Read: List of Christmas Bazaars
St James Bazaar was established in 1991, so they just celebrated their 25th anniversary last week. It was built to raise money to build the church in Ayala Alabang Village which is the St James the Great Parish Church.
I only learned about this bazaar when I moved to Southern Luzon, there are tarpaulins near Alabang Town Center area. At first, I was hesitant to visit this bazaar kasi feeling ko pangmayaman at nasa Ayala, Alabang.
2008 was my first visit in St James Bazaar, as in baby pa anak ko. But during that time, there are only few stores but few years ago nag-improve na. Now, there are more than 500 concessionaires in the bazaar.
8 Reasons Why I Love Shopping at St James Christmas Bazaar?
1. Location
Most of the bazaars are in Metro Manila, I live in Southern Luzon so Alabang is my good option to avoid the city traffic. I also save more in toll and gas.
2. No Entrance Fee
Some bazaars has P75 or P100 fee but St James Bazaar has no entrance fee, the best thing in life is always FREE. Big savings for me or else, I will pay for 3 tickets which is pang foods and drinks na rin yun.
3. No Parking Fee
Aside from no entrance fee, there is no parking fee but there are times that it is hard to find a parking slot so you need to go there early or be ready to walk far.
4. Money?
No problem if you ran out of cash because there are ATM machines in the area where you can withdraw and some stores accept credit card transactions too.
5. You will not get hungry or thirsty
There are food stalls too where you can buy drinks and food. In some bazaars that I’ve visited, there are no available tables and chairs, so nakatayo kakain. But in St James Bazaar, no need to worry because there are tables and chairs when you dine. We ate at Ineng’s Barbecue and Ellies Roasted Calf during our last visit.
6. It is Like a One Stop Shop
When I say One Stop Shop, it means there are different stores that will cater to different customers. They sell foods, beverages, jewelry, accessories, home decor, personal care products, toys, clothes, stationery and many more.
I prefer going to bazaar because there are products that are not available in the mall. There are online stores that I follow in social media that have kiosks in St James Bazaar so it saves me from shipping fee. I just buy products at the bazaar and sometimes they have promo too if you buy there.
7. Activities and Raffle Prizes
If you are into contest, you can join the different activities or you can buy raffle ticket to win some prizes.
8. You Can Help
You can help because the proceeds of the 4-day bazaar will be given to St James Parish Church. Not only that, you can help small entrepreneurs in earning money. Yes, support small businesses.
I won’t share photos muna because some of the stuff I bought is panggift. Hehehe!
Wahh tagal ko ng di nakapunta sa St James Bazaar! In fairness yung mga nabili namin dati dyan na jogging pants and shorts, ok pa until now :)
ReplyDeleteWow, ang tibay. Sulit na sulit ang bili. hehehe!
DeleteNice reasons indeed. I love that some stores accept debit or card but oftentimes your spending may go higher because you just swipe cards. Love raffles as well.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to that place yet but taking note of it. This info will come in handy when I retire in the Philippines in few years. Thus, making my Christmas shopping easy.
ReplyDelete1st time ko nakapunta last year. Accident lang kasi nagsimba kami sa St. James di namin alam may Bazaar. since saglit lang kami at mainit that time, ang nabili ko Ikea items and a salad dressing haha! Sayang this year nasa Japan kami kaya di kami nakapunta. next year sana makapunta kami
ReplyDeleteYes, mainit talaga mamili and lagi may IKEA items dun. Cheaper compared sa nakikita ko na ibang IKEA reseller. :)
DeleteI love going to bazaars too. Last year, I was at world bazaar, tipong everyday. Wasakan ng wallet talaga. I haven't been to st james bazaar but I'll definitely check them next year (or in case they would have another batch this year, do let us know.).
ReplyDeleteWasakan talaga ng wallet kung almost everyday, hehehe! Yearly lang yung St James, next week (Dec. 9-11) there is Zonta Alabang Festival at Cuenca Park too. But I haven't tried it yet so not sure kung same sa St James Bazaar.
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