The Christmas Tree is a central part of any holiday home. It is also a reflection of the family’s personality and individual style, often times abundant in sentimental value. Join us as we get the lowdown on some of Manila’s finest Christmas trees and the stories they have to share!

Vicki Belo

Tatler Asia

“Stephen Brown, the one who decorated the Christmas tree from Glitterville, his inspiration was a Mexican kind of Christmas. He calls the tree “Feliz Navidad de Scarlet”. So, Scarlet’s always been the reason for the tree. So, we started doing the trees when she was nine months old because I felt that it was time to bring child-like things into the house.

For the tree, we have the sloth, which is supposed to be the laziest animal in the world, and then the burro, which is a baby donkey, and an ostrich. The colours are always pastel. And then, there’s a senorita, instead of having a tree with a star, the top part of the tree is a face of a Mexican senorita, which I think was serendipitous, because long before we knew what the tree was going to look like, we already planned our Christmas Holiday Vacation as a family and we decided to go somewhere we all have not gone to before. So, that’s Mexico and Cuba. So parang it all ties in together with the 2019 Christmas theme!”

See Also: A Look Into Vicki Belo and Hayden Kho's Magical Wedding

Kathy Huang

Tatler Asia

“I have a double height ceiling in my living room, so the inspiration was “The bigger the better.” So I have a 15 foot tree in order to fill the space. I am not a very colorful person, so the tree is basically monochromatic, bronzes and golds. With a few pops of red this year. I never completely redo a tree. Every year I buy a few more ornaments and add that to the tree, removing some from past years, so each year it looks a little different.”

Read More: Style Profile with Kathy Yap-Huang

Marco Rodriguez and Rosanna Ocampo Rodriguez

Tatler Asia
Above Photo by Kryss Rubio
Tatler Asia
Above Photo by Kryss Rubio

“We happily re-use nostalgic pieces as our centerpiece ornaments all revolve around our travels. We started collecting during our honeymoon with pieces from Westminster Abbey. We then bugun adding those from New York, Taormina, Hong Kong (on our folks’ 50th Anniversary), & the Mercato Centrale in Florence. We also have decor created by our kids which shall be the most cherished.”

Aivee Teo

Tatler Asia

“The inspiration for this year is glitter and gold which gives the classic Christmas elegance. There are classic gold bulbs hanging, shiny ornaments, glittery snowflakes and of course, small to big boxes of Christmas gifts around the tree. We usually change our Christmas theme every year for a fresh look, and it also keeps the family always looking forward & excited every Christmas season! Our theme would really depend on what feel  & look we like for the yuletide season.”

See Also: Step Into the Home of Drs. Aivee and Z Teo

Audrey Zubiri

Tatler Asia
Above Photo by Kryss Rubio

“We collaborated with my uncle Tony Aquino to update the look of our Christmas tree from a classic red and gold to silver and gold to match the changes in our home. We are in a new phase in our lives and we wanted our Christmas tree to reflect that. We normally keep the cherished and sentimental pieces such as a hand carved wooden “belen” we bought in Israel that we display on our entrance foyer and the children’s first Christmas ornaments. As for the rest of our decorations, we try to reuse what is still functional and in line with our theme while refreshing the look by changing how we use our other decorations.”

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