Christmas Shopping in Divisoria

 And we thought we'll have the Divisoria streets all to ourselves, until we realized it was a national holiday.


I, personally, do not want to go to Divi on a weekend. I have had one too many experiences of going there on a Saturday or a Sunday during Christmas season and those experiences were horrible. So, this year, I promised myself I will go on a weekday, midweek preferably, thinking there won't that much crowd.

I thought wrong, well, me and sister did, when we went there last Wednesday and I totally forgot it's a holiday. We were there around 8am and the traffic in Binondo was unbearable already. The vehicles going to Juan Luna St. weren't moving anymore. I arrived there first and was able to hear mass in Binondo Church while waiting for my sister.

The church is really beautiful. If ever my husband asks me to marry him again, it would be in this church. One thing though, because of the size of the church, it's hard to understand what the priest is saying even though several speakers were mounted around the church.

When my sister arrived, we walked towards Divisoria and proceeded to the Bodega. This is the place you should go if you're looking for cheap toys. We were able to buy vanity sets for girls, billiard sets for boys, bowling pins and balls, doll houses, lego-like toys, stackables, toy cars and more. It is such a treat to buy big, bulky toys for such incredibly low prices but it is a major mistake to make if you're in Divisoria on a crowded Christmas season. We were lugging around three huge bags of toys from Divisoria Mall to the New 168 Mall in CM Recto.

When we arrived here, we were already pulling our purchases behind us. Our arms were already aching from walking the not-so-short distance from Divisoria Mall to 168.

The throng of shoppers inside 168 Mall

Good thing is that we were there around 10:30am and when we went up to the food court area, there were a few tables unoccupied so we were able to have an early lunch in peace. When we left around 11:30, there were a lot of people already dying to have lunch. By that time, there were no vacant table in sight.

People stood up while waiting for vacant seats at the food court

I love the new 168 Mall. The air-conditioning is working really well despite the number of people inside the mall. The comfort rooms are better than the old 168. The goods are well segregated in different floors, I think there were five or six levels in the new 168 Mall. The food court area is huge, with more choices in terms of food tenants: there was Tapsi, Dairy Queen, Reyes Barbeque to name a few.

After eating, we walked around the mall to shop. My sister was able to buy a dress for only 750 pesos for their Christmas party. I was able to buy a pair of denim shorts (350) and a polo shirt (200). I also bought a pair of Timberland shorts and a shirt for Johan for only 250 pesos.

All in all, this Divisoria trip is very tiring but satisfying. We were satisfied with our purchases, me and my sister were able to bond together. One tip though to a hassle-free, uncrowded Divisoria trip - Shop as early as September!