It is safe to say that Christmas in the Philippines would not be the same without a particular group of people—people whose lives would also be different without the holiday season. It is, in a very real sense, an ecosystem or an economic system, to be more exact.
Every year, as Christmas looms, this group of people begin their work, akin to elves in Santa’s workshop but in an otherwise more tropical location. You have those who manufacture Christmas decorations for exporting (including parol manufacturers), those who produce seasonal culinary delights, and local toy producers.
From a purely economic standpoint, Christmas in the Philippines is largely dependent on remittances from migrant Filipinos. According to the data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), remittances for December 2023 broke records at $3.6 billion, which is about 9.7 percent of that year’s total remittances of $37.2 billion.
Apart from these, the Philippine Christmas economy also depends on Christmas decorations exports. This is an interesting detail, one that not a lot of Filipinos may be aware of. In 2022, for example, the Philippines exported a total of “$17.1M in Christmas decorations, making it the 20th largest exporter of Christmas decorations in the world,” according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
The OEC further notes that the top five destinations for Filipino Christmas decorations exports are the following: the United States ($12.5 million), Australia ($747,000), Norway ($457,000), Italy ($366,000), and Sweden ($295,000). Putting this in a more local perspective, it translates to a more or less vibrant Christmas decorations manufacturing and exporting industry in the Philippines. According to Volza, “there are a total of 120 Christmas decorations suppliers in [the] Philippines, exporting to 465 buyers globally.”
Both the OEC and Volza, however, note a downward trend in Christmas decorations exports, which may be worth further scrutiny.
No Pinoy Christmas would be complete, of course, without food. And the holiday culinary scene is as colorful as the decorations that light up the season. From street food vendors to Instagram-only sellers and even to classy classics served in fancy cafes or restaurants, there is a plate of Filipino Christmas delights to satisfy that holiday craving for puto bumbong or bibingka. Food, in fact, takes the number one spot for household holiday expenses.
A 2023 WorldRemit survey shows that a Filipino household’s Christmas budget (then at an average of $614 or ₱34,872) is spent as such: 60 percent goes to food, 33 percent on gifts, and seven percent on decorations.
Needless to say, the value of the Christmas season goes beyond these economic figures. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that, like Santa’s little elves, there is an industry that keeps the holiday spirit more palpable and alive every Christmas in the Philippines. Showing them a bit more of appreciation wouldn’t hurt now, would it?