MS Polls: More than half of respondents don’t approve of HDB decorations
With the recent Chinese New Year (CNY) festivities, residents in Singapore have been hard at work cleaning, and even beautifying their homes with decorations.
Some have even decked out their corridors and void decks, ranging from simple wall stickers to complex set-ups.
While the intention is to spread the holiday cheer, not everyone agrees with such actions.
In Oct 2024, an intricately decorated HDB corridor for Halloween sparked some concerns over safety and the use of public space.
An Answers.sg poll indicated that 55% of 3,931 respondents do not support the decorations.
Only 30% expressed support, while 15% were neutral — showing that residents are divided on the matter.
MS News speaks to several residents who have experience sprucing up their HDB blocks during the holidays to hear their side of the story.
Bishan HDB residents set up CNY decorations to lift spirits after Covid-19
For the past four years, the households at 219 Bishan Street 23 have worked together to adorn their block for Chinese New Year.
70-year-old retiree KG Tan told MS News that for over a decade, the only decoration the block had for CNY is a simple sticker on the lift lobby wall.
In 2022, the residents came together with the aim of lifting the neighbourhood spirit from the “downcast” emotions of the Covid-19 pandemic years.
They even managed to draw the attention of MP Gan Siow Huang, who visited the residents to encourage their community initiative. She has visited the block every year since.
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Source: Gan Siow Huang on Facebook
KG is part of a small organising team which has organised the decorations each year since 2022.
Each of the members have lived in Block 219 for at least 20 years, and have good relationships with many of the block’s households.
Last year, the team executed their most extensive project yet for the year of the Dragon where more than 60% of the 72 units contributed to the effort.
Households also chipped in with the cost, raising nearly S$2,000 for the decorations which included a five-metre-long dragon lantern.
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Image courtesy of KG Tan
Apart from the dragon — which took significant effort to mount —the Tan family also assembled a bus standee with cherry blossoms, meant as a festive photo spot.
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Image courtesy of KG Tan
KG explained that it usually takes more than four hours to put up the decorations.
On top of setting aside time on the weekend for set up, residents also source the materials and perform nightly maintenance due to wind damage.
Decorations low-key for Year of the Snake
This year, KG explained that Block 219 was amid several concurrent initiatives such as the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) and Home Improvement Programme (HIP).
As such, the residents decided on a scaled-down block decoration. 15 families voluntarily contributed funds for it.
The decorators spruced up the lift lobby with classics like red lanterns and spring couplets.
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Image courtesy of KG Tan
A red toy snake even coiled around a metal pipe in the void deck, while other similar serpents rested on top of the letterboxes.
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Image courtesy of KG Tan
KG told MS News that it was lucky that they went low-key for 2025, as he noticed several adults and children being afraid of the toy snakes.
He has good-naturedly offered an apology to them.
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Image courtesy of KG Tan
Residents from other blocks travel there to take photos
KG stated that many residents in the neighbourhood would travel to Block 219 to take photos and soak in the CNY atmosphere.
They gave “very encouraging” remarks about the decorations and festive spirit.
He shared a photo of a woman from a neighbouring block explaining the meaning of the Chinese characters to her preschool children.
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Image courtesy of KG Tan
The block’s decorators appreciated the positive reception and comments from others, saying it made them feel like they were making a good contribution to the community.
They also confirmed with MS News that while there were negative reactions, they only amounted to less than six.
“[You] cannot please everyone,” said another member of the organising team.
He promised a more elaborate and grander decoration for next year’s CNY.
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Image courtesy of KG Tan
In the aforementioned Halloween decor situation, many raised concerns about whether the Town Council would object to public decorations.
In response to the query, KG told MS News that the team had checked with their Town Council previously and gotten an answer.
The organising team does not need to seek approval from the authorities beforehand, so long as they don’t tap power from the block.
Clementi resident has decorated since 1995
In Clementi, residents of a HDB block will spot a new Christmas decoration every year on the second-storey ledge.
These are the works of Mr Sobrielo Philip Gene, a 44-year-old dance instructor.
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Source: Sobrielo Philip Gene on Facebook
He told MS News that he started putting up simple decorations outside his home at the age of 15.
“Christmas time always brings joy to me,” he said, explaining that the decorations were his own way of blessing others during the holiday.
Over the years, the decorations grew in complexity. In 2013, for example, the ledge outside his corridor featured two Christmas trees, a snowman, several presents, and long Christmas garlands.
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Image courtesy of Sobrielo Philip Gene
After Christmas, Philip stores them to reuse in the future.
He explained that he starts preparations a week before Christmas. He then aims to put most of it up within a single day, working through the night so his neighbours could be surprised in the morning.
Philip added that Singapore’s weather tended to make this a challenge.
Christmas carriage decorations put up in front of HDB block
The tradition continued annually, including the latest Christmas in 2024. He decorated the ledge like a gingerbread house, with festive gingerbread men (and women) alongside abundant candy.
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Image courtesy of Sobrielo Philip Gene
Philip also set up more elaborate decorations in a common area in front of his HDB block.
2024 featured a couch, an arch illuminated with fairylights, wireframe reindeer covered in Christmas lights, and much more.
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Image courtesy of Sobrielo Philip Gene
Despite the complex decorations last year, Philip told MS News that he still considered his work for 2023’s Christmas to be the most extensive.
That year, he bought a carriage as the centrepiece. It took him, his sons, his godsons, and their friends to set up and take down.
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Image courtesy of Sobrielo Philip Gene
Philip considered the most unforgettable moment in his years doing this to be the day the Town Council decided to work with him.
It was such joy to be able to do what I love on a much bigger scale and to bless the community even more.
MyNiceHome reported one such collaboration in 2021, where the Town Council assisted with wiring for the lights, recyclable boxes for presents, and storage space for the decorations.
Though the latter might seem minor, Philip told MS News that difficulty storing the materials and reused items was a limiting factor that stopped him from decorating for other holidays.
That year, Philip accomplished his goal, setting up a life-sized wooden sleigh filled with presents and Santa Claus.
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Image courtesy of Sobrielo Philip Gene
Philip faced complaints from person over alleged safety issues
When asked about public reception, Philip claimed that starting in early November, neighbours would ask him about what he was setting up that year.
They would also inquire with his mother about whether he would step up his decorations.
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Image courtesy of Sobrielo Philip Gene
Philip said that knowing his neighbours couldn’t wait to see his decorations made him want to go even grander with them.
“The positive feedback has been so wonderful and loving,” he added.
However, he recalled one major case of a negative reaction towards a mannequin he had dressed as a Christmas tree.
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Image courtesy of Sobrielo Philip Gene
Someone lodged a complaint to the Jurong-Clementi Town Council alleging safety concerns with it.
Philip said that other residents came together to support his decorations.
A commenter on Reddit who purportedly knew Philip described him as disheartened by the complaint but taking it in stride. They backed up his experience and the safety of the mannequin.
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Source: Reddit
This incident resulted in the Town Council and MP Tan Wu Meng meeting with him to discuss the issue and a possible collaboration. They ultimately agreed that the decoration was set up safely.
Philip told MS News that every year, he goes through the proper channels to inform the relevant authorities before he starts decorating.
He also teased potential plans for “something huge” in around five years’ time.
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Featured image courtesy of KG Tan and Sobrielo Philip Gene.