In the Philippines, the star is the main symbol of Christmas.  All of Manila is covered with stars -- along the streets, hanging in trees, on poles in the park, in shopping malls, in living rooms -- everywhere there are star shaped lanterns.  Some glitter in a changing array of colors and some are simple one-color traditional lanterns with the candle now replaced by a light bulb.  Denny made an office Christmas card that featured the Statue of Liberty holding up a Christmas Star to light the world.

The U.S. Government FPO mail system seemed to work well this Christmas.  Our tree was overflowing with presents.  As usual, the kids were too excited to sleep.  They stayed up to 2:00 AM and then were tugging at our blankets at 6:00 AM trying to get us up to open presents.  Maya's favorite gift was a very trendy Baby-G watch.  Mac got an electronic drum set.  Many other great presents.

And, of course, we ate far too much.  On Christmas Eve, we dined at a fancy hotel buffet.  On Christmas Day, we joined our Australian neighbor and her friends from the Australian Embassy for a Christmas dinner.  We had lamb, roasted vegetables, lots of fresh seafood and Australian wines.