Some holiday eye candy from a year-round Christmas shop in Sausalito, CA… I took these photos the last time we were in San Francisco, a while back… It always amazes me to find these types of shops, because I assume they would only make money a few months out of the year… but perhaps they make enough money then to pay the rent for the rest of the year! :)
We love the old-style painted glass ornaments and whenever we can manage, add one or two pieces to our ornaments for our own Christmas tree. The designer Radko has made what seem like tens of thousands or is it millions now of these wonderful ornaments in the past decade or two… but he charges a mini-fortune for his best pieces. Chinese knock-offs or versions are less than 1/10th of the price, but often lack the sheer artisanal quality of the original…
I find the best time to acquire fantastic Christmas ornaments is to buy them a couple of days before Christmas, or even better, the day after Christmas, for use a year later. :) If you had a 9 foot Christmas tree, say standing in your entry hallway or set away from a wall in a large living room) and visible from ALL sides, you might need as many as 150-200 stunning painted glass ornaments, along with some balls and other decor. That’s a truly major investment, if you ask me… But then again, you can bequeath them to your children, and they can unwrap them each holiday season, thinking about Christmases from a long, long time ago… It’s the memories, not the item that triggers them that really matters. :)
43 Responses
Enjoy po your family vacation. Happy Thanksgiving po! Gob bless!
MM, You were most probably a part of Santa’s household in your past life :)
You’re a Christmas guy through and through…
There are plenty of year round Christmas shops in the US. The one I used to go to was the one in Alexandria Virginia (and I checked, they are still very much around).
I buy my Xmas decors in the Philippines before Christmas (bazaars, yes!) and overseas, I buy them post Xmas when they are 90% off!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Is there a tree under all those ornaments? OMG, I better start collecting decorations if I need over 150-200! That’s great tip to buy after the holidays as prices are slashed, thanks!
Lovely!! Those Christmas shops have gorgeous trees! My friends and I used to do a mad dash at Fortunoff stores etc after Christmas for the sales!
I lost 20+ years of decorations and a new tree when Hurricane Sandy hit. I managed to save 6 stuffed bears laundered several times to get rid of moldy smell..start all over again.
Natie, OMG, I am so sorry for your loss. If I may suggest, start with a fabulous healthy fresh tree and just adorn it with white lights this Christmas. It looks fabulous that way. Fabulous. Then over the coming years you can add ornaments and rebuild your selection. The next time you are in Manila, Cubao to be exact, visit my hole in the wall, absolutely until now secret source for glass ornaments… email me and I will send you details. They don’t do fancy stuff, but plain glass ornaments, either clear or colored, like the ones I gave out many years ago for a fundraiser for the feeding program are stunning en masse and quite reasonably priced. See ornaments here. The place is a REAL DIVE, and the entrance LITERALLY a hole in the wall, but if you see through the rubble, and 99% of the kruk-kruk glass items they make, you may find some gems. For the price of one undiscounted Radko piece, you can get several dozen clear glass ornaments there… They used to export quite a lot, and did the house brands of many an American and British department store chain… :)
Hi MM….
I still have those glass ornaments… hanging on one wall of my cubicle. since the day i got it! and don’t think i have forgotten to take it down. reminds me that i was part of your feeding program, and makes me feel that everyday is christmas….. it has become a stress-reliever for me… :)
Very lovely but I don’t think glass ornaments will last a year in our house! I have had several glass balls broken already and gave up on glass ornaments after that.
The Neapolitan crèche at the Metropolitan has always been a must for us when spending the holidays in the city. And when free of small children, The Cloisters was one quiet spot we could not resist for anything that’s big, shiny or new and eye-catching on Fifth Ave.
MM,
Will try to visit that Cubao store you mentioned. The glass ornament I got from you broke last night as we were decorating the tree and just after my husband took it out of the box to ask if it was glass or something else. He got his answer immediately when the ornament slipped from his hand and shattered to pieces. That doesn’t compare though, to what Natie suffered through. I am sorry for her loss also. I hope she’s able to rebuild her collection after a few years.
Marketfan et al, look for Liman Enterprises, New York Street, Cubao. They will probably kill me for posting that, but so be it. :)
The response brought tears to my eyes..Just realized how much I REALLY lost–children’s ornaments and pets (decors) long gone..Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll cherish the memories and pictures..Then again, they’re only “stuff”—-and yet…. :-[[
THANKS!!!
I LOVE dives..I’m a “dive” kind of person..
I was gonna email you about the store in Cubao. Thanks for the broadcast.
Boxing Day (Dec 26) Sale for the canadian readers is the best time to buy your christmas decors to be used the following year, that’s what i did last year! :)
Most stores would have their christmast stuff on sale between 50%-70%% the original price. Last year we had the red and gold theme for our tree, this year we have diff hues of blue, sliver, lilac, purple and silver, all from last year’s boxing day madness! hehehe
Enjoy yoour mini holiday MM and Happy Thanksgiving to all your American readers!
Thanks for the tip re Liman, MM. For those interested, it has a Facebook page with lots of photos: httpss://www.facebook.com/LimanEnterprises
I have been a frequent visitor of this blogsite. But lately, I have observed that it is already boring. I hope Mr Market Manila posts something interesting in the coming days.
happy holidays, everybody!
thanks for the tip re the ‘puto-bumbong’ steamer vendors in divisoria … some are already available in cm recto, just before ylaya and tabora sts … bamboo pipes in the basement of divisoria mall. i go back in a day or two … it’s fun seeing all the items being sold.
Happy Thanksgiving MM and fellow Market Manila followers!
Suggestions, the blog is free and frankly, if you don’t find it useful, go read another blog, one of millions out there. With over 3,200 posts in the archives, many of which you have probably never even grazed, I am sure there is something “interesting” to keep you amused/occupied. Otherwise, absolutely no need for you to stick around at all. You try writing something interesting every single day for 8 years straight…
This is the only blog I follow religiously so how can it be boring? Marketmanila is not only entertaining and educational but a blog with a heart!
Happy thanksgiving MM and the rest of the family. Enjoy your much deserved vacation!
Amen to that Betchay. I have been following MM since October 2005 and I am VERY grateful to him as I learned variety of infos I wouldn’t have known if not for his generous blog.
Happy Thanksgiving MM and family. Bless your heart always and forever.
What excitement does he want?? My poor heart can’t stand the riff raff of other badadoy blogs.
For mature audience only…
My Thaksgiving pot luck contribution was inspired by this blog and EVERYONE loved it!!
Nothing to be gained by being unkind, but please, puede ba, Suggestions, remove your presence and decamp somewhere else.
MM and the extended MM blog family, a very blessed Thanksgiving!!
I hope may kasamang LIPITOR kang pinamigay, Natie, para makapag Black Friday shopping pa sila!….mwahahahahaha!
Hahahaha.they loved the pork! ALL gone!!!
Ako, di buo ang araw ko pag-hindi ako nag-bukas ng blog na ito. Eto nga, antok na ako sa kabusugan after Thanksgiving meal, ay naku, I still have to chceck the site to see the other bloggers. Teheeeeee
Kaka-inggit… Black Friday Sale…. Door Buster deals… hayyyyyy
HAHAHA! I love Market Manila … sorry if one/some is/are bored with it. So much to learn here. I love the way the blog is written and presented. Now my interest is heightened with the “bored” comment … :)
Those crude and thoughtless comments that occasionally stray in precisely keep this blog not boring by adding some “bite” here and there. Maybe some readers have become so addicted that they just have to have their daily fix of Market Manila, and that dependence makes them demanding without their knowing it. =)
I liken @Suggestions to beggars who complain when you give them less than what they expect (any amount less than P20 is considered unacceptable, esp in the lead up to and during the holidays)!
Suggestions is a spam comment and must go to the trash bin.
I appreciate what a sacrifice that was to give out the location, dear Mr. MM! Thank you for your compassion–I’ve only seen plastic, glittery monstrosities at Divi and the malls this season and I have refused to spend on them. ;)
Who is getting bored here? Not me. I don’t comment that much these days, but I lurk and whenever I need a recipe, I browse here. It’s so nice to come back…MM, my latest “bargain” from my favourite recycling shop were 17 pcs of Georg Jensen Christmas tree hangings for 30NOK a piece; pieces that I could really bequeath (huwag lang sila mawawala)…So sorry for Naty’s loss. But the good thing about losing is that one could start again. Best regards!
Thanks, atb ..not many years left, but I’ll make use of what Uncle Sam will give me…In the Philippines, that will go a looong way, esp if I go to those dives or holes in the walls…
hello again.. nothing is ever boring here! just lurking for the past couple of months…always love christmas ornaments.. and its true it is a good tradition to bequeth it to the children(though i got none myself, i consider my nieces and nephews).. so far, im taking care of a dozen georg jensen pieces that costs heavenly but a very good handme down artifacts when kept thru the years.. Happy Holidays MM and Family..
missing your posts mm.!!you have a great vacay!!!
boring? not for me! enjoy MM and family…! We’ll all await for your vacay finds and stories to tell on the coming days/week!!! Well @ suggestions, if you don’t share the passion like we all do for MM, then just go somewhere else please… I’m offended with the comment , haist….!!!!!
For Ms. Natie, sad to hear that po… hoping you’ll find more exciting Christmas decors soon!!!
You’re welcome @Natie :) I also felt that loss when we had to scrap our camping caravan two years ago—oh the summers we spent on the road with it. But then again, as you said, just material/stuff. The memories are still in our hearts…My husband inherited his mother’s Christmas things accumulated since the early sixties (the loft was half full of them). But tastes and preferences change through the years so we only have a few glass ornaments and those “badadoy” (LOLZ) riff-raffy Santas and reindeers made of chalk. I also love dives and holes, and such. So exciting, huh!
Oh, we are keeping the site “unboring” in MM’s vacation. thanks, atb…I was looking for the “like” icon..just got off FB!!! :)) this weekend, I think I’ll start with a wreath….. thanks for the thought too, Odessa..
I love the wine bottle ornaments, MM! How big are they? Wish they had tiny cheese ones as well.
Speaking of cheese, would you know where I can find burata (sp?) in Manila? Or mozzarella bufalla? Just arrived from Italy and basically ate my way around the country. Going through cheese withdrawal and badly need a formaggio fix.
Thanks in advance and happy holidays!
My thoughts exactly, Natie! Vibes tayo d’yan sa like icon na iyan…Actually, it’s not boredom I get from MM’s site—it’s frustration, hahaha!!! Kasi I am so rubbish in the kitchen. I couldn’t follow recipes to perfection. It’s like Betty Q casting her kitchen gems on svine. I am the type who sits beside the oven watching a cake rise or else it’ll just burn to a frazzle. I can only laugh at myself…I don’t know about mr/ms suggestion. I suggest he/she try doing MM’s trick or treat mayhem of last year. Or, try to learn the mechanics of curling. Or just…plain eat his boredom for breakfast.
I miss MM :(, i check everyday for new post. I hope he will post sister’s thanksgiving spread this year :)
@Georgie – they have burrata in Rustan’s Makati (and Rockwell I think?)! My friend works there and won’t stop raving about it. They also have other new Italian cheeses. She has photos here: httpss://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151127450002301.438702.502227300&type=1&l=acacec30aa
@MM – if you’re “boring”, then there must be pigs flying somewhere in this crazy world. oh well. haters gonna hate! guess the grinch came early this Christmas