The invitation from good friend Ramon Cabrera, general manager of The Manor Camp John Hay, was to attend their Christmas Tree Ceremonial Lighting. But as the evening fell upon us — and let's not forget the welcome chill — more than just a tree was illuminated; there were lights, lights and lights everywhere.

The open space was spectacularly aglow — shrubs and bushes, pathways and benches all — and even the tallest pair of Araucaria trees brandished streams of lights cascading down from its peak. To put it into perspective, just for the garden alone, the management utilized exactly 427,560 LED bulbs!

And when we glanced back at the sprawling, curved four-story property from where we stood, the silhouette of the building, its rooftops, and its balconies were lavishly outlined with little ignited lights. It was undoubtedly more than a mere Christmas Tree Lighting.

But that's getting ahead of our story.

The venue of the affair was the iconic Manor Garden in full bloom, where we were graciously led to white linen tables and chairs with covers, with rustic decor of authentic garlands with silver and golden holiday balls. Joined by six lady friends from Manila, a travel buddy, and three foster kids from the Philippine Military Academy, once we were seated, we noticed a bevy of wait service ready, at their utmost attention.