“Christmas comes but once a year” as the saying goes. And with it comes months of careful planning and preparation by Macau’s hotels, as they decide how best to decorate their premises to give their guests that extra special welcome for the festive season.
The Christmas decorations that we get to enjoy here in Macau are truly beautiful, from colourful silk lanterns hanging from the lamposts, life-size nativity scenes in central Macau, amazing light displays in Senado Square, and of course the sensational decorations that can be seen in the many hotels and casinos. With money apparently no object in many cases, some are simply a wonder to behold, and tourists and locals alike gape in open-mouthed admiration at the imaginative, innovative creations. Macau CLOSER invited some of the main players to explain how they get their impressive decorations just right for a bumper season of visitors.
Galaxy Macau
The festive decorations at Galaxy Macau are the responsibility of the Event Marketing team, who works closely with all the other departments to tailor the decorations for their specific requirements. Planning for Christmas begins in March, with installation in early November. This year, the team collaborated closely with Pico Hong Kong, who handled the production and installation of the Christmas decorations. Given the size of Galaxy Macau, it is important to get the scale right. The property has very high ceilings and vast open spaces, so everything must be larger than life. Whilst the scale of the decorations is large, the finer details and the quality of the finishes are also critical. Importantly, the decorations need to be eye catching, and provide great photo opportunities. This year, a community component has been added to the decorations with the new “Wishes Granted” Christmas Tree. The tree is fitted with a mechanical device for transporting a “Wishes Granted” ball from the bottom all the way up to the top of the tree, and eventually dropping it into one of five local charity organisations, which will benefit from the visitor’s donation of MOP20 through the purchase of the ball. The 13-meter tall tree is located in the East Square and is one of Macau’s tallest. There are also a number of 5-meter tall gold reindeers together with giant Santas on display throughout the property.
Grand Hyatt Macau
Since the inception of Grand Hyatt Macau, Floral Manager Steven Lu has worked closely with the hotel’s General Manager, Paul Kwok in regards to the organisation and installation of the property’s Christmas decorations. Christmas trees do not always need to be in green or white in colour, and the GM’s brief was simply to create unconventional Christmas trees and decorations. The Christmas trees in Grand Hyatt Macau are wrapped with sparkling cloth in a vivid festive red colour. The Christmas trees are meticulously arranged at the fountain of the hotel main lobby, and also scattered around the hotel driveway, lobby, restaurants and spa. All the production and installation is done internally with the efforts of the in-house floral team and F&B team. The installation normally kicks off in mid-November, and it takes approximately ten days to complete both the indoor and outdoor decorations.
Sands
The man responsible for the Christmas decorations at all of Sands’ properities is Jeremy Cristobal, Executive Manager Floral Operations. Given the size of the task, the company also employs the assistance of design houses from Hong Kong and Singapore. When designing the concept for the decorations, the brand image and also local cultural considerations are important. The colour, design and Feng Shui elements are all taken into account, especially around the casino areas. The main themes are actually planned ahead for the coming two to three years and then modified as required. Last year’s theme had a theme of precious jewels: Holiday Inn had emeralds, Conrad crystals, Sheraton silver and Venetian gold. Throughout the properties there is a variety of large artificial trees and smaller real trees sourced from Holland. Last year by the Venetian Lagoon, there was a massive 30-foot tree, which as grown even taller this year to 46 feet. And of course Shrek and all the other Dreamworks characters also get into the festive mood for Christmas.
Grand Lisboa
This year Grand Lisboa Hotel has a new Gingerbread House. The house is covered with real gingerbread and is one of the biggest Gingerbread houses in town. Delicious homemade Christmas hampers and goodies will be sold inside. There is also a 20-foot tall, real Christmas tree in the lobby of Grand Lisboa Hotel.
