A Pinoy Christmas Party stands out wherever we are in the world. It is loud, long, filled with music, dancing and, games. We did just that! A Pinoy Christmas Party in Jakarta.

My friends and I here in Jakarta organized our families’ Christmas party. It was a home away from home feel-good night with all the Christmas trimmings and Christmas fun so typical of our Pinoy Christmas Party. I guess, wherever we are in the world, we will always bring with us our Christmas cheers and our Pinoy humor.

So, what makes our Christmas gatherings characteristically Pinoy wherever we are?

Food

Filipino food rules the table, of course.

We had a potluck party so friends brought over Filipino food and dessert. Nothing beats our own food especially when we are out of the country, right? From all of us, there’s a combination of pancit, bistek Tagalog, rellenong bangus, igado, and, beef caldereta. We all missed traditional kakanin in the Philippines so we were delighted when we had suman sa lihiya on the table. There was a fruit salad, as well. These Filpino foods are on top of the other foods and desserts brought over as potluck contributions. So, yeah it was a lot of food!

Drinks

Aside from wines, one of the Filipinos in the group contributed 2 kegs of beer – San Miguel beer! You’ve got to know there is a San Miguel Corporation office here in Indonesia. Aside from their frozen foods, they have San Miguelbeere here. So, the men enjoyed 2 kegs of San Miguel here. Just like home, right? It will be an overflowing supply of our favorite drink.

If you happen to be in Indonesia and if you want to have a keg or two of San Miguel beer for your guests, this will be worth it. Send me a message and I can connect you.

Part of the package will be staff/s that would ensure your San Miguel beer is properly handled and maintained while your party is ongoing. Very convenient!

Games

What Pinoy party is it without games? So, we prepared games for kids and adults. Our children enjoyed “the longest line”, “bato-bato pick”, “Stop Dance” and “Give me what I want” games. Kids don’t get tired of these games.

The games the adults had were more hilarious because everybody was enthusiastic. All Filipinos know how to play the eggplant game so when we introduced this to our foreign friends during the party, they were amused. But what cap the night was the Father and Sons dance showdown. All the fathers were in their element. That was the highest point of the night and will make our first Christmas party here in Jakarta a very, very memorable one.

Gift-giving

Gift-giving is always present at Christmas parties. You can do the gift-giving in any way you want but the most common is the Secret Santa. We had the kids do Secret Santa among themselves and adults had as well per couple.

Back in the Philippines, it is very common to have kids (and adults, too) line up for Santa’s gift (money). The heads of the family ready themselves with crisp bills. Christmas is the time when new bills are in demand so banks are busy with withdrawals and inquiries whether they have new bills available. This makes the kids happy… and adults, too.

What else do you do during Christmas parties that give your parties a Pinoy Christmas vibes?

• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube

For blog updates, make sure to fill this out so you are automatically subscribed: