IT’S still October but it seems Christmas is already here.
We hear Christmas songs blaring from the malls' speakers, and see Christmas decorations sold in department stores or in their glass panes with Santa Claus, snowflakes, Christmas balls and bells.
Ber months have always been the signal for the beginning of the yuletide season.
One store in particular is so catchy in the eyes of mall shoppers at Centrio, since instead of their usual wooden furniture and home decors, they now have various Christmas decorations and items displayed for its customers to browse.
Twin Head Furniture, a Kagay-anon hailed furniture manufacturer and retailer of home decors and boutique items, showcased its Christmas Collection located at the ground floor of Centrio Ayala Mall, Cagayan de Oro City.
This is the fifth year the Twin Head Furniture has been doing the Christmas Collection in the said mall which spans from September to December.
The Christmas Collection includes various items such as Santa Claus figures, Christmas trees, ornaments and wreaths, star lanterns, Christmas themed pillowcases and bottle openers, nativity of Jesus and the popular and eye-catching Christmas Village set, among others.
According to the owner, Tess Acut, the idea to start selling Christmas decors and items during the ber months of the year began when she was still collecting Christmas themed items.
"I decided to come up with this kind of business when my friends started to buy my collections, pangpalitun man nila then I made money. This is a good opportunity na mag benta na lang," Acut said.
Price range for the Christmas decors depends according to the type, sizes and sets, according to Acut
Each piece of the Christmas Village will cost around P2,000 to P12,000 for the moving pieces and around P300 to P1,000+ for the non-moving pieces.
Apart from the Christmas Village pieces, another fast-selling item in Twin Head Furniture's Christmas Collection is the nativity of Jesus or the Belen as we call it in the Philippines.
A set of the nativity costs around P800 to P120,000 for those made out of porcelain, and around P800 to P12,500 for the usual set.
Acut said that last year, it was the Santa Claus decor that their customers always purchased, however, this year the nativity of Jesus has been their fast-selling Christmas decor.
"It’s because it’s Christmas di ba, it’s the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we normally celebrate for," Acut said.
She also shared that their sale usually go up during the ber months due to the Christmas Collection, compared to the months they sell furniture and home decors.
"Ang home decors kasi its not fast selling items. Dili kay sya as in laging hinahanap pero pag Christmas items, murag ang mga bonus dinhi padulong. They do buy, magpalit gyud sila," Acut said.
This second week of December, the Twin Head Furniture will be having a 20 to 60 percent sale to most of the items in their Christmas Collection, Acut mentioned.
"Actually, bisag dili pa ka mag sale, I noticed the people will really spend for Christmas gyud. Naa gyud sila'y budget, especially for the decorations. Murag na set aside na nga this is for Christmas. Ga buy gyud sila," Acut said.