It’s just 22 days till Christmas and finally, Saigon has started getting ready! Last Monday, November 30, I saw lots of shops and restaurants in a frenzy putting up Christmas decors to welcome December.
Me? I headed to Cholon a couple of weeks ago to give our Christmas decors an upgrade. 😛 It’s been a while since I’ve visited Cholon and I kinda missed it. The fruits at affordable prices too!
Back in 2009, Cholon was the only place where you could get Christmas trees and decors. A 1.2 meter-Christmas tree cost 150,000 VND (7.5 USD) back then. I kid you not! I spent more money on Christmas decors than on the tree itself!
Before I we could start our serious Christmas shopping, we dropped by this stuff toy shop. The quality of the products is export quality! I love those bears!
What I was searching for were shiny, shimmering, golden leaves. So off we went to the street selling artificial flowers.
The shops were narrow and I was just praying my allergic rhinitis won’t act up.
….aaaaand voila!
I hope they don’t look tacky but they really lit up a room.
A stem would cost somewhere from 30k to 65k VND.
Then we were off to the street where Christmas decors were being sold.
I have been looking for these hangings for the longest time!
Then we hit the mother lode.
The prices are waaaaay cheaper than in District 1. Most of these products cost 2-3x more expensive in District 1.
So if you’re looking to decorate your home this Christmas, I still recommend going to Cholon if you have the time. It helps that the bus stop from our place is near our apartment.
Happy decorating!
Hello Saigon! 
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Hi,
I’m Fritzie and I am a Filipina too. I was googling what Christmas is like in Ho Chi Minh and bumped into your page. Reading your write-up alone I already had a feeling the author is a Filipino because of the very good English! Anyway, actually I have a strange question. I’d like to ask your help if I can find avocados at the main market in Ho Chi Minh? Is that called Ben Tanh? We will be flying there on the 21st to spend Christmas there. We are now in Thailand, from Cebu to Phuket to Bangkok. Avocados are very expensive here and the ones available are not the best like we have at home. Then when I was researching about Saigon I’ve learnt they have a lot of avocado shakes available in stalls so avocados must be available there? In this particular Cholon market you mentioned in this post, do you think I can possibly find it here? Hehe sorry for the fuss.
Kudos to your blog! ❤ 😀
Fritzie
Hi Fritzie! Thank you for visiting! 🙂
On the avocados, yup, lots of avocados. You’d find more I guess in Cholon near the bus stop where the fruit vendors are. In Ben Thanh, meron din. But best talaga to visit markets in the morning when the produce is still many.
Have a terrific Christmas here in HCMC! 🙂