It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you be of good cheer
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to all
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
It’s that time of the year again for shopping, visiting relatives and having a ball. Christmas is on live, exclusive telecast all around the country. You step out of your home and pay a visit to Colombo City Centre, with the carol ‘jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…’ in your head.
Colombo City Centre (CCC) , the newly opened international shopping mall situated by the picturesque Beira Lake in the heart of Colombo city which opened to the public on September 19, 2018 is ready to celebrate its first Christmas with its beautiful decorations, entertainment and retail experiences.
The 40-foot Christmas tree is the star attraction. There's a Santa Claus red chair at the base. Who wouldn’t love to take photographs with Santa? From kids to adults, they sit on the Santa Claus chair, enjoying taking pictures. Not only Sri Lankans but tourists too enjoy the Christmas celebrations at CCC.
CCC is converted into the North Pole by bringing in Santa and Mrs. Claus and Santa's faithful Elf. Yes, there is also Grinch who are right there to steal your presents, so be careful! Workshops with Mr. and Mrs. Claus and fun filled activities such as Mrs. Claus' Kitchen, North Pole Post Office, Christmas tree decor and making your own wreath are some of the entertainment that’s lined up for kids and young ones. On the sidelines of shopping, you can enjoy the mini shows of choirs singing, the movies at the CCC Theatre and at Scope Cinema where Christmas stories come alive.
The best part is about Christmas shopping. It’s all about purchasing the best and beautiful dress for the celebration. Being an international mall with high-end brands people who go to shop there with the expectation of selecting the very best, will not be disappointed. While every store has promotions, offers or discounts and some yet to come, all you have to keep doing is stay updated. Credit card offers are common in every store with different percentages of discounts. Shops owners says that the weekends are the busiest.
“Already we are into offers, we haven’t partnered with any banks since we are a new product, but we do have a percentage off on selected items,” said Dinesh, the manager of the brand Sting.
Some outlets didn’t want to give out details about offers, events and sales. Discounts were the commonest. Shop owners said that closet to Christmas more promotions can be expected.
While some come to shop, others come to hang out, meet people, have fun, eat and watch a movie since its all under one roof. Even though it’s pricey, the malls are crowded wherever you go, with most people just window shopping and having fun with their buddies.