A famous couple, rock'n'roll musician and businessman Ramon "RJ" Jacinto and his wife, society columnist and former Karilagan model Frannie Jacinto, welcomed the Daily Tribune to their well-appointed residence in Urdaneta Village.

A few days before Christmas, the visit allowed us a glimpse of how the Jacintos celebrate on the merriest and brightest season of the year.

A collector of beautiful things, Frannie, the perfect hostess, explained the provenance of the many priceless ornaments that she has incorporated into her home's holiday decoration.

"The Christmas person in the house," she said, "is RJ who loves buying décor and fixtures," pointing to a pair of Santa Clauses that stand near the front door. A sure hit especially among children, the taller of the two stout, whiskered and cheerful old men, literally dances when switched on, prompting onlookers not only to laugh but join him with a jig and swing and sway or two. He also chose the multi-colored garden lights that, at night, create a cozy Yuletide mood in their backyard, which is visible from the living and dining area.

A conversation piece is Frannie's assemblage of tiny hemispherical glass-encased snowy Christmas tableaux and a miniature crystal tree on which hang priceless Swarovsky, Lalique, Tiffany's and Murano ornaments, along with knick-knacks gifted by US Ambassadors and friends from Manila's expat and diplomatic community.

The dining table boasts vintage plates and Venetian
hand-painted stemware that belonged to Frannie's father. An elongated floral centerpiece enhances the square-shaped table, with two Lladro angels smiling sweetly upon the Jacintos' guests.

Flanking the living room commode, above which hangs a decades-old portrait of the Fernando and Dina Jacinto family (to which RJ belongs), are two majestic Christmas trees, a 12-year-old iron tree that has been propped up by a stand to give an appearance of height so it does not get engulfed by the high-ceilinged living-cum-dining area.

Around it, down below, is a Christmas village, complete with a train. Closer to the sliding door leading to the back garden is a fresh green tree, which is an annual gift from the Lucio Cos of the Puregold supermarket chain. Of the latter, Frannie said, "You would know it is real when you touch it. And of course, it smells as a pine tree should."

Frannie said that, except for the green tree, "the decades-old Christmas decorations have been recycled, reused and spruced up."

Interestingly, on the wall hang two long Christmas stockings, on which respectively are etched the Jacinto couple's children's names RJJ and Natalia. "Yes," Frannie replied to my question, "These are the same socks they hung when they were still children, and they hang them to this day for fun." Of course, Santa Claus would not disappoint them, so he would tuck in a paper bill or two.

After our tour of the house, Frannie led us to a circular table for four where we enjoyed the Jacinto kitchen's specialties, paella and roasted chicken.  She enumerated the other specialties of the house like sinigang, roast beef, and kare-kare, the last "which is very good because we buy ingredients from the wet market and it is done by slow cooking. We never use commercially-sold ready-made sauces because I don't allow artificial cooking."

Frannie admits to not frequenting the kitchen "because our cook, with whom I have shared our family recipes, has been with us for decades." For dessert, we were served a most delicious but not too sweet apple pie, made by one of the famous Revilla sisters, RJ and Frannie being close to Serge Valencia and his wife Tina Revilla.

The Jacintos join Serge and Bettina Osmeña to an early Noche Buena on Christmas Eve, after which they come home to partake of a simple midnight snack of ham, queso de bola and ensaimada, and then "we exchange and open our gifts, RJ, myself, and our children, RJJ and Natalia."

Come Christmas Day lunch, RJ and Frannie play host to "the big family consisting of my husband's daughters, the husbands or boyfriends, grandchildren, and my sister and brother-in-law when they are in town, and Balikbayan friends who are away from their families. We have 30 guests more or less."

It was, of course, a different story when they were on exile in Paris, "when we celebrated Christmas quietly, and the next day, we were back at work." It is a phase that has long passed and Frannie is grateful for the many blessings the family has received through the years.

"The bottom line is we stay put together as a family during milestones and special celebrations. And of course, being right at home means we are anchored to our roots even as we have grown and our children have their own lives to live. We and our children still live together, both being single, and that means our holiday celebration always has a 100 percent family attendance."

For New Year, they usually go up to Baguio "especially when my sister is in town. Although during the pandemic, we spent the holidays quietly. Always, we would drink champagne and have the same Noche Buena fare for our Media Noche along with our other family specialties."

Her husband's family, the Jacintos, is big on fireworks so "our own children would join us by the pool where we would light up lusis fireworks until, of course, fireworks were banned.

As the countdown to the New Year had begun as well during our visit, Frannie expressed her hope "for better times ahead, with the perils brought about by the pandemic as almost a thing of the past. And yet, we can only be cautious, although we are praying that the economy would recover and the losses of the last two years would be regained.

"I am hopeful that this 2023, the Philippines will be progressive and peaceful. As for our family, we will continue to lead our lives with the guidance of the Lord, knowing He will always be with us in our continuing journey."