awful.

More appetizers 

On their main course, they had beef, chicken, fish, veggies, and rice, where they provided two dishes each.  There was nothing exceptional about their dishes, but their menu is far better than the one I had at Sofitel.

Mains

Mains

I only had a cut of chicken with spinach, a spoonful of rice, fried fish and veggies for my main course.   It was okay.  I also noticed that for their fried fish, they did not offer any tartar sauce to go with it, so I only put yoghurt instead.

My entree plate

This was the fun part.  Their dessert selection was divine.  The choices were not that much, but everything was fantastic especially the panacotta, chocolate pudding and Madagascar cake.  They also had the coconut cake, which I did not try, but was awesome according to my colleagues.

Desserts

Note that rinks are not included in this buffet.  You have to order separately for your drinks.

My dessert plate

I have been to Gems previously and I can say that they had much better choices before than what they offer now.  However, looking at the price we paid, it was a great deal after all.  The dishes weren't like the ones at Rosewater or Ingredients, but hey Gems Restaurant was still able to fill my tummy big time for AED 60 only.


Gems Restaurant 
Cristal Hotel
17th Floor
Muroor Road, 4th Street
Madinat Zayed, Abu Dhabi
Telephone number:  (02) 652-0000

How Expats Can Send Food to the Philippines

As an expat, I always want to surprise my family back home even in the simplest way.  One thing I love doing is having food delivered to my family's doorsteps especially during special occasions and sometimes for no reason at all.

Back in 2004 when I first arrived here, I was able to send Andok's lechon manok (roasted chicken) via one remittance company and they were very happy to receive something unexpected!  Now, although it's really predictable that I will be sending food to them during special occasions, their excitement never ceased. My family is still enthusiastic about the food that I am going to send them every now and then.

I only have a few choices.  I don't usually order form third party companies because they charge double if not triple of the original price.  Below is the list of the companies where I usually order food from:

1.  Max's Restaurant

• Minimum order is P500.
• Online order must be placed at least 1 hour in advance for deliver now transactions and pick up, 2 hours in advance for deliver later transactions, and 24 hours in advance for dine-in transactions.
• Mode of payment:  Credit card.
• Revisions and cancellations should be made at most 5 minutes after order is placed (for deliver now transactions) or 1 hour after order is placed (for takeout and deliver later and dine-in transactions).

2.  Shakey's Pizza

• Minimum order is P500.
• Advance order cannot be made.
• Mode of payment:  Credit card and Paypal.

3.  Jollibee 

• Minimun food purchase of P1000.
• Orders will be delivered within 24 hours upon confirmation of the order with the recipient.
• Mode of payment:  Credit card, over the counter remittance.

4.  Goldilocks

• Minimum order is $30
• Customer must present ID to claim their items.
• Delivery service is temporarily unavailable until further notice.
• Minimum of three days order lead time.
• Mode of payment:  Credit card.

5.  Yellow Cab

• Minimum order is P300.
• Delivery 45 minutes to 1 hour after confirmation of order. 
• Mode of payment:  Pesopay

Why not try sending a package to your family and then tell me how did it go?

Belle and the Beast

Last Saturday, we had the pleasure of spending our weekend at the newly opened World Trade Center Mall in Abu Dhabi.  It is located where Central Souk is and seems like an extension of the Souk.  They held a special play for the kids entitled Belle and the Beast and what's the best thing about it - it was free.  Yeah, you heard me right a play in the mall for free.

They set up the stage at the very end of the mall's ground floor and placed bean bags where the audience could sit, relax and enjoy the show.

The stage

They also had put up a coloring sheets and of course crayons to keep the kids busy while waiting for the show to start.

Coloring station

Before the show started, free popcorn and cotton candies were also given to the kids.  What a generous gesture of the World Trade Center Mall management!

Free popcorn

Free cotton candy

My eldest enjoying her freebies

Bubble show

Prior to the start of the play, there was a short bubble show, which the kids enjoyed very much.  The kids were so amazed on how the host/clown could do so many things with her bubbles.

The cast

At last, the long wait is over and the play started.  All the actors of the play were excellent!

Belle and the Beast

The Prince, The Maid and Belle

Their first dance

So graceful

The whole cast

The play was such a delight.  They even had interaction with the kids during the play, which kept the kids from being bored.

Photo op with the cast

At the end of the show, there was also an opportunity for the kids to have their pictures taken with the entire cast.  The only negative thing I noticed was that there wasn't any order.  No one wanted to fall in line and everyone was so impatient.  The mall security was just looking at the chaos and didn't even ask everyone to follow the queue. 

Nevertheless, it was a fantastic experience altogether.  My kids really enjoyed their time watching the play and of course the freebies.  I think that this was a good marketing strategy from the mall's management to make World Trade Center Mall better known.

I am looking forward to attending more activities like this.


World Trade Center Mall Abu Dhabi
Khalifa Bin Zayed Street
Telephone number:  (02) 508-2400
Website