Chennai gets Christmas-ready with stores bringing nostalgia, trends and festive charm

As the festive play sweeps into the city, Chennai begins to glow — churches drawstring up lights, streets brim with last-minute shoppers, and homes acceptable themselves with their yearly vacation makeover. For some, it is the joyousness of bringing location a caller Christmas tree; for others, it is astir dressing up the trusted aged ones with caller ornaments.

At Parry’s Corner, the vacation unreserved is successful afloat swing, particularly wrong Rahaman Decoration Centre, a 30-year-old wholesale store teeming with parents, children, and couples sifting done endless aisles. The assemblage present is not aiming for a trendy pinkish Christmas histrion oregon ceramic Santa, but the charm of aged schoolhouse decor — prima lanterns, integrative Santa masks, nativity sets and everything reminiscent of Christmases past. “It’s rather a engaged clip for us. This is erstwhile everyone starts shopping, and being a wholesale shop, we get customers ranging from store owners to assemblage and schoolhouse teachers,” says Afreen Fathima, girl of Syed Karimulah, the proprietor of Rahaman Decoration Centre.

At Advent Christmas Store connected RK Salai, Josh Groban’s ‘Believe’ is playing successful the inheritance arsenic a mates debates which decor would champion suit their surviving room. The store itself feels similar a miniature Christmas wonderland — its aisles packed with ornaments and decor that replicate the precise English and American Christmas aesthetic. From vibrant colour Christmas trees to carousel figurines, and adjacent ceramic mugs and bowls, the store is brimming with festive charm. Founded successful 2019 by siblings Tinu Santiago and Alex, Advent has already grown to 3 outlets successful Bengaluru, Kochi, and Chennai.

“We’ve been brainsick astir Christmas since we were kids. In 2018, we joked astir doing thing with that passion, and earlier we knew it, six months later, we were really moving connected it,” says Tinu. This year, Advent Chennai’s standout portion is simply a 7 feet- Alaskan achromatic Christmas histrion with an elf attached to it — property a button, and it springs to life. While Instagram and Pinterest animate customers’ decor dreams, they airs their ain challenges for store owners. “A batch of what you spot online simply doesn’t construe to the Indian market. We bash import galore items, but it’s inactive not realistic to find everything you spot connected the internet,” says Tinu. The store besides has metallic ornaments, thing that Tinu says, “can beryllium passed down for generations”

If you person been successful Chennai long enough, chances are you are already acquainted with Raave’s Evergreen store successful Egmore. It is 1 of those bequest stores that started agelong earlier contention grew fierce, and earlier societal media decided what your Christmas decor should look like. Established successful 1997, the store instantly evokes a consciousness of nostalgia — the benignant of spot you indispensable person wandered into with your parents aft school. Whether you are a assemblage pupil buying connected a fund oregon idiosyncratic looking to spell each out, the store has thing for everyone.

Rows of Christmas trees, bells, and wreaths successful classical green, roseate golden and adjacent fuchsia pinkish capable the space. From classical conifer cones, reddish berry stems, and aureate bells to snowflake ornaments, crystal pick cone baubles and adjacent a nutcracker softly lasting successful the corner, the postulation is endless. What stands retired is simply a oversea of reddish ornaments dominating the shelves this year. “Every twelvemonth we bring successful a caller concept, and this clip the taxable is vino red,” says Selvaraj, the store owner. With Christmas conscionable astir the corner, helium rapidly returns to assisting customers — often guiding them connected what they should look for.

At Roy’s Wonderland, College Road, Nungambakam, this year’s prima attraction is simply a pre-lit Christmas histrion that changes colour astatine the pat of an app connected the mobile telephone — 1 fastener and the fairy lights displacement seamlessly from reddish to bluish and galore more. The store’s shelves are lined with miniature Christmas villages, handcrafted wreaths successful varied themes, and an awesome scope of baubles disposable successful some integrative and steel, each successful antithetic shapes, colours and finishes. 

“From classical trees to uncommon collectables, each portion is imported from astir 10 festive corners of the satellite — the US, Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia,” says Nivedha Roy, who joined the family-run business, founded successful 1996, and present heads integer marketing. According to her, radical commencement arriving successful ample numbers from Thanksgiving itself. Also a assemblage favourite this twelvemonth astatine Roy’s is simply a steam bid circling a Christmas histrion — a delight among the kids, says Nivedha.

From wholesale markets to boutique stores, the tone of Christmas is already present successful the city, with each store bringing its ain flavour — immoderate rooted successful nostalgia and immoderate inspired by planetary trends.