The Christmas season is already here and there is no better time to start ticking off our Christmas gift list! Bonifacio Global City (BGC) is commonly known for its great dining atmosphere and Instagram-worthy places for your pictures, but it is also the perfect place to find your family, friends, and loved ones unique and thoughtful presents this holiday.

So, grab your shopping bags and let’s explore the must-visit store destinations that will make your holiday season extra special!

Fully Booked

If you’re shopping for someone who loves to get lost in stories, Fully Booked on Bonifacio High Street is the ultimate destination. From gripping thrillers and inspiring memoirs to coffee table books that double as décor, its shelves are packed with titles to suit any reader's taste. Aside from that, Fully Booked has also stationery, arts and crafts materials, eye-catching journals, and some cute, personalized stuff. And guess what? It’s the kind of place where you’ll find yourself adding a little something for yourself, too!

Location: Ground Floor, B6, Bonifacio High Street, Taguig, Metro Manila

Gentle Monster

Head straight to Gentle Monster’s flagship store at Shangri-La at The Fort, if you are looking for something to give to your fashion girlies out there. Known for their avant-garde designs, these sunglasses and optical frames are the epitome of high fashion. Trust us, this is one Christmas present they’ll be talking about long after the holidays are over. Time to explore the store and unleash your inner Jennie Kim with their cool and artistic shades!

Location: Shangri-La at The Fort, Manila, 5th Avenue, Taguig City

Aftermarket PH

The shoe treasure hunt starts inside Unit 5, Active Fun in Bonifacio Global City! Aftermarket PH is the ultimate show shop you will return to for the rare and limited-edition kicks you are looking for. Here you can score Yeezys, Air Jordans, Air Dior, and more. Perfect for your guy friends (or boyfriend) who are obsessed with collecting shoes! They also have a stylish streetwear collection that you can consider buying to pair with the shoes you’ll buy for them.

Location: G/F, Unit 5, Active Fun Taguig, 9th Avenue, Taguig City

Gaming Library

Perfect for the kids and kids at heart!

Located on the 3rd floor, this cozy haven for board game enthusiasts is packed with options for every type of player. Whether your loved ones enjoy intense strategy games or light, laugh-out-loud party games, they have it all. Here at the Gaming Library, you’ll find timeless classics, modern board games, and even hard-to-find titles that feel like hidden gems. This is the perfect place to shop if you want to give them not just boxes of games and pieces of cards but also bonding moments and hours of fun.

Location: 3rd Floor, 9th Ave, Taguig, Metro Manila

Bonifacio High Street

Still can't decide what to give them this holiday season? Time to head to Bonifacio High Street to find great presents!

With a wide mix of high-end boutiques, trendy shops, and specialty stores, this mall is surely a gift-hunting paradise where you’re guaranteed to find unique treasures for everyone whether it’s stylish clothes, the latest gadgets, or handcrafted home decor. There is no doubt that you will not go home empty-handed and tired of the Christmas shopping!

Location: 11th Avenue, Taguig, Metro Manila

Bonifacio Global City (BGC) is not just a haven for activity seekers but also for food explorers like you! With so many cute and cool dining places in the area that are good for your taste buds, we’ve chosen the top five food spots you should visit with your family and friends. Check them out!

Eesome

First on the list is Eesome.

This restaurant is known for its impressive mix of international cuisine with a sophisticated and relaxing dining ambiance! From fresh plates of seafood to a variety of meat dishes, expect a good dining experience that will surely fill your tummies that are made with locally sourced ingredients.

Aside from the restaurant, Eesome features a retail shop where you can discover a variety of clothes and accessories. It also offers a café where you can linger and sip a cup of their artisan coffee and at night, the space shifts to a vibrant night-life destination where you can unwind with their special drinks.

Location: Bellagio Tower 2, Forbestown Road, Taguig City

Store hours: Monday to Sunday from 9 AM to 11 PM

Key Coffee Kissaten

Japanese café Key Coffee Kissaten is the answer to whether you want to go out on dates or just want to take a simple coffee break by yourself. The place offers a comfortable “Western-style” ambiance with touches of history and heritage, offering Japan’s pioneer hand-drip coffee flavors and jazz music. The Mitsukoshi BGC branch also comes with great Japanese flavors with Western cuisine influence on their food menu.

Location: G/F MITSUKOSHI BGC, 8th Avenue, Corner 36th St., Taguig City

Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 7 AM to 12 MN

Burnt Bean

Want a barbecue party with a fine dining twist? This wood-fired bistro restaurant offers an all-day dining experience with a wide variety of wood-fired meats, seafood, pasta, and salads. Among their premium cuts of meat, a standout on their menu is the 48-hour beef ribs known for their tenderness and rich smokiness. Another foodie favorite that you shouldn’t miss is their Potato Pave, which is made from buttery layers of baked potatoes topped with bacon foam and cheese.

Location: Unit 204, Upper Ground Floor, C2 Building, Bonifacio High Street Central, Taguig City

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 11 AM to 10 PM

Recovery Food

Call your late-night crew and head over to Recovery Food!

This dining destination is perfect for a post-party meal, early breakfast, or just a simple go-to place for your cravings. Their menu specializes in comforting food bowls, breakfast plates, soups, sandwiches, and other Asian-inspired dishes designed to restore your energy. Don’t miss out on tasting their signature dish of all time: Tapa de Morning!

Location: 31st Street Corner Rizal Drive, BGC Stopover Pavilion, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday (24 hours)

Harlan + Holden’s Because Coffee

In line with our modern culture, this coffee shop operates a fully cashless system where customers can pre-order via the Harlan + Holden Coffee app, perfect for saving time and skipping the line! The café also stands out with its minimalist interior and a glass-enclosed tree as its centerpiece inside. For their drink menu, the Sea Salt Latte is one of their unusual drink varieties that everyone should try. It combines espresso and creamy milk with a touch of sea salt, giving your coffee a refreshing twist.

Location: 5th Avenue, Taguig City

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 7 AM to 10 PM

Looking for a ghostly adventure this October? Every place has its haunted accounts, and the Philippines is no exception. There are several horror stories across the archipelago that tell of supernatural sightings from the ghostly apparitions roaming abandoned houses to mythological creatures found in mountain provinces or by the rivers.

If you have a penchant for the eerie and mystical, you might want to add these haunted places to your bucket list. That is…if you dare.

Balete Drive

Most countries have some kind of urban legend about a lady dressed in white and in the Philippines, the most famous is the “White Lady” of Balete Drive. People would often warn drivers never to drive alone through this two-lane street lined by Balete trees, as they just might find an extra passenger in their backseat.

The story behind this ghost-tale-turned-urban-legend varies. Some said that the White Lady was a young girl who died in a hit-and-run while others thought it to be a woman who died in the Spanish colonial era. Either way, it was believed that her body was buried near the massive Balete tree at the center of the street. It’s no longer there, but smaller trees remain lining the side of the road.

Balete trees are considered bad luck in folklore and are believed to be the dwelling places of supernatural beings like diwatas (fairies) and the kapre (tree-dwelling giants). In the comic and Netflix series, “Trese,” they are often used as sites to perform magical rituals.

Location: Balete Drive, New Manila, Quezon City, Metro Manila

The Manila Film Center

Have you ever seen “The Phantom of the Opera” musical? Remember how a phantom figure haunts the famed Parisian opera house? We have our own version in Manila located in the heart of the Cultural Center Complex in Pasay city.

The Manila Film Centre was a pantheon-style cinema built for the 1st Manila International Film Festival in January 1982; a project led by the former first lady Imelda Marcos. It was reported that the construction of the theatre was rushed, and over 4,000 laborers were forced to work around the clock. On Nov. 17, 1981, a tragedy occurred. The accident happened around 3 AM when the scaffolding collapsed and trapped dozens of construction workers under quick-drying cement.

Despite the tragedy, the festival pushed through but not without strange experiences from its guests which ranged from smelling weird scents to feeling cool winds that sent goosebumps along their skins despite being indoors. Some even allegedly saw the deceased workers appear before them — Yikes!

The theatre was abandoned after the 1900 earthquake but was rehabilitated and leased in 2001 to the producers of “The Amazing Show.” There was a rumor that went around that one of the performers was murdered and that her body was dumped on the steps. Let's just say she joined a new company of haunting performers in this cursed theatre.

Location: The Amazing Show, Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, Roxas Blvd., Pasay, Luzon, Philippines

Ozone Disco

Next on our list is a tragedy about a party that has gone wrong. Perhaps it’s the reason why our parents told us never to hang around nightclubs.

Back in the 90s, there was a popular nightclub in Quezon City called Ozone Disco which was the hottest place to be at that time and was frequented by young people — mostly students. On Mar. 18, 1996, one of the deadliest nightclub fires in world history occurred in this very venue, trapping hundreds of patrons.

The small nightclub was reported to have a limited capacity of 35 to 40 people but on that night, they offered a graduation promo which had students flocking to the venue. 350 guests came through those inward-swinging doors that fatal night, but not all of them were able to get out.

Stories told of how sparks started coming out of the ceiling which the people thought were just special effects. The DJ at that time, Marvin Reyes, tried to warn them about the fire, but the equipment started shutting down and a power outage ensued which caused mass panic and a stampede.

People believed that ghosts and shadows still wandered around the nightclub's location from time to time and that after the tragedy hit, some passersby claimed to hear music playing and figures dancing on the site.

You can no longer find traces of the nightclub as it’s been replaced by a restaurant but who knows? Ghosts do like to linger. Perhaps they’re still around the area or have found a new club to haunt. (*searches nightclubs in QC area*).

Location: 57A Timog Avenue 1103 Quezon City, Metro Manila

Laperal White House

This house in Baguio has a mysterious and gruesome history. The caretakers of this humble home allegedly saw a White Lady and a small child roaming within its walls. This mansion was also reportedly used as a torture chamber by the Japanese during World War II. There was even a story of a worker committing suicide there.

Safe to say, the house's history is full of death which makes it deserving of a spot on our chilling list. How it’s become a fine dining restaurant today is beyond us, but it’s true. Joseph’s is an upscale dining spot in the city serving continental and contemporary French cuisine. I suppose this goes to show that even the most haunted mansions can get a makeover. But just how much it could mask its dark history is for you to find out.

Who knows? Maybe booking a table will give you more than just a thrilling dining experience.

ICYDK, this mansion is located in Teacher’s Camp which is also a notorious haunted spot in Baguio said to be a place where headless priests, white ladies, and blood-soaked women roam. On the bright side, you can find some of the most affordable accommodations here (as long as you don’t mind sharing a room with some restless spirits).

Location: 14 Leonard Wood Road Brgy. Cabinet Hill - Teachers Camp, Baguio City 2600

Clark Air Base Hospital

Considered one of the most haunted places not just in the country but the whole world by Ghost Hunters International, this abandoned hospital sits in all its ruined glory inside the Clark Freeport Zone. The hospital was used during World War II and the Vietnam War where a sheer number of dying soldiers were treated. Due to this, death and trauma cling to the spirits present within its walls and are believed to wander through them to this day.

Locals have heard mysterious voices, whispered echoes, and screams. It’s a popular place to go ghost hunting with several vlogs up on YouTube featuring content creators experiencing paranormal activities. The hospital was also featured on National Geographic’s “I Wouldn’t Go In There” series.

Location: Ninoy Aquino Avenue, Clark Airbase Clark Field, Clark Freeport, Mabalacat, 2010 Pampanga

The Narra Bridge

The University of the Philippines Los Baños is infamous for its spooky tales filled with ghostly encounters and paranormal activities. The school is located at the foot of Mt. Makiling, which is believed to be home to many engkantos (mythical spirits).

One of its scariest spots is the Narra Bridge, also known as the “never-ending bridge.” Why? Rumor has it that people who have tried to cross it at night have found it to be seemingly endless! It has been the site of several car accidents with drivers finding themselves driving aimlessly until they meet their demise. Yikes, talk about reaching a dead end!

The Narra Bridge also served as a battleground between Filipinos and Japanese forces during World War II, which resulted in death and suffering. Many believe the ghosts of these soldiers still roam the campus as we speak.

Location: University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Batong Malake, Los Baños, 4031 Laguna