MANILA, Philippines—Christmas is definitely not just for kids. That’s according to the children we spoke with for this special feature. “Mom and Dada also celebrate Christmas. It’s for my yaya, too,” said Jaime Yllana, our youngest interviewee at 5.

We sat down with Jaime and the other kids of Anjo and Jacqui Yllana, and also the children of Anthony and Maricel Pangilinan, Richard and Lucy Gomez, and Ariel and Gelli Rivera for an all-Christmas chat. Here are excerpts from the exchange—holiday insights (and other stuff, like Santa sightings) from the mouths of babes.

The Pangilinans

For the Pangilinan Family, “Christmas Bells” is the most meaningful holiday tune.

“This was the song that Benj taught Sebastian, a boy he met in the hospital four years ago. Sebastian couldn’t speak... until he met my son,” Benjamin’s mom, actress Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan told Inquirer Entertainment.

Benjamin, 7, had a heart by-pass at age 4. Sebastian, 3 at the time, was having a liver transplant.

“Benj even showed Sebastian the movements of the bells,” added Maricel, also mom to Ella, 12, Donny, 10, and Hannah, 9. Daddy is newscaster and personality development trainer Anthony Pangilinan.

The song has the same melody as the more popular “Jingle Bells.” According to Benjamin, the lyrics go like this: “Christmas bells, Christmas bells, bring them out today. Christ is born in Bethlehem, to take our sins away. Hey! Christmas bells, Christmas bells...”

“We still communicate with Sebastian’s parents through letters,” said Maricel. “We regularly ask how the boy is. As for Benj, his heart is good as new. His doctor noted that if he was active before the operation, he’s even more active now.”

We were lucky that Maricel brought her nephews Joshua, 13 and Ryan, 4, and niece Kaila, 7, to the interview. The children were vacationing at the Pangilinans’ Quezon City home because their parents, Felichi and Joseph Buizon, were out on a medical mission for “Operation Blessing.”

Does anyone else have a favorite Christmas carol?

Hannah: I do. My mom taught me “Jesus Loves Me.” It’s the first song that I ever sang. It’s about Jesus so I sing it mostly at Christmas time.

Benj: I also like “Jingle Bells” because it’s a nice song. You can do something with it. You can say: “Jingle bells, Batman smells/Robin laid an egg. The Batmobile lost a wheel/And the Joker got away. Hey!” I read it on the computer.

What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever got?

Benj: The best gift was the pirate hat that my sister Hannah gave me.

Kaila: My favorite was when my dad brought me to this movie and gave me a doll.

What’s the movie called?

Kaila: “The March of the Penguins.”

Ella: I have a few favorite gifts. They’re really not material things. The first one was when my parents brought me to the snow. It’s the first time I had a white Christmas. The second was when I realized how important it was for us to stick together as a family when my brother had an operation.

Hannah: My favorite Christmas gift is my Bratz set. Actually the best gift I got wasn’t for Christmas but for my birthday. I was sick then. I woke up and nobody was with me in the room. I thought they were all playing outside without me; ‘yun pala they were all making a big sign saying “Happy Birthday, Hannah.” That made me cry.

Donny: I was 4 or 5 when I got a small toy motorcycle. It’s something that you could ride on. My lola gave it to me.

Ryan: The best gift was the one toy car I got that’s really nice.

What do you wish to get this Christmas?

Ryan: Cars!

Donny: A golf cart.

Joshua: My own laptop.

Benj: A PSP, an NBA game, a Speed Stacks game and a Tekken game.

Kaila: I wish to get more dolls.

Hannah: A new cell phone.

Ella: She lost her old cell phone kasi. This Christmas, I wish for God to give me the desires of my heart. I’m not sure what I want. I know He has something good in store for me.

That’s it? You don’t want a copy of the “Twilight” series? Every girl wants one.

Ella: My friends told me about the plot. I really don’t think it’s something to feed my mind. But then, I think my dad and I are going to watch the movie to see how to understand it better.

Maricel: We don’t discourage our children from being exposed to things that are controversial. We just want them to be aware [of what] they feed their mind, that it’s going to shape who they are. I just thought that if Ella would be exposed to that, anyway, we might as well go with her so we can answer whatever questions she may have. ’Di pwedeng porke’t sikat, payag ka na rin.

Are you agreeable to your kids joining show biz?

Maricel: They’ve expressed that wish. We’re not the type of parents who will stifle the growth of our kids, but they have to prioritize their studies. We set boundaries because they’re too young to decide for themselves. They just have to trust us.

Wasn’t Hannah with you in your Biogesic commercial?

Maricel: Yes. Nakakahiya ako kasi nag-buckle ako with my lines. If you noticed, it’s just one long shot. She memorized her lines, which was actually the whole commercial. I just came in and said a few words and then left. I was so awed when I saw her, kaya nung ako na, nautal ako. She went, “Mama naman. Now we have to retake.” We finished so fast, because she was a natural. Benj did an Ovaltine commercial, and Donny, something for Koko Krunch. Ella, when she was the same age as Benj and Hannah, had quite a few of her own. Her stage right now is alanganin.

What does Christmas mean to you?

Donny: It’s the birthday of Jesus. It reminds us that Jesus died on the cross for us.

Ella: It’s the day when we get together and celebrate His birthday.

What do you do normally do on Christmas Eve?

Ella: We usually have dinner together, sometimes with mom’s friends. My dad retells the story of how Jesus was born, so that we’ll be reminded that Christmas is not just about giving gifts and getting new toys.

Benj: For noche buena, our dad cooks with us. The neighbors make their water bombs ready because our dad, when he comes home, uses water guns on us.

Maricel: What Benj is trying to say is that Christmas is a celebration. It’s when Daddy comes home, chases everybody and shoots at them with water guns. Sometimes he puts bagoong, toyo or suka in the water gun.

Has anyone among you seen Santa Claus?

Ella: No, but our dad faked it once. He painted his shoe white and then he stomped it on the floor. We all thought it was Santa, but then I saw a brand. When I was making kalkal in their shoe closet, I saw a pair with white paint on it. It had the same brand as Santa’s.

Hannah: We saw another fake Santa when we went to America. We went to the Ronald McDonald House and had Christmas there because Benj had an operation. The fake Santa Claus came in early. We all saw him and chased after him. We couldn’t find him anymore when he went outside the store.

What did Santa give you last Christmas?

Benj: He gave my brother Donny a Monopoly set. I got a bear. It’s so soft.

Kaila: I got a microscope.

Hannah: He gave me Rugrats toys.

Ella: I got a dog, a Maltese. Its name is Katri.

Ryan: He gave me two toy cars, and only one pair of McDonald shoes. He also gave us a laptop.

Josh: I got a new computer game.

Do you think Christmas is just for kids?

Josh: No, it shouldn’t be.

Ella: People probably think it’s just for kids because of the gifts, but then Christmas is about spending time with your family and making sure that no one has work.

Hannah: Kids aren’t only the ones who love Jesus. Even though you’re a parent you can also celebrate Christmas.

The Riveras

Julio, 7, son of actors Gelli de Belen and Ariel Rivera, thinks his kuya, Joaqui, 9, is the luckiest kid in the world.

“He has seen Santa Claus and the reindeer,” said Julio during an interview in their Cubao, Quezon City, home.

“They were on the roof. I saw them flying around the houses,” said Joaqui. “I went to sleep after that. My cousin said she heard me shout at Santa. That’s all I remember. I was just 2.”

Despite his brother’s limited memory of that eventful night, Julio could not be dissuaded from recounting Joaqui’s encounters with the man in the red suit: “Something happened with Santa and kuya again recently. Kuya wished he had a toy sword for Christmas, but mom and dad didn’t allow it. Maybe Santa heard him pray because that Christmas, somebody rang our doorbell. When we opened the door, we saw a garbage bag full of toy presents. We didn’t know who it was from.”

What did you get from Santa last Christmas?

Julio: I got toys, some socks and clothes.

Joaqui: I got toys and clothes, too.

What’s your favorite holiday song?

Joaqui: “Jingle Bombs.”

Julio: It’s from Achmed, the dead terrorist. You can find it in YouTube. I like “Christmas in our Hearts.” We sang it last Christmas in GMA 7 and in our school, too.

What’s the best present you got on Christmas day?

Julio: An Xbox 360.

Joaqui: No, we didn’t get that. I bet my little brother would say his Hulk toy.

Julio: Yeah!

Joaqui: Me, I don’t know. They’re all good.

What’s your favorite Christmas food?

Joaqui: Shrimps.

Julio: I like Chester’s. It’s a type of junk food from America.

Where do you usually go during Christmas?

Julio: Sometimes we go to Canada; sometimes we stay here and get our presents from under the Christmas tree.

Don’t you go to your cousin’s house?

Julio: They come to our house. We’re the ones who invite everyone.

How can you make Christmas special for others?

Joaqui: By helping the needy kids.

You do that?

Julio: A few years ago we gave out food.

Joaqui: In this place somewhere in Manila.

Julio: We gave out McDonalds food. In my head, I went: “Nooooooooooo!”

Joaqui: It’s our favorite place to eat so we really don’t like giving their food away.

What’s your saddest Christmas ever?

Joaqui: We don’t have any.

Julio: That’s a good thing, right?

The Yllanas

Each year, the kids of actor-politician Anjo Yllana and wife Jacqui Manzano look forward to eating chicken relleno on Christmas Day at their great grandmother’s house.

“It’s an heirloom recipe. It’s made by my lola’s helper and we all love it, especially the kids,” said Jacqui. Her daughters, Mika, 9, and Andee, 8, confessed to also enjoying the crisp and tasty skin of the lechon. Jaime, 5, says he wants nothing but ice cream. As for Nathan, who turned 1 on the day of our visit, we hazard a guess: milk formula.

“We don’t just eat on Christmas Day, you know,” said Andee. “Yes, I also bring out all my toys and play with my cousins and friends,” added Jaime, whom his parents and siblings prefer calling Budoy.

“Christmas is our favorite time of the year,” said Mika. “We write to Santa Claus, and on that night we open the gifts he sent us.” Sadly, Mika said, none of them ever got to see the man in the red suit. “We’re always asleep when he comes,” Andee explained.

“Christmas to them is all about giving gifts. Automatic na ’yun. Lahat ng teachers and classmates have gifts,” Jacqui said. “But of course, they also know that it’s Jesus Christ’s birthday.”

Mika was hoping to get her own PSP this year. Andee, who said the Barbie doll she got a few years back was still her favorite, wished for something similar to that.

“Christmas isn’t just for kids,” declares Jaime with authority, “Mom and Dada also celebrate Christmas. It’s for my yaya, too.”

The Gomezes

We found three Christmas trees set up in the living room of the Gomez home in Mandaluyong City.

That’s one tree for each family member—the pink one, decorated with little Santa figurines, is for Lucy. Green and silver balls of different sizes hang on Richard’s blue tree. Their daughter, Juliana, 7, has hers in bright green. She has decked it with pink and blue bows.

“Juliana’s tree used to have six dozen candy canes hanging all over it, but Lucy noticed that the candies were melting. So now, for ornaments, the tree ribbons, which my Juliana designed herself,” Richard said as he ushered us into the spacious two-story house.

The Gomezes spent the last two Christmases in Ormoc, Lucy’s hometown. This year, it’s her parents who will pay them a visit. “Christmas is the most important event of the year for Lucy and Juliana,” Richard said. “They make sure the Christmas trees are decorated early, before Lucy’s birthday on Dec. 11.”

He said that, being an only child, Juliana rarely had playmates at home, and that she got to play mostly with the kids of her famous dad’s friends—actors John Estrada, Anjo Yllana and Mike Gayoso. And that’s only when they came to visit.

Richard had to sit with his daughter through this conversation, helping us along. We found Juliana to be extremely shy.

“What would you like to get from Santa this Christmas?” Richard asked his daughter, who simply smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “I thought you wanted some pink stuff?” he prodded. Juliana answered, “Not anymore.”

Last year, Juliana got a wallet from Santa. “It wasn’t what I asked for,” she said, adding that she wasn’t hanging her Christmas stocking this year. “It doesn’t match my tree,” she told her dad. “It’s green and red.”

For Juliana, Christmas is “all about opening gifts.” She said she makes sure to say thanks to all those who sent them. “This year, Daddy said I should keep all the gift cards so I don’t miss saying thank you to anyone.”

Email mcruz@inquirer.com.ph