Holiday Crafts and Treats from the Philippines

When it comes to the build up to the holidays, it’s hard to beat the Christmas season in the Philippines. It starts as early as September! Christmas decorations begin to appear, carols are on playlists from mobile phones to malls, and traditional holiday goodies are being planned for family gatherings and gift giving!

So, we just had to add Filipino yuletide crafts and treats to our Christmas Around the World series from years back. You must visit the 4 other posts in the series (links at the end of this post)—featuring festive and fun holiday crafts from Mexico, Germany, Japan, and Scandinavia! And now for the Philippines, we have a mix of decorative and edible “crafts” since food is such a major part of the Filipino Christmas!

DIY Star Lanterns

Locally called “parol” after the Spanish farol, this lantern is the iconic star of the holiday season in the Philippines. Whether blinking in an open window of a simple hut or all-ablaze on an elaborate float in a Christmas procession, the parol joyously announces “Pasko na!” It’s Christmas!

Here are 2 very simple versions of the Philippine star lantern that would make a real fun family holiday craft. One, from Raise Curious Kids, uses school art materials and a DIY star frame made with bamboo skewers (1). The other, from Joann.com, also uses tissue paper with balsa wood sticks (2), but shows how to go a bit fancy with tissue paper tails and a battery-operated tea light inside!

Philippine Holiday Treats

With Christmas being an influence of Western cultures on the Philippines, many of the holiday goodies served in Filipino homes and given as gifts have recipes and names of foreign origin. Like these 4 Christmas treats!

Food for the Gods (3), a baked bar  made with dates and walnuts, is considered a luxury perfect for special occasions like Christmas. Homebake some to serve and/or to give wrapped in foil and colored cellophane, with this recipe from Coffee and Sweets.

Likely of American or British origin, Christmas Fruitcake (4) is a dense, moist fruit bread usually reserved for the “special” gift list for Filipinos. Its ingredients are a bit costly—almonds or cashews and dried or candied fruits soaked in brandy or rum, raisins, dates, crystallized ginger, and glazed cherries. But this recipe from Kawaling Pinoy shows how decadently delicious a Philippine fruitcake can be!

Here is a recipe with Spanish origin for Filipino Lengua de Gato (5) from The Unlikely Baker. These melt-in-your-mouth buttery shortbread wafers are named “cat’s tongue” for their shape—and make very welcome Christmas gifts packaged in tins trimmed for the holidays.

Lastly, for a little twist on Spain’s traditional powdery sweet—with Toasties Polvoron (6) from Gardenia. These are made with their Toasties product, pulverized to take the place of flour. Then, sweetened, dipped in melted chocolate, and decorated with sprinkles for the season.

As Filipinos would say,  “Maligayang Pasko!” Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas Around the World series: 

Christmas Craft from Mexico: Piñata-inspired DIY Decorations

Christmas Around the World: Scandinavian-inspired Crafts to Make with Kids

Christmas Around the World: Lebkuchenherzen (German Gingerbread Hearts

Origami DIY Christmas Decorations: Christmas Around the World