I’ve noticed that lately, the Christmas Season starts earlier than previous years. In an effort to boost their sales, local retailers are decorating their venues with all sorts of Christmas attractions. This colorful paraphernalia is a sure measure to attract customers to the cash registers.
The same phenomenon is happening in the States. Yesterday I read that back to school sales were strong and retailers have seen four consecutive months of sales increases, which bodes well heading into the holiday season.
Pundits agree that Holiday sales will increase 2.3 percent which is higher than the 0.4 percent improvement in 2009 and 3.9 percent decline in 2008. Next Monday which is referred to as “Cyber-Monday” is expected to be huge. Shop.org coined the phrase “Cyber-Monday” to illustrate the trend of people shopping online the Monday after Thanksgiving, when shoppers coming back from holiday travels or unsuccessful Black Friday trips started to troll websites for season bargains. Retailers caught on, and Cyber-Monday was born.
We don’t have a Cyber-Monday per se, but we do like to buy like other bargain hunters do in other parts of the world. December 1st is when our Christmas gets started. That’s when the Caja de Ahorros returns the annual savings and the shopping madness begins.
When I went to MetroMall last Monday, the place was already decorated with Christmas themes. I like Christmas. It brings the child inside of me. I guess that happens with everybody; except Mr. Scrooge, mind you.
Below are some of the shots I took while strolling through the mall. Here we go.
Photograph of a huge Christmas tree in the middle of the mall. It was being photographed with cellphones by numerous customers who came to the site. Photo ©Omar Upegui r.
Photograph of a cute little wooden house at the bottom of MetroMall's huge Christmas tree. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.
Photograph of a tall Christmas tree with beautiful red spheres suspended from the celing of the venue. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.
Another view of the Christmas tree and the lovely wooden house at the bottom of the tree. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.
Tried as I did, I couldn’t find the ubiquitous Santa Claus. Guess he’s busy wrapping up the last Christmas presents before making the global journey with his beloved reindeers on Christmas Eve. Good Day.
That’s a big tree indoors. As I was looking at your pictures, I was aware of all the vertical lines….and they were very vertical
I really like to look at Christmas decorations. Here in the USA, it is a common practice to drive through neighborhoods, looking at the creative decorations people have placed on and around their houses. Rosa loves to decorate inside and out. This year, she put out all the indoor decorations the first week in November. This next week, she was going to start working on the outside of our house. A couple of days ago, she was excited to see some Panameños in Boquete decorating the outside of their house. She yelled to them…”Bueno…Bueno.” Her decorating fever is at its highest level this time of the year 
Hello Michael:
I love the Christmas Holidays. It’s like reversing my life and being a kid again. Outdoor Xmas. decoratiing in Panama is still not as widespread as in the States, but we’re working on it.
Our Christmas Season starts on December 1st. That’s when the Caja de Ahorros returns the annual savings (Ahorro Navideño). Millions of dollars are “poured into the streets”, and the shopping fever begins.
Regards,
Omar.-