Christmas Party with a Purpose

I am quite the lazy blogger (ahem), but special events I try to attend, like this one - the (now) yearly Bloggers Christmas Party at Max's Restaurant. I really asked for a different work shift for this day, because I consider this event as a family reunion that I don't want to miss.

As soon as the place filled up, the party started with a gift exchange. This was such a unique activity, because instead of bringing our own gifts, Max's Corner Bakery provided the gifts - a box filled with assorted pastries. Now, they could just give it to us - as part of their gift, but because not all of us know each other, this activity allowed us to get to know a little of our fellow bloggers, and aside from exchanging the pastry box, we also exchanged our hopes and wishes to the person whose name was written on the box. Marjorie (of Living Marjorney) - a second degree cousin - picked me and I got to pick Janese (of Lakwatsera Mom).


A party is never complete without food, and for this event, we got to share the Max's Holiday Pack (good for 10-12 persons), which comprises of:


Max's Fried Chicken


Lumpiang Shanghai (with sweet and sour sauce)


and Pancit Canton.

Max's Holiday Party Package is just perfect for big groups. For only 2,199 pesos, 10 to 12 people can get to share and enjoy - 2 whole servings of Fried Chicken, Lumpiang Shanghai Cater Tray, a choice between Pancit Luglug or Pancit Canton Cater Tray, and 12 pieces of Max's Corner Bakery Ensaimada. This party package is now available for take out or delivery at any Max's Restaurant branch (also available for orders made online) until the 5th of January 2014.


Our table was served the Pancit Canton, and the table next to us was served this - the Pancit Luglug. Because each cater tray had a lot of food, both tables shared and ended up enjoying the best of both noodle worlds. :)


The Max's Holiday Party Package included Ensaimada as the "dessert," but for this event, we were served the Max's Corner Bakery Holiday Chocolate Cakes - Toffee Torte,  Choco Merengue Delight, Triple Treat, Salted Caramel Tableya, and Choco Moist. A taste of each cake was enough to satisfy a hearty meal, and among the five cakes, I loved the Salted Caramel Tableya the most. These cakes are also now available at any Max's Corner Bakery.


For small groups or small family (like ours), the Max's Holiday Meal is a very good option. Instead of spending a lot of time in the kitchen, it is quite practical to just buy (something we were thinking of doing) cooked, delicious food. For the Christmas season, the 4-Sharing Holiday Meal features one Crispy Pata paired with either Chopseuy or Sizzling Tofu as well as Rice and any Pepsi product. The 4 Sharing meal costs 799 pesos, but should you want to just go for the Crispy Pata, Max's Restaurant is offering this for only 399 pesos.


The very first image of this post is of me wearing a HOPE T-Shirt. That was the official shirt released by the Max's Group of Companies here in the Philippines (Max's Restaurant, Jamba Juice, and Krispy Kreme) in relation to the recent devastation brought by Typhoon Haiyan (or Typhoon Yolanda). These shirts aren't for sale - this was Max's Restaurant's gift to us this Christmas, a symbol of hope, as well as an encouragement for people to donate through the Philippine Red Cross (as they have the capacity to collect and distribute). Actually, Max's Restaurant isn't collecting any donations and they also didn't release a special food item where a portion of the sale would be given as donation for the survivors of the typhoon. Max's Restaurant donated through their own efforts, and the highlight of this party was donating an amount to the Philippine Red Cross in behalf of the bloggers.

You see, for the past two Christmas seasons, Max's Restaurant would host a dinner and a karaoke party, as well as giving cash and raffle prizes (last year I got to win a GC for a facial while my siblings both won a DVD Player and my sister won 3rd place in their karaoke contest). This year, instead of going for this tradition, Max's Restaurant decided to use the amount intended for the prizes as donation to help rebuild the lives of the people affected by the typhoon. It wasn't an "oh em gee" big of a prize, but there really is no small or big amount if you want to help. Each peso, each drop of sweat, each minute given is something very important and appreciated.

It was a very memorable event. We got to share time with our friends, we got to help, and we got to take home gifts, too. Well, aside from the pastry box and the shirt, we were also given a 2014 calendar (with discount coupons redeemable monthly) and a GC for one whole fried chicken, which we will claim on Christmas Day.

* Jesz *