'House of Santa' opens in Mandaue City plaza

CEBU, Philippines – Many Mandaue City residents are flocking to the new attraction at the city's public plaza which is the "House of Santa."

Loida Giray brought her three-year-old kid to the plaza to personally see Santa's colorful house and take selfies with it.

"Nindot pud naa'y ingon ani diri. Malingaw man ang mga bata (It's good that they put this up. It gives joy to kids)," she said.

Mayor Jonas Cortes inaugurated December 15 the house  where "Santa Claus" and his elves donned in colorful costumes gave candies to the children.

“The innovation is meant to maximize the small plaza for the families and friends to spend Christmas together without any cost. It is our commitment to make others happy this Christmas, which is the real meaning of Christmas,” said Engr. Marivic Cabigas, head of the Department of General Services and of the 30-member team which implemented the concept.

Santa's house is a 6-meter by 4.5-meter structure made of recycled materials and painted in red and white. It can accommodate 10 persons at a time.

Hundreds of persons, ranging from children to adults, have already gone to see what's inside and to take photos as well. The structure is lit by 5,000 bulbs, giving it a Christmas glow at night.

It also has chimney, like what is depicted in stories of Santa.

Another attraction this Christmas is the "animals" at the Children's Park which the children can actually ride on, the 25-foot Christmas tree at the Rizal-Bonifacio stage and an array of lanterns made by the different barangays.

Cabigas said they spent P300,000 from the P1 million allocation this year, which enabled them to save more than a half of that budget.

“We thank the mayor for his all-out support to the project,” she said. (FREEMAN)