6th December 2022
As a Filipino from a country with the longest Christmas season, I'm used to seeing Christmas displays as early as September. However, it was too different when I work here in Hong Kong. There aren't Christmas displays in September, and they usually appear in late November.
One of the best things that we anticipate in this country is the grand Christmas installations, turning different HK cities into fantasy or magical land. That's when I truly feel the real presence of Christmas, and I am always excited to visit those Christmas installations.
This year, the world-renowned Santa Village was built in IFC Central and the place was transformed into a winter wonderland. We were able to visit Santa Claus's Office, Mrs. Claus Bakery, Elf Workshop, and Santa's Main Post Office.
I feel like in Arctic Circle in Finland Santa village as the architecture and displays resemble the real Santa village.
Admission is free to the public and kids certainly love the place. I was able to enter Santa's Claus Office. Unfortunately, Santa wasn't there that day.
On Santa's desk are his telephone, and a typewriter with a long list of names of those who'll receive gifts this Christmas. And on the wall are photographs of the real Santa Village in the Arctic Circle.
On the left side is his fireplace with Christmas socks hanging on it. These remind me of those days way back when I was a kid. We used to hang socks on the window on the night of the 24th because adults said, Santa on his sleigh will pass by at midnight, and will put gifts into our socks. But then we found out that there isn't Santa, and it was our mother who was always putting stuff into our socks, lol.
Kids were enjoying the Elf Workshop place. There were displays of different elves' creations. Meanwhile, kids outside are too curious about what's happening inside and they keep picking into the small elf window. They looked too cute.
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Next to the Elf's house is a wooden direction pole with labeled distances of different places. This makes me motivated to work harder to visit some of those places someday. Amsterdam and Paris are just some of my dream places.
The second most visited part of the village is Mrs. Claus Bakery. I wished to see her inside too, but she wasn't there. I did see Mrs. Claus Mascot that day, but at the bigger Mrs. Claus Bakery place, not in Santa Village.
We had a chance to see her baking area and freshly baked bread and cookies.
Of course, kids love the place and seem delighted to taste Mrs. Claus's bread.
After a long queue, I got a chance to sit at Mrs. Claus's tea-time spot in front of her fireplace beside her Christmas tree. It should have been best if Mrs. Claus was there with us to have afternoon tea. Maybe some other time.
At the back of the village was Santa Claus' Main Post Office where parents and kids were writing their wish lists on their cards to Santa Claus.
All letters will be dropped into the mailboxes and they will be sent to Santa Village in Finland for real. I wanted to write one but there wasn't an available card and I was hesitant to ask the staff, so I didn't bother. I'll just whisper my wish to Santa once we cross paths in Hong Kong, lol.
Meanwhile, Santa's sleigh was parked at the other side of IFC out of the village. Kids along with their parents can ride on the sleigh and sled with Rudolph and other reindeer in the snowy Santa village virtually by throwing the sled's rope up and away repeatedly like riding on a real sleigh.
Santa Village is just one of those Hong Kong attractions during the Christmas season. There are a lot more in different parts of the country. In my next travel blog, I'll visit the place of Santa's other half, Mrs. Claus.
That's all for now. See you in my next travel blog 😊.
(All photos are mine)
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