By Anthony Dylan Anak Frankie Jurem
The 1st day of Advent fell on Sunday, 1st December 2024 this year. On other years, Advent Sunday would be the 4th Sunday before Christmas. It is nice to see that many places have started with their Christmas decorations as early as the last week of November.
Shopping centres have also begun their decorations with their selected theme in the hope of creating a beautiful ambiance to increase their individua footfall. The retail sector would be abuzz in the next few days leading towards Christmas and the end of the year.
The main players in Klang Valley have all completed their Christmas setups. In the central business district of Kuala Lumpur; Pavilion Kuala Lumpur and Suria KLCC still came out tops. Pavilion Kuala Lumpur ‘s ‘Christmas Enchantment’ has a Dior Christmas tree, snow experience by the crystal fountain and an impressive LED screen display. Suria KLCC’s ‘European Christmas Village’ would be powered by a unique Christmas market. The iconic 100 ft Christmas tree by the musical fountain would surely be a hit. At the newly opened The Exhange TRX, they went with a Lous Vuitton pop up and a Tiffany & Co Christmas Tree.
When you head closer onto the heart of the populated housing areas; 1 Utama brings you the ‘Joyful Christmas Garden’, MidValley Megamall chose a white theme, ‘A Winter’s Tale’, The Gardens Mall similarly picked a white theme and aptly called it, ‘The Wishing Forest’. Sunway Pyramid must be the most colourful as they chose the theme ‘Christmas Colourama.’ They even had a stained-glass Christmas tree! Further away, the IOI City Mall chose to go with the theme of an ‘Enchanted Christmas Wonderland.’ The decorations were similarly colourful.
The smaller shopping centres and other retail centres have also started to deck up their spaces. Though smaller the idea is still there, and each must be commended for their effort. It would be nicer though if some emotive connection is thought of for the theme of each festive season. If that is not strong, it would be hard to draw in the desired footfall for your property.
In Subang Jaya, Sunway Pyramid still reigns supreme in terms of a festive season attraction. Christmas would now lead into Chinese New Year and then into the fasting month of Ramadhan before Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Not long after, Deepavali would be nearby. For those in Subang Jaya, Sunway Pyramid had held true as a shopping centre which understands the power of festive inclusivity. The same could be said of Suria KLCC, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, MidValley Megamall, 1 Utama and IOI City Mall in their respective markets.
Malaysia has many good large scale shopping centres which have withstood the age and storms of time. Those mentioned are just the large ones. The medium and smaller ones have also successfully played their part for the communities they serve in. It would be matter of time when each would evolve to fit in with the trends of time and prepare for the next generation alpha. I see this accelerating in the coming 5 years.
The airline tickets had not yet ballooned as badly as before but I would certainly expect more to make the trip home to their hometowns either by road or by air in the coming weeks. The shopping activity would likely be skewed towards shopping not only for Christmas but for Chinese New Year as well. It is just merely about a month from Christmas when Chinese New Year comes. The year of the Snake comes on 29th January 2025.
As many prepare for the Christmas eve dinner menu, I found that getting a frozen turkey is not as easy as before. I have not yet found any in the many Village Grocer or in Jaya Grocer supermarkets I went to. Replacing a turkey with a chicken would just not do. The taste and texture are different.
The school holidays for Group A would begin from 20th till 28th December 2024. Group A consists of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. The rest of Malaysia are in Group 2 which will observe the school holidays from 21st till 29th December 2024. The longest school holidays would be the month long one beginning 18th / 19th January 2025 depending on the Group.
It is expected that the domestic flights will get remarkably busy from the week of 23rd leading to Christmas. The same could be said for the major highways. It is hoped that the monsoon season will ease off soon. The floods had created havoc in the past weeks and the incessant rain currently would indeed be worrisome.
Last year, we had a small gathering at Bottle & Boar in SS15 Subang Jaya. They served one of the best ‘Porchetta’ for a pre-Christmas celebration. The porchetta is basically an Italian styled pork roast which is savory, moist with a crispy skin much like your siew yuk. When paired with onsite kitchen made apple sauce, the flavours would sinfully seduce you. Unfortunately, they have ceased business after the 1st Quarter citing some management changes. They have yet to reopen.
As December rolls in, we do hope that the festive spirit continues to go up and continue until the Chinese New Year. We need positivity in celebrations. I will be heading home soon to Kuching. Christmas time holds a special place for me. I hope that I could find my frozen turkey in Kuching and continue with the family tradition of roasting the bird.
I would also like to wish everyone here a Merry Christmas 2024. Be jolly always and remember your family, friends and those who are suffering.
God bless.
