It was drizzling outside a low-key but classy restaurant in the Scout area in Quezon City last Monday, 15 December, and vloggers were coming one by one. And when she came, Jodi Sta. Maria exuded a whiff of fresh air in that almost gloomy afternoon, radiant still sans makeup in her simple get-up of printed white polo.

Sta. Maria came with her consultant, Biboy Arboleda, more popularly known as Mother Bibs in show business.

The occasion? It was Sta. Maria’s thanksgiving to the loyal vloggers who helped in her career. This DAILY TRIBUNE columnist was the only legit press in a sea of online content creators.

Before our exclusive chitchat with the Kapamilya actress, Arboleda shared some details about her ward’s activities in 2026.

“She’s on a break in her Jodi Sta. Maria YouTube channel. It’s not easy to do three segments in every episode. It’s physically taxing and draining,” Arboleda said.

As to her next teleserye, Arboleda shared that ABS-CBN has already pitched three projects for next year but Sta. Maria has not approved any yet.

Sta. Maria has finished two movies, one a biopic of student activist Edgar Jopson, which stars Elijah Canlas in the title role. Another is a movie about four Pinay entertainers in Japan.

Our interview with Sta. Maria centered on how she spends Christmas.

“Christmas as a child was warmly spent with the family. It’s because that’s what Christmas is all about. You spend it with people you love. You spend it with people who are important to you,” she initially said.

“As a child growing up, my Christmas was spent with my mom, my brother, my lola (grandmother), my titos (uncles), my titas (aunts),” she added.

Sta. Maria stressed that her maternal grandmother was the center of activities during Christmas.

“She always had embotido, ham. She does her own ham. There’s ube, Leche Flan and spaghetti.”

Most memorable Christmas

Growing up, she and her brother were made to believe in the existence of Santa Claus, the iconic personality who fulfills every child’s wishes during the Yuletide season.

“We were made to believe in the concept of Santa Claus. We were made to sleep at eight or nine in the evening of 24 December and then they’ll wake us up during midnight. And then we.already have gifts. They say the gifts all came from Santa Claus,” she recalled. 

“Me and my brother try to catch Santa Claus. We pretend to be asleep. We try to find out where Santa Claus will come from. But of course, there’s no Santa Claus,” she added.

Changing wish list

Sta. Maria admitted her wish list changed from time to time as “when you’re younger, your concern is to receive toys.”

“I’m just thankful because during those times, although we didn’t have much, my lola and my mom would really try their best to give what’s in our wish list. We’re not really big on toys. It’s more like more on books because they’re invested on books.

“And now, at my age, your Christmas wish is good health. I think when you mature, you don’t pray for material things anymore. You pray more for intangible ones. You pray for good health, peace of mind and togetherness of your family,” she said.