We rate Christmas decorations by 11 Orchard Rd malls & some are really A for effort

Sleigh.

Lebelle Chua| December 25, 2023, 04:21 PM

With the festive season right here, your Instagram feed is probably filled with pictures after pictures of people posing against some Christmas backdrop.

Chances are, these festive backdrops are probably the ones along Orchard Road.

In case you're feeling some FOMO and want to take some Christmas pictures yourself, we've taken the liberty to rate the Christmas decorations of several malls in Orchard.

You're welcome.

Walking the stretch

Before we start, here's some background:

We walked along Orchard Road, from Tanglin Mall to Plaza Singapura.

Photo via Google Maps

It takes approximately 41 minutes to cover the entire route, based on Google Maps.

Not in order of their ratings, here's what we think of these 12 malls.

1) Tanglin Mall

Photo by Lebelle Chua

Soak in the festive vibes with the mall's towering Christmas tree and fairytale-like decorations.

Aesthetics aside, there are also fun things to look out for like snow shows.

Photo by Lebelle Chua

Verdict: 4.5/5. Mostly because of the snow show. We're deprived of snow.

2) Far East Shopping Centre

Photo by Lebelle Chua

It's giving minimalism and wholesome Christmas decor, nice enough for a house.

But this is a mall, so we had higher expectations.

Verdict: 2/5. We could probably do this up as well.

3) Forum the Shopping Mall

Photo by Lebelle Chua

Paired with the icy, winter wonderland-themed lights is a huge Christmas tree adorned with several luminous reindeer.

Photo by Lebelle Chua

Similar to last year's decor, the mall is plastered with a dazzling sheet of neon lights, but make it blue this time round.

Verdict: 4/5. Really got winter wonderland feels.

4) Wheelock Place

Photo by Lebelle Chua

The interior and exterior of the building are both embellished with fairy lights.

Alongside these decorations were reindeer sculptures and a holographic Christmas tree, which gives us some futuristic vibes.

There's something lacking, though we can't quite put a finger on it.

Photo by Lebelle Chua

Verdict: 3.5/5. It has all the essential Christmas decor but we still can't figure out what's missing.

5) ION Orchard

Photo by Lebelle Chua

Now, this is the most flex Christmas tree we've ever seen.

We don't have much else to say about this.

Verdict: 5/5. Imagine saying your Christmas tree is Louis Vuitton. Epic.

6) Wisma Atria

Photo by Lebelle Chua

Both the interior and exterior of Wisma Atria are decked out in lights and decor, reminiscent of "The Little Mermaid's" "Under the Sea".

Several decoration pieces within the mall are in collaboration with students from the Faculty of Design at LASELLE College of the Arts.

Photo by Lebelle Chua

Verdict: 4/5. The Little Mermaid would approve.

7) Ngee Ann City

Photo by Lebelle Chua

Here's another atas Christmas tree.

Within the mall, there's a 16.8m-tall Chanel Christmas tree and also a big bottle of Chanel perfume that you can pose with.

Verdict: 4/5. Classy and air-conditioned. This is totally up our alley.

8) Paragon Shopping Centre

Photo by Lebelle ChuaThe mall's Christmas tree makes us feel like it's decorated by Elsa from "Frozen", with its blue lights, holographic ribbons and beautiful snowflakes.

And then we're certain (not really) that Elsa was behind this because lo and behold...

Photo by Lebelle Chua

A giant Olaf!!!

Verdict: 6/5. Extra points because we love "Frozen".

9) 313@somerset

Photo by Lebelle Chua

313@somerset's decor is really, really cute. The characters look like those characters you can find in blindboxes.

But that's all there is to it.

Photo by Lebelle Chua

Verdict: 3/5. Not bad but doesn't make you go wow.

10) Orchard Central

Photo by Lebelle Chua

The mall took us by surprise with the variety of festive-like photo spots situated in different areas.

With the polar bears and gift boxes as decorations, it almost felt like Christmas at the North Pole.

Photo by Lebelle Chua

Verdict: 4/5. Feels like we're not in Singapore.

11) Plaza Singapura

Photo by Lebelle Chua

The Christmas decorations were unfortunately lacklustre when we visited after hours.

Verdict: 2/5. To be fair, it's probably better during operational hours.

Top image by Lebelle Chua