Divisoria Shopping 2012

It has always been my goal to start Christmas shopping early but I've never been successful the past years either because I was too busy at work or I don't have the budget until the 13th month bonus arrives. Thankfully this year, I am almost done with my Christmas shopping!

Crowded Divisori Street and it's not even 8am!

My sister and I scheduled a trip to Divisoria last Saturday together with our mom and Tita. We decided not to give toys from Divisoria because of the toxic chemicals that those toys might contain. I was holding my list the entire time so as not to miss out on anybody and I am so glad that I completed the gifts for everybody on my list. Well, except for my Titas because I am yet to buy my gifts for them on our next grocery visit. (Now, they have a clue on what to expect! Hehehe!)

Christmas wrappers aplenty!

When it was time to pick Christmas wrappers, my sister and I had a very hard time choosing. Why? Because there were a lot, as in a lot! Everything is beautiful and cheaply priced! We were even contemplating on starting up a gift-wrapping business just because we were so caught up with the many beautiful wrapping papers that surrounded us that day. The ones that we got only costs Php 2.40 each. We also got gift tags priced at merely Php 10.00 for a hundred pieces. Now, isn't that cheap?

Posing under the sign which is coincidentally the same as my husband's surname.
And yes, I know, I'm fat. :)

Anyway, aside from Christmas gifts, my sister and I are also looking forward to this Divisoria trip because this is when we can usually buy clothes for ourselves and at the same time, search for outfits for each of our company Christmas Parties. I am to look for something that would be perfect for a masquerade ball because that's our company's theme this year. We will be having our party at the newly-opened Acacia Hotel Manila which located in Alabang.

It was so hard to look for dresses and gowns. All I was seeing there were mostly bridesmaid's dresses and wedding gowns! I almost bought an aqua colored tube gown if not for the fact that my "fatty" armpits are all over the place. Haha!

Luckily though, I saw a gray colored gown in one of the mannequins. I was hesitant because by the look of it, it seemed way beyond my budget. I don't want to spend too much on a gown that I am not certain I'll be able to wear again. But, because it truly looked elegant and it looks like it'll hide my bulging tummy (and fatty armpits), I gave it a go and tried it on. 

It fit! It's a medium and it fits me! The first gown I tried on was a medium and the seams looked like they're about to burst. But this gray gown fit me like it was made for me. I was afraid to ask for the price fearful that I might not be able to purchase it but when the saleslady gave me the price and allowed me to haggle three hundred pesos off the original price, I was ecstatic! Now, I am really excited for our party!

My gown

This Divisoria trip was a huge success! Now, all that is left to do wrap all those presents - my favorite Christmas task! I can't wait!

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!

The Wonder of Divi-land: Arts and Crafts

Again, this is not on my list except for the ribbons which I will be using to hold up the banderitas that I will be making for Johan’s birthday.

Pink and Peach Ribbons from Morning Glory at P13.00/roll, glue sticks at P3.00 each

“Ribbons aplenty!” That’s what I always think whenever I enter the Morning Glory shop along Tabora Street (Trivia: the street and my husband’s surname share the same name and according to my FIL, it was actually named after his ancestors, cool huh?). As I was saying, there are rolls and rolls of ribbons in all shapes and shades inside Morning Glory. If you’re looking for the cheap ones like the ones I found, you should look at the baskets on the floor. They are full of nice looking ribbons for lower prices than those on the displays. You have to be careful though because some of them have stains. The glue sticks can be found at the counter.

Letter Embosser, P260.00

I got this letter embosser from the stall where I bought some notepads. I didn’t plan on getting it but I was really imagining how cute embossed letters would look. I don’t know yet where I’ll be using this and I’m so hoping this tool would work. I haggled with the sales lady from the original price of P350.00 down to P260.00.

Super Mario Cloth, P120.00/yard

I saw an already made bed sheet with the same Super Mario design along Ilaya street priced at P180.00. I wanted to get that already but it was made to fit a single bed. Johan’s mattress is smaller and I don’t want to cut the bed sheet to be made into another one and the saleslady is not that nice, anyway. Luckily, I found one stall in Tutuban selling this cloth, I wasn’t able to haggle though because I only got one yard and this is made of US Cotton so it is priced a bit higher than the regular ones.

A couple of 1-yard cloths for curtains at P35.00 each

My cousin who went to Divisoria a few weeks ago told me about some cloths being sold along the street of Ilaya. She said there were lots to choose from and were really cheap. I saw these two cloths along with other designs literally on the street. You have to choose carefully because some are already muddy and you have to be quick because other customers might just beat you to the ones you want to buy.

Blue cotton cloth at P45.00/yard and red cap at P50.00

Since I wanted Johan to wear a Mario costume on his birthday, my MIL volunteered to sew the overalls. My MIL has been sewing all our bed sheets and curtains at home and she also did one of her grandkids’ school uniform so I’m pretty sure she will be able to make Johan’s costume. I have do think about what to do with the red cap, though. I wasn’t able to find a plain one so I bought this one with the Yankees logo. I might just cover this up with a letter M to copy the one that Mario is wearing.

Next up: Game Prizes

The Wonder of Divi-land – Mommy Finds

Okay, so, I didn’t go to Divisoria to shop for myself. My main task was to shop for Johan’s party stuff. But, because I was able to buy everything that I need for the party at a much cheaper price, I had a few extra bucks to buy myself some nice things as well.

Melon colored dress from Gilyanna, P400.00

While I was busy getting lost inside the newly renovated 168 mall (hehe!), I was happily surprised to find a new store that offers pretty blouses and dresses. Before, I only go to one known shop in 168 which is Juana. I wanted to buy a certain dress from there but even after going to all their stalls inside 168, I was not able to find one in my size. Good thing is I found this dress in Gilyanna, hidden at the back of the rack, probably hidden by one customer so she could come back later to purchase it. Sorry for her because it was the last piece and I got it. =)

Nicely embroidered

Just look at the details of the dress, the embroidery is really pretty and elaborate. I might just wear this one to Johan’s party. I only need to find a nice pair of wedges that would look really great with the dress.

Sleeveless top from Juana, P250.00

As I said above, I frequent the shop Juana in 168. It was the only store that offers quality clothes whether casual  or business-casual for work. The prices of the clothes are really cheap, the blouses range from 200-300 pesos while the dresses range from 300-450 pesos. They also have slacks and shorts but I’m not really sure how much they are worth.

I would have bought shoes but my already bulging two huge bags of purchases already weigh more than I could carry. So, the shoes would have to wait until my next Divisoria trip which is who knows when. =)

Next up: Arts and Crafts

The Wonder of Divi-land Part 1

This is going to be a short post because I still have a long day ahead – read: taking care of an overly active 10 month old baby. I just want to jumpstart a series of posts from my Divisoria trip last Saturday.

There really are tons and tons of things to buy if you have the courage to brave the crowded streets and be patient enough to walk in a snail’s pace in the narrow “pasilios” of the two well known malls in Divi – Divisoria Mall and 168.

168 has already been expanded. It is so huge and I found myself getting lost a number of times, imagine touring the top most level of 168 and ending up at the food court five times, unintentionally, I really did get lost.

Unfortunately though, I wasn’t able to take pictures while in Divi, I was too scared to bring out my digicam for fear that it would get snatched out of my hands. So, I’ll only be posting photos of my loots later.

Watch out for my posts because I have to end this one already as the overly active 10 month old is already stirring in his sleep. See yah all later!

New Finds - shoes

My bestfriend Mhy arrived from Singapore last Saturday. She'll be here on vacation until the 30th.

Me and Mhy have so much in common and one of them is our love for shoes. =) We're not very particular with brands so long as it fits us, it's comfy, it's cute. Given that I now live closer to her home here in the Philippines (Tondo, Manila) and our homes are just a ride away from Divisoria (the tiangge capital of the Philippines), we just cannot resist the urge to shop. 

So, on Sunday afternoon, we met and went to Divisoria. She needs to buy a few things to bring back to SG because she said things are super expensive in SG compared to here. She's supposed to buy work pants, lots of blouses and shoes. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a pair of pants that fits her well, I think we just bought one or two pairs. Then we're off to 168 Mall to buy blouses. I knew of a stall there that sells nice tops, be it for work or for leisure, at very reasonable prices. But, because we arrived there at 7:30pm, most of the stalls are already closed including the stall that I'm talking about. 

So, we just went around to look for shoes. It's quite hard to scout around since some of the stalls are closing already. Then, we chanced upon one stall that sells quite a lot of pairs of shoes. We immediately made our selections, asked for our sizes and bought and bought. I bought three pairs and Mhy had four pairs. Talk about hoarding! Haha! We even had a pair of the same design but of different colors, Mhy bought the purple one and I bought the cream one. No worries because we didn't spend a lot on these shoes, after a little haggling we got each pair for the price of 200 pesos each (that's about 4 dollars each). Quite a bargain!!