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HERE comes Santa Claus. In a styrofoam sleigh.
What is Christmas in any cosmopolitan city without the miles of glittery tinsel, twinkling fairy lights, larger-than-life Nativity scenes and thousands of plastic baubles?
It's no different here.
Every November, retailers and building owners across the island compete to attract year-end shoppers with lavish Christmas decorations.
No theme, locale or era is off-limits as long as the festive trimmings encourage shoppers to gawk, stop and spend.
In 2001, for example, Tangs department store in Orchard Road decided to evoke the spirit of old Shanghai. This year, Paragon went with a lavish Whimsical Christmas theme.
Ms Lau Chuen Wei, executive director of the Singapore Retailers Association, says: 'Building decorations are not just for Christmas now but whatever season or occasion we encounter, like Chinese New Year or Valentine's Day.
'It puts people in a good mood and makes them merrier. People are reminded it's Christmas. But whether that translates into hard sales, I don't know.'
The trend for buildings and malls decking themselves in festive finery started in earnest in the early 1980s.
The incentive came when the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched its now-defunct Best Decorated Building competition in 1984 to coincide with its inaugural Christmas light-up.
At the height of its popularity in 1988, the contest drew 30 entries.
But in 2001, there were only 16 submissions and the plug was pulled on the contest the next year. Despite the competition being called off, the practice of festooning buildings for Christmas had caught on and shopping centres around Singapore still spent between $60,000 and $250,000 to decorate their buildings that year.
The competition was briefly revived by Japanese imaging company Konica Minolta and supported by STB in 2003.
But the rivalry and rush for fir and tinsel among hotels and malls remain entrenched.
Some malls, like Central in Eu Tong Sen Street, which opened in January this year, do so to brand themselves into shoppers' consciousness. Central spent more than $300,000 on its Christmas decorations with the theme A Moonlit Christmas, By The River.
Others like Raffles Hotel and Paragon deck up their facades and interiors to channel the 'spirit of spreading love and joy'.
Ms Ina Se, advertising and promotions manager of Paragon, which spent $400,000 on Christmas decorations this year, says: 'Paragon's signature 40ft Christmas tree has been an iconic highlight over the years and is a good photo opportunity for locals and tourists.'
Then there is plain old tradition for that feel-good family photo. The other Christmas tree stalwart belongs to Takashimaya, which has erected a 15m-tall tree at its atrium for the last 10 Christmases.
A robust economy has also loosened the purse strings of retailers and building owners.
A spokesman for Bugis Junction says that it is spending more than $120,000 on decorations this year, 15 per cent more than last year. Bugis Junction bagged STB's Best Decorated Building award in 2000 and 2001.
And it's not just buildings that get into the spirit of transforming Orchard Road into a brighter, livelier place. This year, the three-year-old charity Celebrate Christmas In Singapore spent $800,000 on its Christmas programmes in the Orchard area which include a large-scale Christmas village in front of Plaza Singapura, five stages, seven floats and a Christmas Day concert.
STB also organises its own Christmas light-up along the 5.6km stretch from Tanglin Road to Raffles Avenue, although it declined to reveal production costs. Its theme this year is A Fairytale Christmas.
With so much to dazzle the senses, it is no wonder that an STB survey last Christmas found that almost 5.3 million people visited the Orchard Road area during that period, of which more than 757,000 were foreign visitors. One in five of those came primarily for the Christmas festivities here.
For those who have yet to make a trip to town to catch the lights, here's LifeStyle's pick of the 10 best decorated buildings.
junec@sph.com.sg
Which building has the best decoration in your view? Please send your comments to stlife@sph.com.sg
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