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Trees company: Where to get your X’mas tree fix

SINGAPORE — What is Christmas without a fully decorated conifer with which we can photograph ourselves with friends and family?

SINGAPORE — What is Christmas without a fully decorated conifer with which we can photograph ourselves with friends and family?

Every night this season, Orchard Road comes alight with festive lights and decor spanning a 2.88km stretch from Tanglin Mall to Plaza Singapura — plenty of options for getting the best Instagrammable selfie/wefie.

To help you navigate the festive crowd to get the best shot, here is TODAY’s list of Christmas trees — in Orchard Road and elsewhere — you can check out this weekend for that perfect wefie/selfie photo-taking session, or to just soak up the festive cheer.

There is a tree for everyone this year, from iconic favourites to whimsical versions and even a tree for the angsty millennial.

Most Whimsical

This year’s tree at The Centrepoint has gone all whimsical, with several tiers of green wreaths decorated with brightly coloured ribbons, lights and baubles suspended over the mall’s new food frontage and dining precinct.

The four-tier Christmas tree, which measures over 5m and weighs 110kg, is decked out in an array of delectables made of sponge, while the fir-like garlands are created from a synthetic Christmas tree.

With a life-sized Gingerbread man accompanying the Christmas display, the tree certainly takes spreading warmth and festive cheer to a whole new fantastical level.

Most Popular

It is not Christmas until we see that tall fir fully blazing with shiny baubles and fairy lights in front of Raffles City.

This year, however, Raffles City has moved the tree indoors to the Level 3 Atrium so you can still get great pictures regardless of the weather.

It’s no mean feat getting the tree to evoke that warm Christmas cheer.

According to Christopher Ang, head, marketing communications, Raffles City Singapore, planning for the tree usually begins six months in advance, and it takes 20 workers and more than 100 man-hours to set it up — what with 1,000 coloured baubles of various sizes, 13 layers of metal frames, 140,000 fairy-light bulbs and 2,600 light bulbs that drape across. This tree is also eco-friendly: All its fairy lights, strip lights and light bulbs are energy-saving LED lights.

This year’s theme is for the 15m-tall tree is ‘Whimsical Christmas’. The design of the decorative elements on the tree are inspired by the fun and creative motifs of the popular Japanese lifestyle brand Craftholic, which has a pop-up store at the mall’s Atrium at Level 3.

Ang said: “We aim to give all our shoppers, young and the young-at-heart, a refreshing experience and invite them to visit our mall to spend a joyous time with their family and friends; to capture all the festive moments and memories at one central location.”

Most Traditional

Another annual crowd favourite is the 16m-tall Christmas tree at Takashimaya Singapore. This year, it is dressed up with special Christmas Bear ornaments for “Celebrating Timeless Traditions at Takashimaya”.

This tree is all about evoking the traditional spirit of Christmas, where it is snowy (or rather rainy) outside, but once inside, it’s warm and snuggly.

The scent of Christmas in the air with lighted candles, cinnamon, hot cocoa, fir trees and mistletoe — all the things that remind you of cosy homes that will hopefully make you want to shop more to also recreate that warm ambience at home.

Most Contemporary

For those living in the West, head to Jem shopping mall in Jurong East to check out its 12m-tall Christmas tree, illuminated blue metallic wires and orange geometric ornaments. The tree is a definite treat for the non-traditionalists. After all, the spirit of Christmas can be expressed in any shape 
and form.

Jem general manager, Joey Teng, also promises snow-play at 7.30pm daily for some family fun.

Most Millennial

If 2016 was a rather difficult year for you and all you want is to stand in front of a Christmas tree that matches the angst and disillusionment typical of a millennial (or any affected human), check out the Christmas display at Pedder on Scotts at Scotts Square. Its Christmas tree is a stoic dark brown version with bare branches next to a bright pink oversized balloon in the shape of a bearded dwarf, accompanied by other tiny balloon dwarves. The bright balloons might be there to create holiday cheer, but the tree gets all the attention for daring to showcase its barest self, paying homage to the lonely, desolate landscapes of our existence even during the festive season.

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