Christmas 2022 was, in all honesty, admittedly one of the quietest Christmases I'd had in a long time.
It wasn't that I didn't intend to celebrate it.
I just felt slightly less enthusiasm for it.
Don't ask me why.
It's a pity- I find- because there was a time in my life when, geared up by the Toffee Nut Lattes and the Peppermint Mochas of Starbucks, I'd be all excited for the festive season as soon as November arrived.
But it hasn't been like this for a couple of years now.
Still, I'm someone who never likes to miss a festive occasion, no matter how big or small the celebration may be.
So it was that I began the Christmas season with a couple of shopping mall style Christmas trees.
Like this one here at Citilink Mall, Ngee Ann City and Wilkie near Sophia.
After that there was one little cosy-looking tabletop Christmas tree that The Parent and I bought from a department store several years ago and have kept it beautifully maintained since.
There was, of course, a meal with my regular favorites- steamed noodles, steamed siew mais, zichar and ice cream.
(I don't know when it is that I'll have it back again)
But as of this season it was lovely to have cups of coffee, cups of warm vanilla ice cream, and fried rice topped with loads of lettuce, seafood balls, and sausage.
Following this lovely meal were more visits to more Christmas trees.
It's an annual pilgrimage of mine to look at the trees in the hotels of the Downtown Bay Area, and I wanted to continue seeing them still this year, so off it was to Ritz Carlton Millennia, and the gigantic Christmas tree that they've moved from inside the lobby to the entrance just up the driveway this year.
It wasn't just the Bay Area that I went to.
There were a couple of visits to see the trees over at Orchard Road too.
Like this one here at 313 Somerset, this one here at Marriott Tang Plaza, this one here at Hotel Jen Orchard Gateway and this one here at Hilton Orchard too.
Perhaps the most significant thing about Christmas of this year wasn't merely for what it was, or what these lovely, cozy, glamorous, glittery Christmas trees are, but these two that I had for breakfast the day after.
Because for the longest time in my life, I have loved mince pies especially during this festive season, and in this Christmas of 2022, I finally got some.