Even before the shops open at 11 a.m. on any given day these past couple of weeks, already a small crowd of shoppers can be found huddled at the North Court of Power Plant Mall at Rockwell Center, Makati City.
The object of their early morning sojourn is clear: Unobstructed photo ops before the mall’s festive 25-ft Christmas tree, and the mechanical white reindeer just across it—just before the mass of daily shoppers begins pouring in.
As in past years, the holiday décor in this neighborhood shopping destination is drawing crowds from beyond Rockwell and Makati, filling the Power Plant Mall with people who come if not to shop and dine, but just to ogle and take photos.
The whole of Rockwell Center is looking extra merry this year, especially when the area is lit at night, with approximately 2 million LED and duralight bulbs used in the holiday décor.
In the mall, the arches and columns that line the corridors are adorned with green garlands, lit floor-to-ceiling with warm-white bulbs, and decorated with sequined red balls, glass ornaments, and poinsettia—on all floors. (Last year, they did only a half-arch version.)
Fifty-four two-meter wreaths —also bigger in scale than last year’s—lit and festooned with red and silver balls, and poinsettia, float from the ceiling on all the three courtyards of the mall. The mall staff has grown to calling them “donuts.”
Both the North and South Courts have a “calendar” with a countdown to the days before Christmas Day.
A quick check on social media, and posts of #ChristmasAtRockwell show just what’s luring people into this part of the metro this season.
“We wanted to have photogenic spots all around the mall, but it’s a holistic concept. The look is rendered throughout,” says Tin Coqueiro, assistant vice president and general manager for retail.
A traditional red-and-white theme is what the mall’s operators want for this Christmas, with a generous sprinkling of warm-white lighting for that magical holiday feel. Outdoors, Rockwell Center stuck to its signature amber lighting to decorate the trees.
Also, once more, all the commercial and residential high-rises in the 15.5-hectare mixed-use development—a trailblazer in the property development sector—are resplendent at night, even from a distance, outlined in Rockwell’s signature rope lighting.
Apart from the tree in the North Court, there’s also the Santa’s Workshop in the South Court, where crowds of families troop to meet Santa, with its wishing station; workshops and activities designed for kids; popcorn and cotton candy carts. The entirety of the holiday décor at Power Plant “is always family-driven,” says Coqueiro.
While it tries to refresh the holiday décor every year, the mall also makes it a point to still showcase some of the much-loved elements, including the mechanical animals—reindeer, bears, wild cats, dogs, llamas—a welcoming sight at the mall entrances.
Of course, the object of it all is for the joyous surroundings to get people to live it up in the holiday season.
In this season of retail Olympics, Power Plant doubles its usual foot traffic, and one of the draws is its annual raffle of big-ticket prizes: This year, the mall is giving away two Land Rover Discovery Sport S cars.
It will also hold a nine-day outdoor holiday bazaar beginning Dec. 15 for last-minute shoppers.
