Sta. Lucia East's Christmas decor: Recycling is the key

These days, a mall is not only as good as the items it sells. It’s also as good as the Christmas decors it shows. Posing for pictures beside eye-catching decors is as Filipino as you can get. In fact, Christmas decors are such big come-ons some places have been crowd magnets because of these.

Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall is no exception. The mall along Marcos Highway, Cainta, Rizal has attracted families who mount the giant belen outside its main entrance to pose for pictures.

Others take out their cameras to take shots beside any of the 10 Christmas trees reaching up to as high as nine feet at the main atrium. High above, red and green beribboned Christmas berries watch over shoppers merrily making their way through the stalls or kiddie rides.

Rene Labrador, who has been decorating the mall for 15 years as its visual display manager, is a recycling expert. He took the 30-foot Christmas tree at the home of the mall’s owner, Andrea Andres and turned it into 10 nine-feet-tall trees. He spruced them all up one by one and placed them at Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall’s fountain area, where it occupies centerstage.

Labrador carefully took out the wrought iron from last year’s décor, bent them into the shape of a giant bow, and came up with his recycled décor for the year. His main considerations are location and material.

Outdoor décor must be weather proof. Labrador also closely coordinates with the mall’s maintenance department to make bring out the best in his ideas.

His reward is psychic more than anything else. It’s Labrador’s — and Sta. Lucia East’s — contribution to keeping the Christmas spirit alive these hard times.