Clicking with bricks

ONLINE shopping has been such a boon for me especially during Christmas when I can zip through my list of gifts and rack up substantial savings at the click of a mouse. But all that changed this year.

I used to send gifts to my five sisters who live abroad (in Holland, Germany, Spain, Australia and Los Angeles) but this year, they have all descended here for a family gathering. For the first time in several years, I decided to get them gifts from Orchard Road instead.

Stepping out of the lift into the home furnishings level of Tangs proved to be quite the eye-opener. Was this Saint Nick's Asian iteration of his Elysian enclave from the North Pole?

Christmas lights of every hue seemed to sparkle, blink and beckon at you. Baubles and angels glinting in fairy dust filled the shelves as did elaborate, filigreed tree embellishments. It felt, sounded and smelled like Christmas, right down to the mesmerising pine tr…