It’s Christmas time, which means all the big malls in Bangkok are fiercely battling it out for a spot of your Instagram feed. One of the most interesting of the bunch is what is going on at OneSiam—the umbrella branding for Siam Paragon, Siam Center, and Siam Discovery as one unit. From now until Jan 13, the malls are collectively hosting the OneSiam The Festival of Light 2019, and they’ve brought in some decent artistic firepower from abroad to help out.

First off, the event moves slightly away from the drab, red-and-white color scheme you're familiar with and instead gets inspiration from aurora borealis (The Northern Lights), boasting three giant-sized Christmas trees, arctic-like crystal sculptures and a ribbon of neon lights to add bit of sparkle to the center of Bangkok. In addition, there tons of elves to see all over the place—105 of them to be exact. 

“If you see other Christmas installations in Bangkok, they are all the same,” said Siam Piwat creative director Christoph Bullen. “So, I intend to bring something new to the scene."

Forgoing your typical Christmas tree from Canada, OneSiam joined forces with renowned German artist, Felipe Pantone (see our previous piece on him here) to create a series of artsy Christmas tree sculptures. They take a couple of forms and are spread throughout the event space. Although he didn’t make it himself, Pantone’s classic vibrant style is writ large on the sparkling “Crystal Tree” at Siam Paragon along what’s called the "Crystal Walk". Although the space is almost transparent during the day, the hollow centers absorb and reflect neon lighting during the night, making it a gold mine for Insta' moments.

While the Crystal Tree was only inspired by Pantone, the pyramid-like tree at Siam Center is totally his creation. Dubbed "Felipe Pantone’s Xmas Tree", the artist poured his effort into reflecting Siam Center’s artsy personality with the symmetrical shapes.

Steering towards green sustainability, the last Christmas tree at Siam Discovery is actually thousands of used CD cases in disguise—similar to the upcycling tree we saw last year. The "Circular Living Recycled Christmas Tree" is a reminder of how we can find beauty in something that people usually throw away, and when the tree is lit, the light will reflect upon each CD case, forming a visually dazzling scene at night.

Trotting along these installations might make you notice that something important is missing: Santa Claus. You can’t find one anywhere on site, but in his place are a series of elves.

“Actually, I’ve invited Santa Claus to join this installation,” says Bullen. “He said he is busy, so he sent his little helpers in his place.”

The tiny elvish workers are scattering around the three areas of OneSiam, so finding all of them becomes a bit of a game. Head to the Elf Forest on Siam Center’s ground floor where you can take pictures with these cute little friends or catch some of them in action in Santa’s workshop.

Still out of ideas for gifts? Check out some gift ideas at OneSiam or ask those little helpers if you're still undecided. For those who don't have a place to settle for 2019's countdown event, there is a huge line up of Thai artists (think J-Jetrin, Tu Popetorn and Burin Boonvisut) to help you welcome this upcoming year with some fantastic music. 

This native ad was created by Asia City Studio. We use storytelling to help brands of all sizes influence and connect with people who matter. Visit us online: studio.asia-city.com