With Christmas a little more than a month away, the city
will soon be seen donning its cloak of red, white and green. In fact, offering
you an early start to your Christmas shopping are some select stores such as
Casa J D Fernandes that already has some attractive Christmas decorations on
display. This, in fact, is a great time for your tinsel and bauble shopping as
the the markets aren’t as crowded as they will be next month. Casa J D
Fernandes caters to the needs of their customers and ups the ante every time by
importing unique decorations that will simply take your breath away.
Darlene Fernandes, who manages the decoration section of
Casa J D Fernandes, shares that they have been selling these Christmas items
for a very long time. “This business has been passed down from generation to
generation. It’s such a beautiful experience to sell these items. I have been
looking after the shop for last six years. And every year I learn something new
from my customers. They even request me to get their choice of decorations and
accordingly, I place an order,” says Darlene.
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A variety of items related to the season are sold here. “You
name it and we have it! Right from a one-foot Christmas trees to a 10-footer!
There are Chinese ones, bushy ones, some with cones and some without; we have a
wide range of trees,” she Darlene, adding, “When it comes to lights, there are
drop lights, LED lights, blue, red, green ones which lend a splendid look to a
tree as well as around the house. Stars also come in a wide range, from local
ones to Chinese and Thailand made pieces.”
As you walk into the basement of the shop, it welcomes you
with decorative Christmas wreaths, bells, stockings and hangings. “Our gift
wrappings are an exclusive item. Then we have got an innovative white Christmas
tree. Now people need not have to worry about ceiling decorations as we have
got nice ceiling decorations as well. We have also got chair bags which can be
put on chairs, rendering a festive look. There is also a white tree which is
made using dried wooden sticks designed with glitter.”
“We also had Christmas baskets; but half of them have
already been sold as we receive orders from big firms,” shares Darlene.
Another new item to be brought in is a village scene in
addition to their regular nativity scene (crib).
“To entirely decorate your food table, we have got table
runners, tablecloth, Christmas linen, cushion covers, tissues, plates, lanterns
etc” she adds.
The store also has items such as a variety of Santa
wristbands, balls, jingle bells, rings, stockings, wall hangings, reindeer
headgears, Santa Claus figurines, gift boxes, mistletoe, etc.
“Santa Claus costumes in sizes ranging from kids to adults
are also available here.
Speaking about future plans, Darlene informs, “Since we are
getting such a good response, with orders coming in from different places, we
are thinking of opening our stores in Margao and Mapusa from next year.”
