UnDiplomatic Wife

  • About TDW
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • AS SEEN ON
    • Collaborate
    • Policies
  • Diplo Picks
    • Diplo Beauty
    • Diplo Mama
    • Diplo Home
    • Diplo Tummy
    • Diplo Tips
    • Diplo Travel
    • Diplo Style
    • Diplo Baby
    • Diplo Inspiration
  • Living in
    • GENEVA
      • good to know
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • Berlin
      • Good To know
      • To Dos
      • food & drink
      • Shopping
    • MANILA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • JAKARTA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
  • TRAVEL DIARIES
    • Finland
    • France
    • Greece
    • Germany
      • BERLIN 2022 ITINERARY
      • Willkommen in Berlin
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Netherlands
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Spain
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam

It’s a GOLD Christmas at our DiploHome

December 15, 2010

This is my version of the “belen” or nativity seen. Obviously because it’s a predominantly Muslim country, there are no Baby Jesus figures available here, no nativity scenes… only Santas and snowmen LOL!

Gold beads (Rp 65,000) from CHIC MART. Kalingga Home Gallery Sheep or domba Putih (Small Rp 25,000, Medium Rp 35,000, Large Rp 45,000) from CHIC MART. Gold Christmas trees made with Lansones peelings dipped in gold paint and glitters TESOROS, NAIA 3. Solid teak tray with white pebbles from DUNIA, YOGYAKARTA.

Gold wreath (Rp 45,000 at 20% off) and magnolia candle from VINOTI LIVING.  Small solid teak “tray” from DUNIA, YOGYAKARTA.

Flower bouquets, Gold wreath (Rp 45,000 at 20% off), magnolia candle from VINOTI LIVING.  Pottery and small solid teak tray with white pebbles from DUNIA, YOGYAKARTA.

Wreath (Rp 175,000) from ground floor stall in ITC MALL, MANGGA DUA. It was 50% off from Rp 350,000 which is a steal considering the other wreaths I’ve seen in GRANDLUCKY SUPERSTORE, etc. are Rp 800,000.

OUR LITTLE CHRISTMAS TREE

I bought 3 meters of gold cloth (Rp 15,000 per meter) from MAJESTIC TRADITIONAL PASAR/MARKET and swaddled it around the base of the tree instead of an expensive tree skirt.


Our starter christmas decor set from DEBENHAMS which I got on sale for less than Php 500 (or Rp 100,000 or 10 USD).


Last year, this starter set was all the decor we had for our tree, but this Christmas I’ve decided to add more to it! So my first stop was GRANDLUCKY SUPERSTORE. I found it a bit expensive and the cheapest (but sizable) ones I could find were these Gold glitter Christmas balls pack of 6 with strings which you have to tie yourself (Rp 59,000).


So off I went to Chic Mart, and I was a bit happier because I found cheaper ones. These Gold hearts are Rp 8,500 (left) and Rp 10,000 (right) each. Okay the large hearts are not cheaper, but these are made of solid wood, so I know they will last us a long time.


Gold bell with glitter (Rp 7,500) & Gold plastic acorns (Rp 7,500) from CHIC MART


I finally found nice gold Christmas tree balls (not scratched/faded/made with painted gold foil) that didn’t cost me an arm and a leg! Box of 40pcs (Rp 200,000) from ACE HARDWARE – PASARAYA. They are real glass balls.

Gold string (Rp 5,000) from GRAND LUCKY SUPERSTORE


I bought this string  for tying gift tags, but I’m glad I got em because apparently not all the Christmas tree decor I bought come with strings. Weird right? We had to use them for the glass Christmas balls.

DINING TABLE

Also from GRANDLUCKY SUPERSTORE are the decor on my dining table. The table runner is from a brand called Kalingga Home Gallery and I loved the white with gold snowflakes pattern. It is 2 meters long for Rp 120,000 or 12 USD est. From the same brand, I also found these cute wooden Christmas trees which are called P. natal pph warna

  • Small  Rp 25,000 or 2.50 USD est.
  • Medium  Rp 35,000 or 3.50 USD est.
  • Large Rp 45,000 or 4.50 USD est. from

These Kalingga Home Gallery coasters were Rp 55,000 or 5 USD est. for a set of 6.

GIFTS & GIVEAWAYS

I’ve never heard of Christmas Crackers before but hubby, who spent his childhood in the U.S, told me they were fun. So next time I went back to CHIC MART I bought some. Thank goodness too.. they ran out of the gold ones pretty quick. These were Rp 65,000 for a box of 6.

For the Christmas gift wrappers I looked for reusable bags and ribbons at Majestic Traditional Pasar or Market. I found these Bronze gift bags for Rp 5,000 each for a minimum of 12 pieces.

Ribbons:  Gold 1.5 inch width (Rp 25,000 for 10 Meters);  Red 0.5 inch width (10 Meters for Rp 14,000); and  Gold 1 cm width (10 Meters for Rp 4,500)

For the usual wrappers, I wanted gold as well. Last year I used gold christmas wrappers with white polkadots, but unfortunately I couldn’t find anything nice and affordable here. The cheapest I found were from CHIC MART and they didn’t match my gold theme. 6 rolls with 3 designs for Rp 26,900.

Note: Brand is Capricorn Christmas and the size is 76 x 53 cm which, in hindsight, is a bit too narrow for me. Not as good a deal as I thought! Cheaper for the same quanity at Rp 16,500 but the design is not as good and paper is thinner but 6 rolls as well.

Then I went to BASEMENT LEVEL STALL IN PASAR PAGI, MANGGA DUA (beside ITC Mall) and got 10 rolls of beautiful red and gold wrapper for ONLY Rp 6,000. The price difference is crazy!!! I am never buying wrappers at “city” prices again!

Let me end with a shot of our living room all lit up at night. The lights behind lining the backrest of our couch are from Phuket.

Chic Mart – Kemang, Jakarta

021 – 719 92 49
Jl. Kemang Raya No. 55, Jakarta Selatan
Be sure to check out Retota on the 2/f

Kalingga Home Gallery

www.kanacrafts.co.id
kalinggahomegallery@gmail.com

12 Comments · Diplo Home, Lifestyle

Comments

  1. Deepa says

    December 15, 2010 at 8:53 AM

    Everything looks so great! I’m so inggit. Since we’re preparing for the big move, we didn’t even put up a single piece of Christmas decor. Missing that warm, glowing Christmas feel at home 🙁 And there’s not much Christmas spirit here in SG aside from Orchard Road, because of course they want to get you in the mood to shop!

    Reply
    • thediplomaticwife says

      December 15, 2010 at 10:19 AM

      Thanks Deepa! That means a lot considering what little I have (that I can afford) to work with. =) I am surprised that there’s not much Christmas Spirit in SG. How come?

      Reply
  2. Tala says

    December 15, 2010 at 11:36 AM

    Niiiiice!!! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Kaho says

    December 17, 2010 at 10:39 AM

    Beautiful!! Your Christmas tree and decoration are so nice and golden! You have a very good taste! I love the way you decorated your tree. Your hubby is lucky to have you to decorate your home the way you do!

    Reply
    • thediplomaticwife says

      December 21, 2010 at 10:19 AM

      Thanks so much Kaho! That means a lot to me coming from you! Considering how limited our budget is. I really found the stuff expensive, but TD and I just had to suck it in, because it would be such a lonely Christmas if we didn’t decorate as much!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Our new custom-built teak hallway furniture « The Diplomatic Wife says:
    December 30, 2010 at 3:41 AM

    […] It’s a GOLD Christmas in our DiploHome […]

    Reply
  2. FEATURED ☆ Our Jakarta DiploHOME on Living ETC Indonesia | The Diplomatic Wife says:
    August 30, 2013 at 9:06 AM

    […] Christmas decorations in our Jakarta DiploHome and where I bought them […]

    Reply
  3. BOOK ❤ My Apartment Interior Design inspirations | The Diplomatic Wife says:
    October 13, 2013 at 7:02 PM

    […] It’s a GOLD Christmas at our DiploHome […]

    Reply
  4. TRAVEL DIARIES ✈ Last minute shopping NAIA 3 | The Diplomatic Wife says:
    October 22, 2013 at 10:10 PM

    […] Php 299, large Php 519) and gold (large Php 519). Remember my gold capiz picture frames and gold mini-christmas trees made of lansones peeling dipped in gold? (So environmental!) I bought them at Tesoros too! They wrap items very well in bubble wrap so it […]

    Reply
  5. DIPLO HOME: Bespoke teak hallway furniture | The Diplomatic Wife says:
    October 27, 2013 at 6:55 PM

    […] It’s a GOLD Christmas in our DiploHome […]

    Reply
  6. DIPLO HOME: Gold Christmas Decor Theme says:
    December 24, 2013 at 9:24 AM

    […] collecting my decor over the past 5 years. So I have the same colour theme every year haha. Look here and here.  In Jakarta I found decor to be quite expensive so we didn’t even have a tree our […]

    Reply
  7. DIPLO HOME: It’s another GOLD Christmas says:
    January 2, 2014 at 5:33 PM

    […] with the theme of my home (white, natural wood with gold and capiz accents) I decided it would be a GOLD Christmas in our DiploHome – or until I change my mind anyway. =P So this year I only had to make a few improvements on […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

READ MORE
 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

TRAVEL DIARIES: Fischer’s Fritz Zürich

Summer hack: Portable Neck Fan

Summer hack: Leguano Barefoot Wet/Dry Shoes

Excellent Chinese Food at Le Tsé Fung in La Réserve

AirPod Anti-lost Accessories Philippines

DISCLOSURE

I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

Every year I add a little bit more to my Halloween Every year I add a little bit more to my Halloween decor collection so it’s not so heavy on the wallet. I’m so happy with this year’s finds & make sure to carefully store them so they have many more years of use.

It was @diplobaby’s idea to add googly eyes to the bats. So we did it together! I love the one eyed bats 🦇 and I love it when we decorate together! Definitely one for the core memory banks! 👻🎃🤍

I was tickled pink coz people would pass by and take pics, stare or even tell me good job. 🎃 Halloween is really my favorite holiday!

What do you think of our Halloween prep this year?

#udwhalloween
I couldn’t stop laughing! It was still a little I couldn’t stop laughing! It was still a little too long for him this year but we sure got a kick from it.

DM me if you want to know where to order!

#udwhalloween #diplobaby
VILLAGE PUMPKIN CARVING EVENT Every year I look f VILLAGE PUMPKIN CARVING EVENT

Every year I look forward to this event for families in our village. We also invite our friends outside the village coz it’s so much fun for families. Parents and kids can come in costume. It’s done beside a fabulous park so kids can run around and play.

The pumpkins 🎃 might be overpriced (the bigger ones went from chf 18 last year to chf 23 this year) BUT it includes the free use of NIFTY CARVING TOOLS, waste disposal, clean up & cute decor that the organizers have provided.

We draw together. TD removes the guts. Then @diplobaby & i do the carving together with our son and it’s a controlled way of showing him how to use the tools in a safe way. Which is something I appreciate in Europe.

One year we tried pumpkin 🎃 carving at home and clean up was a totally nightmare. Never doing it again!

Then when kids and parents are are hungry we can buy food & drinks. 

We go home with a carved pumpkin 🎃 & don’t have to do the clean up. The pumpkin guts are also turned into soup by the organizers.

It’s also a good way for parents to unwind, catch up while the kids play in the playground. We usually see our neighbors here too.

It’s a win win for everyone & it reduces unused waste. I love it so much!

We never did pumpkins before coz it would rot@so fast in Asia. But i  the past 3 seasons of doing this I’ve learned so many tips and tricks for pumpkin 🎃 carving - especially how to prevent molds and insects. Let me know if you want me to do a separate post on that!

#udwingeneva #udwhalloween #udwholidays #halloween #halloween2023 #halloween2023🎃  #pumpkin🎃 #pumpkincarving #pumpkincarvings #pumpkincarvingideas #diplobaby #diplofamily #expatfamily
Hi guys it’s been a while since I’ve posted ab Hi guys it’s been a while since I’ve posted about our #DiploHome.

This is our BALCONY/TRASH SEGREGATION AREA.

Because we use it to entertain in SPRING & AUTUMN (too hot & too many insects in summer) I made sure that the trash segregation remains AESTHETIC by using white @ikeaschweiz SEGREGATION BINS.

So far SWITZERLAND TRASH SEGREGATION in our experience is even more complex than GERMANY but it has led to at least 50% RECYCLING rate which is pretty good, even though Germany still has the highest rate of recycling 66%

Let me know if you want to know more about how we manage trash in our village.

#diplohomegeneva #whiteliving #balcony #aesthetic #aesthetic #whiteinteriors #whitebalcony #expatliving #expatingeneva #expatinswitzerland
Come visit @fcbarcelona SPOTIFY CAMP NOU MUSEUM wi Come visit @fcbarcelona SPOTIFY CAMP NOU MUSEUM with us!

- tour their cool museum
- see the former record holder before @leomessi who was actually PINOY 🇵🇭
- view the construction site of the new stadium
- check out all the merch
- see @diplobaby beat ROBOKEEPER

Definitely a highlight of our Barcelona trip!
This place is a must for any football fan and Messi fan! It is also home to many of the women footballers who won the @fifawomensworldcup 2023 and a great training ground for future football stars.
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio.