I previously mentioned in my other post about Rajo Laurel and on how his blog has made me miss a lot of things from Manila. You’re right. As the title implies, this post is about missing Christmas and holiday decors in the Philippines.

There are so many things to miss about Christmas in the Philippines and one of them is probably decorating the house for Christmas. But before I start talking about my Designer Blooms Christmas Decors splurge, I’d like to share all the things (that I remember) I miss in the Philippines during the holidays first. Those who don’t know or haven’t been in the Philippines maybe surprised that there are a lot of things going on in my beloved country. This also serves as a refresher to my fellow Filipinos who haven’t been in the country for so many years. This list is in no order. I just type in what I remember.

EDIT: Sorry, but the topic about the things I miss the most about Christmas Holidays in the Philippines got too long. I had to take them out and paste them on a separate post. You can view it here.

Now, let’s go back to my favorite task during the Holidays (aside from shopping) - Christmas Decorating! I read Rajo Laurel’s blog about their Christmas Decor Splurge at Shoemart (SM). SM is like the Walmart of the USA. So as I was reading about their great finds on Christmas Decors for just a little over PHP5,000 (about USD100), I remembered how I splurged on Christmas Decors last Christmas 2001 (or was it 2002?). OMG! I was such an idiot! I mean, I know how cheaper it would be to purchase Christmas Decors from SM rather than buying it elsewhere.

During that time, my daily route to School is along South Super Highway. So as Christmas draws near, I have always seen the big sign along the Service Road in Sucat that reads “DESIGNER BLOOMS FACTORY: Christmas Sale, 50-70% Off”.

For those who don’t know, Designer Blooms is a local Flower Shop which caters to Middle to Upper Class Filipinos.

So after being lured by the sign for several days of passing by the South Super Highway, I gave in. One weekend, I asked my cousin to go with me to the area. Of course, he just drove me there and stayed inside the car. He’s like my Dad’s personal assistant/driver when our business was still flourishing. Anyway, I went inside the factory and was at awe because it was like a giant warehouse filled up with decorated Christmas trees, ornaments, Christmas wreaths, and other Christmas trinkets/decors. They were on sale, alright. But only after a couple of years that I realized that I actually splurged and was not actually saving by buying from them while they were on sale. Because in reality, those items, even if they weren’t on sale at SM, would have been cheaper anyway! But of course, that was after a couple of years, when Christmas was up again and I did some Christmas Decor shopping at SM.

Going back, after choosing a couple of Christmas decors for tables, ornaments for the Christmas tree, Christmas wreath, 2 Christmas garlands, and Christmas candles, my bill totalled to about PHP20,000 or around USD450 – that doesn’t even include Christmas lights, Christmas Lanterns, and the Christmas Tree I bought. I got our Christmas tree from National Bookstore because it’s fairly cheap to buy from them. Of course, I had to get the tallest one there and yet the price wasn’t even half of what I paid for at Designer Blooms. In the Philippines, PHP20,000 would probably be too much for a middle class family. Of course in the US, it would be more expensive! But given the way of living in the Philippines, 20 thousand is already too much. I don’t know why I got so crazy in there, thinking that I was even going for the lower priced items. Moral of the story is - go to a Department Store that caters to the middle to lower classes such as SM! Of course, upper classes are welcomed too! Wreaths will always be wreaths. Garlands will always be garlands! It’s all a matter of choosing the right one that would match your home decor and Christmas theme!

xoxo

Tags: christmas, decors, designer blooms | Category Fashion Juice Anything