Find out which mall has the best Christmas decorations this year.

Shopping malls are undeniably part of pinoy culture not only because we love to shop but because we usually hang out, relax, watch movies, spend other leisure activities and meet friends at this places.

It’s also a necessity for us to go at the mall at least once a week because all we need can now be found in just one place. Either we need to purchase medicine or we need to visit the doctor, we need dog food or we want to buy dogs or other pets, we need to dine – fastfood or fine dining, and we can do a lot more at the same time, we can now do that with just one stop – at the mall.

This Christmas, various malls have decked wonderful decorations to entice us even more and to visit often. These decorations give a magical atmosphere for shoppers to experience the spirit of Christmas.

We went to various malls in Metro Manila and discover the time and creativity they put into their Christmas decorations. Let me tour you to these malls one by one.

MARKET! MARKET!

At the entrance of Market! Market! at the Fort Bonifacio in Taguig, you will find a toy soldier around 5 feet welcoming you before you enter the mall. There’s a banner that says “Happy Holidays Happen at Market! Market!”

Behind the toy soldier are three Christmas trees with lots of candy canes and spiral balls. At the top of each tree is a red flag instead of the traditional star with little Santa Claus climbing to reach the flag. At the bottom of each tree are various gifts which kinda remind you that if you’ve come to buy gifts for your loved ones, you’re in the right place.

Outside the mall, just before the entrance, look upward at the roof ceiling and you shall find more gifts in various sizes and colors.

Inside the mall, hanging from the ceiling are various Christmas symbols. There’s Frosty the Snowman and behind him is a white Christmas tree. Another one is a red thin house with Toy Soldiers playing drums on each side. And the third variety are spirals of wreath with silven and gold laces.

If you’ve never been to the activity center of Market! Market!, you ain’t seen nothing yet. There you will find a rather large Santa Claus riding his sleigh with his reindeers. Santa and his reindeer are hanging from the ceiling with the illusion that they are flying. You can see it best on the third floor and when you ride the transparent elevator.

GREENBELT 3

Hanging everywhere in Greenbelt 3 are very elegant tinsel stars in different designs. I must say that these stars look neutral and it can hang there for the rest of the year.

SM MAKATI

SM Makati has these prototype Christmas trees standing in various places around the mall, wrapped in foils and decorated with tinsel balls. The lights are inside the trees to give it an “electric” feel.

GLORIETTA

At the activity center of Glorietta, you will never miss to see the giant Christmas tree decorated with the traditional tinsel balls, tinsel stars, laces, and lights. The tree is located near the fountain and playground. What makes this tree special are these weird looking “aztec-inspired” stars in orange, blue, pink and green colors. These aztec-inspired stars have bigger versions hanging all around the ceiling of the activity center surrounding the giant Christmas tree.

ROBINSON’S PLACE ERMITA

Robinson’s Place in Ermita also has this giant Christmas tree just beside the stairs which is almost 3-storey high. It’s decorated with enumerable Christmas balls of various colors and sizes.

The activity center of Robinson’s Galleria, on the other hand, has Disney characters as their decorations. Chistmas decors at this mall is quite minimal.

Hanging at the ceiling of the activity center of Robinson’s Place in Ermita are branched tinsel fixtures with blue lights which are not that “Christmas-y” if you will ask me.

SM MALL OF ASIA

The notable Christmas decoration at SM MOA is the giant Christmas tree outside the mall. You can find the tree at the back side of the mall fronting the Manila bay. It’s another prototype tree decorated with laser lights to give it a very modern feel. It may come to you as very simple during daytime but wait until the sun goes down and you’ll be amaze with how it glows.

TRINOMA

Trinoma has this slim but tall Christmas trees with contrasting decorations. The other tree has all red balls and ornaments while the other one has all white/silver.

In the hallways, you shall find more Christmas trees with rather large Christmas balls that are not in proportion to its size. Artistic design? Maybe.

GATEWAY and ARANETA CENTER

The giant Christmas tree at the Araneta Center (with Gateway, Araneta Coliseum and Farmers surrounding it) is simply marvelous! It’s filled with ribbons, balls, ornamental stars and lights that is a sight to behold during the night.

Inside the mall you shall find some western props that are best for picture takings.

Hanging from the ceiling are illuminated gifts.

And of course, another giant Christmas tree can be found at the Gateway mall that stands up to three-storey tall. The giant tree is decorated with white ornaments and flowers.

FARMERS PLAZA

Farmers Plaza has these giant gift boxes in various shapes hanging from the ceiling. The concept is quite similar to Gateway’s but at least, it’s more attractive that the hanging Santa at the Makati Cinema Square and the tinsel wreaths at the SM Megamall.

SERENDRA

Serendra, on the other hand, has an overload of artsy decorations that can be considered “neutral” and not Christmas-y enough to be posted here. The seasonal ones are of course, the traditional Christmas tree and real poinsettia flowers. Greenbelt also have real poinsettia flowers as part of their decorations as well as other Ayala malls.

All photos posted here were snapped using a Nokia N95 cell phone and property of Starmometer.com.

DECK THE MALL AWARDS NOMINEES

BEST CHRISTMAS TREE

SM Mall of Asia
Glorietta
Araneta Center
Robinson’s Place
Gateway

BEST CHRISTMAS SYMBOLS/ICONS

Santa and his Reindeers – Market! Market!
Toy Soldier – Market! Market!
Western Christmas – Gateway

BEST CHRISTMAS ATMOSPHERE

Market! Market!
Gateway
Serendra

WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?
(Weirdest Christmas Decor)

Christmas Tree with Giant Balls – Trinoma
Aztec-inspired Stars – Glorietta
Tinsel Chandelier – Robinson’s Place
Mutanized Poinsettias – Serendra
Cinderella and Snow White Ornaments – Robinson’s Galleria

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