MANILA, Philippines - It’s Santa season! The holiday mood is in the air and we all have to think of creative ways to say thank you to all those important to us, without breaking the proverbial bank of course!

Santa knows the reason for this season is really the children, so our first stop is Toys-R-Us. This toy wonderland and superstore is heaven for kids; they can play around and sample all the latest fun gizmos and gadgets.

And just in time for holidays, if you use your MasterCard at Toys-R-Us, you get a chance to win a fabulous family vacation package to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Singapore or Bangkok.

The four lucky winners will get a round-trip Cebu Pacific Travel Voucher for a family of four to any of the destinations; three-night hotel accommodation and half-day tour; P25,000 in Toys-R-Us gift certificates; and best of all, P100,000 in MasterCard credits.

If this promo makes you want to head to the nearest Toys-R-Us, you can find them at Robinsons Malls throughout the city.

For busy parents, ninong and ninang with little time to play Santa, Rustan’s has the Christmas Registry for kids. Now kids can get exactly what they want, say video games, rather than the clothes and books you thought they wanted.

The Christmas Registry is available in Rustan’s Department Store in Makati, Shangri-La and Alabang, and Santa Claus himself will be in Rustan’s Makati all weekend from Friday to Sunday until the weekend of Christmas Eve.

And for men who are thinking of their ladies, happiness can be found at the What Shoe Wearing shoe store (WSW, tel. 8121787) at Jannov Plaza Bldg., Pasong Tamo Extension.

Owner Lani Velasco travels monthly to stock up on the latest shoes. WSW is a one-stop shop for any shoe lover, which is every Filipina, right? So whether you’re looking for casual flats or funky high heels, check out WSW.

With the world financial crisis, we have to shop for bargains and there’s no better place for that than the Big Outlet Sale ’08, Nov. 21-23, at the Megatent, 30 Meralco Avenue, Ortigas (across Alexandria).

Organized by Malibu Enterprise and sponsored by BPI’s Edge Credit Card, this event will have unbelievable discounts ranging from 30-80 percent.

Among the participating vendors are Rustan’s; Debenhams; Marks & Spencer; Luxasia (Phytomer, Guerlain, Shiseido, Decleor, etc.); JB Music & Sports; Nike; Puma; Mizuno; Fubu; Reebok; Adidas; Oakley; Elba; Triumph; Giordano; Bose; Abenson, Power Mac Center; JBL; Olympus Cameras; Chocolate.

BPI cardholders come in for free and BPI Edge cardholders get more freebies like VIP parking, welcome drinks, a 15-minute massage. Best of all, if your swipe is over P3,000, you get to pay for it in three gives at zero-percent interest.

Dining discoveries

One of the best gifts is to have a special dinner with your loved one. And our city does not lack for good restaurants. Among my new discoveries is Restaurant Cicou, which opened yesterday at the Hotel Celeste on Pasay Road (tel. 8896728 and 0917-8858841).

French chef Cyrille Soenen created buzz for his new venture by successfully participating in the 3rd Annual France Food and Wine Festival.

For great Italian food, Carpaccio Restaurant on Yakal Street, Makati is now open. From the owners of Santi’s Deli, Carpaccio serves delicious pastas and pizzas.

My favorite gelatos are found in Piazza Pazzo (tel. 7565011) at 1/L, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell.

With an expansive variety of 40 flavors, the gelato desserts also include sorbets, sugar-free and lactose-free options.

Exciting treats like wild berries cheesecake, caramelized fig cookie gelato, white chocolate with coffee marble and dulce de leche are just some of the samples of these yummy desserts.

Feng-shui

Continuing on down the list of creative Christmas gifts, try giving the gift of luck. At the World of Feng Shui stores, they know the Year of the Rat is almost over and it’s time to devise new strategies to harness energies for the coming year.

The year 2009 is when earth energy stabilizes, bringing recovery and relief from this year’s difficulties. Strong earth energy is present and there is excellent balance of the five elements in the coming Year of the Ox. There is superb potential for recovery.

At the same time, the reigning number is the auspicious nine that signifies completion, future prosperity and a time for expansion.

To update the feng-shui elements and astrological luck cycles, drop by World of Feng Shui for the 2009 Lillian Too’s Diary. It’s best to get a head start with energy blessings.

‘Hairspray’

And then there is the gift of laughter. Why not tickets to “Hairspray,” the Tony Award-winning musical now showing at the Star Theater, Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex.

At the recent premiere, I was delightfully entertained by Atlantis Productions’ latest venture. The star-studded cast included Michael de Mesa, playing the role John Travolta did in the hit movie musical; Dulce, whose powerful voice was amazing; and stage veteran Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, who was just perfect.

The local production is directed by Bobby Garcia, choreographed by Cecille Martinez and musical director Archie Castillo conducts FILharmoniKA. “Hairspray” runs Friday-Sunday until Dec. 7. Call Atlantis at 8927078 or 8401187, or TicketWorld at 8919999.

Good luck, Dennis

Let me end with a quick note of good luck to my husband, Dennis, who is competing in the 2nd Asian Underwater Hockey Championships, Nov. 21-23, at the Army Pool in Fort Bonifacio. Our country is the defending champion and he is part of the contingent.

The lucky Pinoy defenders had an early visit from Santa, what with their sponsored swimsuits from Speedo, sun stuff from Beach Hut, slippers from Havaianas and goodies from Robinsons and even Kérastase.

It’s great that businesses are so supportive of local sports, even the unusual ones like underwater hockey. It must be because Santa believes that what goes around comes around.

E-mail the author at seaprincess@inquirer.com.ph.