hen Chinese businessman Johnny Wong first saw actress Beth Tamayo, he was asked if he found her pretty, and his reply was: “So-so.”

Beth herself tells the story.

She had gone to Guam three years ago for a series of shows with other Pinoy artists. “Magbe-birthday ako noon. First time ko mag-birthday out of the country. Ayoko sana , pero sabi ng mommy ko, ‘Kesa naman dito ka sa Pilipinas, gagastos ka lang. Sa Guam, kikita ka pa.”

It just happened that the owner of the bar where Beth was to perform was Johnny's kumare. The kumare thought a little matchmaking wouldn't hurt her good friend Johnny, a divorce and the father of two young boys.

On September 19, two days before Beth's birthday, Johnny showed up at the bar and saw the actress from afar. “Hindi ko malilimutan yong sagot niya,” Beth recalls. “Ang sabi lang daw niya, ‘So-so!' Hindi siya naniniwalang maganda ako!”

When the two were finally introduced, Johnny's first impression changed. “Masarap daw akong kausap. Matsika.”

The show ran for 10 straight nights. And Johnny was there every night. “Hindi na niya ko tinantanan,” Beth laughs. “So-so yan, ha!”

After their first date, the two exchanged phone numbers. But Beth gave Johnny fair warning: “Even if you ask for my number, I still don't think it will work.”

She had just ended a long-distance relationship with a guy from Cebu . “Kung yong CEbu nga, hindi namin kinakaya, Guam-Manila pa?”

But Johnny proved to be a relentless suitor. Every single day he called up Beth in Manila . Every so often, he would come to Manila to see her. On September 21, 2003, exactly a year after the two first met, he proposed. And on May 30, 2004, they got married in Catholic rites at the Christ The King Parish Church in Greenmeadows, Quezon City .

This year marks their third Christmas together. It will also be the third year of their holiday gift-giving for at least a hundred less-fortunate families living along Roxas Boulevard . Beth says the gift-giving, which they usually do at around 9 pm of December 24, was all her husband's idea.

“Bumibili kami ng maraming grocery items, nire-repack na lang namin. Meron silang corned beef, luncheon meat, sardines, noodles, bigas, mineral water. Pang-noche Buena at pamasko. Tapos, Johnny gives a brown envelope, which contains P500, for each family.

After playing Santa, the two make it a point to be home by 11 pm for their own traditional noche buena. “We have the usual—spaghetti, jamon excelente, hot chocolate, hotdogs.”

On Christmas Day itself, Beth's relatives, on both her mother's and her father's side, converge on the Wongs' Quezon City home for a catered lunch. It's one big happy occasion. “Dito na sila. Tutal, sabi ng mommy ko, ako ang may pinakamalaking house.”

Throughout the day, her godchildren and kumares and kumpares alos drop in. “The house is basically open on Christmas Day, from lunch time hanggang gabi.”

Well, this Christmas it's open house once again!

The Christmas motif in the Wong residence used to be red and gold, but Beth has now decided on a holiday makeover. “Sabi ko, ibahin naman. Nagsasawa na ako sa red and gold. So I got copper, gold, and bronze, na medyo parang salmon yung color. Okey naman, it turned out nice. Nag-complement siya doon sa color ng mga curtains at sa mga dark brown, kasi mas maraming wood yung bahay namin.”

Beth's husband contributed to the look of their home. “More than me, yung husband ko ang mas merong touch in designing. Siya yung mas maganda ang idea, more on the art side.”

By the way, the Santa Claus doll standing by the window dances.

Beth gave away her old Christmas trimmings to her mom Zeny, so the Christmas embellishments on the main door are all new. Beth got them at Florasilk, where she was overwhelmed by the variety of holiday décor: “There's purple, pink, and silver, or puro white and green. Ganda! There's so many colors to choose from. But medyo may kamahalan, so susulutin ko muna tong kulay na ito. After maybe two years again to three years, I'll change the décor.”

In the foyer is this mirror-and-table set which Beth bought from Mubles Asia. Framed photographs of her friends and loved ones fill the tabletop. Beth's framed photos with best friend Judy Ann Santos are actually all over the house, almost as many as Beth's photos with her husband.

Beth tells us how her friendship with Juday started. It was Jeffrey, Juday's elder brother, who was Beth's friend first. But then Beth was cast in Esperanza, the soap opera that firmed up Judy Ann Santos's standing as a TV superstar. “Don na, lagi na kaming magkasama. Buddy-buddy na.” Beth reveals that Juday never fails to show up at the Wong residence every Christmas: “After 12 midnight, nandito nay an, hanggang alas kuwatro ng madaling araw.”

It took a while for Beth's mom, a widow, to get adjusted to the fact that her baby Beth, 28, is no longer by her side. Beth says, “Kailangan ma-text ko siya. ‘Hi, My, kakagising ko lang. Hi, My, kakaalis ko lang ng bahay.'” But Beth understands her mom well. “At least once a week or once in two weeks, nagkikita kami. Kasi pag hindi ako nakikita ng mama ko, nagtatampo siya. Nami-miss niya ako masyado.”

When it comes to furniture, Beth doesn't go for imported items. “In all fairness, ang daming maganda sa Pilipinas,” she says. “Wala akong masasabing imported sa bahay na ito, bukod sa mga curtains siguro tsaka yung ilang gamit ng asawa ko.”

The lamp on the right side of the couch came from House of Elegance at Makati 's Glorietta; the furniture, from Union Square in Quezon City and Muebles Asia at SM Megamall; and the side tables, from Habitat in Mandaluyong.

Beth is particularly proud of the coffee table in her living room. “I bought this at Habitat,” she says. “Habitat is known to make few pieces lang of their furniture. Pangatlo lang akong may ganya.” The two others who have a similar piece are said to be former First Lady Luz Magsaysay and a Forbes Park resident.

Instead of hiring an interior decorator, Beth relied on her mom and an aunt to help her pick furniture and other knickknacks to enliven her first conjugal home.

“Basta ang gusto ko lang, yung color magma-match. Ayoko ng iba-iba. I can't really say na ang motif or ang pinaka-theme ng house is Mediterranean or something. Kasi wala talaga. Parang kung ano lang ang maisip namin, yung lang ang ilalagay namin.”

One of her picks was this rattan and leather set, which she bought from Union Square , a manufacturer of local rattan ang wicker furniture.

These stairs lead to the second floor and to the attic. Located on the second floor are the master bedroom, its adjacent dressing room, the exercise room, and the room for Johnny's two boys from his first marriage—Kelvin, 9 and Keion, 6. Johnny's kids, who are based in Guam with their Filipina mother, usually visit their dad during the school break.

Guiao Furniture. They are from Pampanga.” The elegant dining area, however, is barely used, as Johnny loves eating out.

When it comes to cooking, it's also Beth's husband who can better man the kitchen, which is adjacent to the dining area. “Mas magaling siyang magluto kaysa sa akin,” admits the actress. “Pero I can cook. Natuto ako sa nanay ko.” She adds: “Hindi rin mahirap pakainin ang asawa ko. In fairness, enjoy siya sa Pinoy food.”

While dining, Beth and Johnny are treated to this refreshing view of the back patio. Instead of using bamboo for the patio fence, the couple decided to use bakawan. “Mas mahal ang bakawan wood, pero mas matagal, mas maganda. Ang kawayan kasi, pag tumatagal, nag-iiba yung color, tapos naghihiwa-hiwalay na.”

The color theme for the couple's bedroom consists of beige and brown. “Almost close to wood colors, actually,” Beth says. Although her bedroom is close to perfect, Beth has one complaint: Their bed. “I wanted to change the bed. Gusto ko ng mas mataas. Kasi hindi nalilinis thoroughly yung ilalim.”

Beth likes watching her favorite television shows from this comfortable wing chair, which she also bought at Habitat. On the wall is a charcoal sketch of Johnny with his two sons, Kelvin and Keion. “That's my gift for him. Regalo ko yun sa kanya two years ago, nong birthday niya.”

Beth's dressing room is actually the spare room. The couple originally considered turning it into an extension of the adjacent master bedroom. But they would have to tear down the wall separating the two rooms. “Sabi ko, ‘Sweetheart, pag ginawa natin yun, matatagalan pa tayo. Tsaka, abala na naman. E, kulang naman kami sa cabinet, so ginawa na lang naming dressing room.”

Beth, whose shoe size is seven, probably owns a hundred pairs of designer shoes and bags—Manolo Blahnik, Calvin Klein, Nine West, Salvatore Ferragamo, and many more. The actress admits to being “madaling magsawa,” which is why she sends off her old shoes to her mom to sell. “Every month, hindi ko alam kung ilang pairs ang pinapadala ko sa mama ko para i-garage sale.”

Her collection of Havaianas slippers are the most precious to her. “Si Johnny nagagalit sa akin, kasi hindi siya sanay sa fashion na laging nakatsinelas,” she laughs. “E, ako, I love going out na nakatsinelas. Nong nag-honeymoon nga kami sa Hawaii , ang saya-saya ko, kasi lahat ng tao nakatsinelas! Minsan, lumabas kami sa hotel, nakatsinelas lang ako. ‘Sweetheart, we're going to like this, we're going to like that. Are you sure you're gonna wear sandals?' sabi ni Johnny. Sasabihin ko, ‘Yeah! Don ako komportable, no!”

Beth lets us in on the couple's little secret: “My husband doesn't share a bathroom with me. ” She tries to rationalize this particular quirk of her husband's: “Ayaw niya ng share! Di ko naman siya kikidnapin or rereypin sa banyo, di ba? Hindi ko alam kung bakit… Siguro, if you have a poopoo that's so baho, you don't want your wife to smell it. Baka ganoon?”

Thus, this spacious and spotless bathroom is used solely by Beth. Johnny uses the bathroom in his wife's dressing room.

Beth and Johnny's three-story, seven-bedroom house—each with its own bathroom—sits on a 405-square-meter lot in an exclusive Quezon City subdivision. It was a pre-wedding gift from Johnny to his bride. “We got married May 2004, I got this house April of 2003,” Beth recalls. “Siguro, naka-move-in kami dito, August of 2003. It was really built na, but when we moved in, ninety percent finished pa lang siya.”

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