MANILA -- Check out some of the latest news in the local retail scene.

These are not endorsed by ABS-CBN News.

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR AT ROBINSONS NOVALICHES

Robinsons Novaliches is offering a more convenient and safer way to do holiday shopping with its Christmas bazaar.

Located at Parking 2 of the mall, the outdoor bazaar features 85 stalls selling a wide variety of gift items such as clothes and shoes, phone accessories, household items, knick-knacks, and more.

Robinsons Novaliches started its annual Christmas Bazaar in 2005, giving the residents of Quezon City (Novaliches and Fairview), Caloocan City, and even as far as San Jose del Monte, Bulacan access to affordable gift ideas.

Aside from fashion and home items, the bazaar also has food stalls for snacks and full meals.

This year's Robinsons Novaliches 2020 Christmas Bazaar is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day until January 3, 2021. Health and safety protocols such as regular sanitation, temperature checks, alcohol dispensers, marshals reminding customers to observe physical distancing, and mandatory wearing of face mask and face shield are implemented to prevent the spread of the virus.

More details are available on the website and social media pages of Robinsons Novaliches and Robinsons Malls.

FILINVEST CITY BRIGHTENS UP THE HOLIDAYS

Filinvest City recently held its "Be the Light" virtual event, which featured a Christmas video-making online contest dedicated to frontliners, musical performances, and dazzling decorations.

Some of the featured acts include Silent Sanctuary, Gracenote, and Sandwich, who performed Christmas songs and some of their hit tracks.

Decorations such as a 30-foot-tall Christmas tree can be seen at the Spectrum Linear Park, with Filinvest City also unveiling a tribute video for frontliners featuring the song "Kaleidoscope World" by Francis Magalona.

H&M WEBSITE RELAUNCHES IN PH FOR HOLIDAYS

H&M's website is back in the Philippines just in time for the hoildays, promising a faster delivery time at three to five business days.

Customers can also download the HM.com app and explore the full H&M experience where they will find a wide selection of fashion items for women, men, kids, and babies.

NINJA VAN'S LAST-MINUTE GIFT IDEAS

Logistics company Ninja Van Philippines has come up with a list of last-minute gift ideas from homegrown brands.

These include the Tokki RFID blocking wallet (P799), Odette Tote Bag from VxG Leather Co. (P1,799), biodegradable phone cases from Coast PH (P999 each), tomato soap from Cyleina Organic (P115), layered necklace from Hola Maria (P395), Talaala's round plate earrings (P1,000), Nth Aesthetic's Moroccan cotton short sleeve shirt (P695), Madam Ely's personal air purifier (P3,500), candles from Serendipity Studio (P450 each), and essential oils from Solace Essentials (P395 each).

Ninja Van Philippines can deliver the gifts from the said merchants to the recipient's doorstep, within and outside Metro Manila.

More details are available on the company's Facebook page.

PICK.A.ROO OFFERS EGIFT CARDS AND MORE

Pick.A.Roo, which is marketed as a "your everything" app, is offering deals for the holidays.

The eGift Card store is now up on the app, allowing users to buy gift vouchers for their friends and family to use on the platform. Voucher amounts range from P100 to as much as P10,000, which can be used on over 500 brands.

Among these are Wolfgang's Steakhouse, 8Cuts, Din Tai Fung, Farmers Market, Fresh Options, Hawker Chan, Kam's Roast, Locavore, Manam, Milking Bombs, Mo' Cookies, Mothercare, Ooma, Paradise Dynasty, Robinsons Supermarket, S&R, S&R Pizza, Tim Ho Wan, Via Mare, Wild Flour Café + Bakery, Zagana and Gourdo’s.

New to the roster of shops are Dyson, Bizu, Cibo, Mary Grace, Landers Central Pizza, MedExpress, Ace Hardware, and True Value.

For those abroad that can’t make it home for the holidays, Pick.A.Roo makes celebrating and sending gifts out to loved ones a piece of cake. They can simply shop on the app, pin a delivery address in any serviceable area, and leave the rest to the platform.

Meanwhile, those who are looking for holiday sets can check out the offerings at Pick.A.Roo by Marriott, Sinfully at Home, K by Cunanan, Cibo, Oori, and more. Customers can use the code HOHOHO to get P200 off orders of at least P1,000, valid for one-time use until January 31, 2021.

A free ROOdolph greeting card also comes with minimum spend purchases of P500 on all stores in the Gift Shop category, and free ribbon with a minimum spend of P1,000 on select stores, and branches in the Gift Shop category.

VEMOBRO SET TO LAUNCH IN PH

To mark its launch in the Philippines, homegrown e-commerce platform VeMoBro is offering promos and discounts until January 2, 2021.

VeMoBro also shared some gift ideas that are available on the platform, such as baking ingredients, premium meats, pet products, beauty appliances, auto items, and fresh vegetables and fruits.

More details are available on VeMoBro's website and social media pages.