Manila COD Christmas Display

As we left Kimpura, we came face-to-face with the Greenhills signboard along Ortigas Avenue.  We noticed that the signboard had a miniature castle built right next to it, and we instantly realized that Christmas was coming!  You might wonder what the connection is--you see the miniature castle is part of the annual Christmas display that the Manila COD used to show at their store in Cubao in the seventies.  In the late nineties, when Manila COD faced bankruptcy, the Rosario family (owners of Manila COD) authorized the transfer of the Christmas display to the Greenhills Commercial Center, a long-standing Christmas tradition that just refuses to die!  I remember Kong and Gwammy taking us to Cubao just to watch the Christmas display, which was really very simple--figurines going around a rail track in their best Christmas attire.  We'd spend around thirty minutes or so gazing at the display, and then we've move on to either Fiesta Carnival or Rustan's Superstore.  I'd have to keep track of my sisters Mikaela, Erika & Anita (who was still small at that time) while wandering around the crowded streets of Cubao, and we'd all be carrying lots of shopping bags (including shoes that we'd buy from the Marikina Shoe Expo).  I also remember eating either at 3M Pizza (they had a branch at the Araneta Coliseum) or Ferino's Bibingka (right next to Manila COD).  Very memorable and fun-filled family moments indeed!