MANILA, Philippines?It is said that Christmas is for children and so, every parent leaves no stone unturned to make their kids extremely happy during the Yuletide season. We asked several celebrities what Christmas was like when they were children. Their answers:

Screenwriter/actress Raquel Villavicencio says her Christmas was ?very American.? ?I grew up in Pampanga at malapit kami sa Clark Air Force Base, so our tree was real pine,? recalls Raquel. ?Amoy-Baguio ang bahay namin ?pag Pasko. We would place cotton balls on the tree para mukhang may snow, and string together popcorn as decor.? When it came to noche buena, the specialty of the house was Mexicali chicken, based on a recipe handed down by my aunt. ?It was really special, kasi it was rich in olives.?

On Christmas morning, it was time to open the gifts. ?I usually got all kinds of dolls,? adds Raquel. ?There were walking dolls, talking dolls, later on Barbie dolls.? Her parents would order them from the US through a mail-order catalogue.

Nine siblings

The celebration wouldn?t be complete without the program where Raquel acted as choreographer to her nine siblings. One year, she wrote a children?s book about the littlest star that showed the Three Kings the way to the manger. That early, she was already showing signs of her future profession.

Unlike Raquel, sexy star Cristine Reyes was never fond of dolls. ?Dalawa lang kaming girls sa pamilya. Mga cousins ko, puro boys. Hilig ko talaga maglaro ng patintero, gumamit ng pellet guns!? Instead of dolls, the young Cristine would get sleepwear from aunts and uncles.

She has fond memories of her caroling days. ?Kaya lang, never kaming nakatanggap ng pera. Puro candy ang binibigay.? She also remembers getting small presents and believing they came from Santa, until she caught her dad stuffing gifts inside the socks they had placed on their door.

Teen years

Teleserye leading man, Jericho Rosales, finds it hard recalling his childhood experiences during Christmas. His earliest recollections were of his teen years when he would listen to New Wave music courtesy of his older brother.

Then, after much prodding, he continues, ?Nung 8 ako, naalala ko ?yung picture kung saan hawak ko ang isang robot. Tapos, nung 7 ako, nasunog ang kamay ko ng baby rocket na puno ng watusi. Kasi kinalog ko!? He showed me the scar from that unfortunate accident.

Singer Christian Bautista says his family always held big parties during Christmas. ?Usually, umaabot ng 50 ang uma-attend. We would play games, and sing and dance during production numbers.? Ironically, the future singer did more dancing than singing as a child.

While other kids believe in Santa Claus for a while, Christian didn?t, since he was taught about the religious significance of the occasion. ?It?s all about the birth of Christ. That?s the reason for the celebration.?

Veteran actor, Christopher de Leon, agrees with Christian, ?Santa Claus is a hoax. He?s trying to steal the show from Jesus Christ.? Unlike most of the celebrities I interviewed for this article, what Boyet remembers most about Christmas were sad events.

?When I was 7 years old, my mom left for the US,? remembers Boyet. ?All our businesses went down. My dad was devastated. I remember, he brought home lechon for our noche buena. Tatlo lang kami, my dad, my sister, Melissa, and myself. He didn?t buy a whole lechon, just the head and a portion of the body. We went to Cubao to greet someone. Pagbalik namin, wala na ang lechon!?

?Funny? situation

Despite the loss, they found the situation funny. ?Pinagtawanan namin ang nangyari. Malungkot, pero natawa kami. Sabi ni Dad, ?Kain na lang tayo ng kahit ano.? That was a memorable Christmas, because I was with my dad, and I stuck it out with him. Kahit wala kaming noche buena, we were together.?

When Boyet was already in the acting profession, he found himself alone in his house one Christmas. ?The house was empty. I was just looking at the mirror. There was this song on the radio, and it really struck me. The song was talking to me. Naluha ako.?

Another actor with sad memories on Christmas is Ricky Davao. When he was 6 years old, he and his 5-year-old sister were studying at Sta. Teresa in Manila. ?It was Dec. 22. We woke up early, and we were both in our uniform, waiting for the school bus. Wala pa ?yung bus, so we were playing. Then, my sister fell, so I started laughing. She was also laughing. My auntie went to her, and when she turned her over, my sister was bleeding profusely. She had fallen on a mayonnaise bottle. My dad and mom woke up and rushed her to the hospital. It was too late. She was dead on arrival. We buried her on Dec. 24.?

I couldn?t let Ricky go on a sad note, so I asked him about the gifts he received as a child. He was fond of toy guns, so his dad, who worked with Run Run Shaw in Hong Kong and came home three times a year, would bring him all kinds of weapons?including a realistic-looking machine gun. He too believed in Santa Claus, until he couldn?t sleep one night and found his dad and mom placing gifts under the Christmas tree.

Firm believer

Another firm believer in Santa when she was a child was beauty queen/TV personality, Miriam Quiambao. ?I would write letters to Santa, telling him what a good girl I had been and what gifts I wanted. Most of the time, I asked for Barbie dolls.?

Once, Miriam fought with a neighbor who told her there was no Santa Claus. She firmly believed in the jolly old man until she was 12 years old, when she discovered the real story.

She was already a performer as a child, so when they would visit her uncle in Laguna, she would sing and dance, as well as play the piano, so she always got the highest monetary gift. Apples and grapes were also plentiful in the house, because her dad worked with FTI.