MANILA - For Mrs. Perla Reprado, Noche Buena is a time for gathering the family and giving thanks for life’s blessings.

Like many Filipino families, the Christmas Eve feast for the Reprados needs certain food items for it to be considered a proper Noche Buena.

For Reprado, it’s embotido and hamonado, and sometimes kare-kare.

She admits though that the traditional Christmas Eve feast is not what it used to be.

“Ay super titpid. Di na katulad noong dati nagluluto ka ng ilang kilo. Ngayon isang kilo na lang,” Reprado said about how her family has cut down on the amount of meat they cook for Noche Buena.

Reprado has three children who are already working, but even she feels the pinch of high prices.

Inflation has sapped Filipinos’ purchasing power and made many families more conscious about what they buy, even for the Christmas Eve feast which people traditionally splurged on.

But according to a study by the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group, prices are a little better now compared to last year, although costs have risen substantially since the DTI began to standardize its Noche Buena list 9 years ago.

In 2014, a basket of the following 11 Noche Buena items cost a family of five P1,301.60:

• 1 kilogram of ham
• 500 grams of keso de bola
• 1 kilogram of elbow and salad macaroni
• 1 kilogram of spaghetti sauce
• 1 kilogram of pasta/spaghetti,
• 1 kilogram of tomato sauce,
• 220 ml pouch of mayonnaise,
• 220 ml pouch of sandwich spread,
• 200 grams of cheese,
• 432 grams of fruit cocktail, and
• 250 ml of creamer/all-purpose cream

This year, the median cost of the Noche Buena basket is P1,505.42, which is P34 cheaper than last year. But compared to 2014 prices, it is P204 more expensive. The cost of this basket was the highest in 2022.

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Prices of some Noche Buena items, especially ham, are lower this year compared to last year.

African swine fever devastated hog farms in the past few years and caused a spike in the prices of pork, which is the main ingredient for ham. Prices of other meats like chicken also went up last year as demand grew.

Reprado is thankful that meat prices have stabilized this year.

“Buti nga ngayon medyo bumaba yung manok,” she said.

But what can households do to make up for the reduced amount of meat they put in their Noche Buena dishes?

“Hinahaluan mo na lang ng mga gulay para dumami,” Reprado said.

The DTI earlier released its suggested retail price list for the most common items that are used to prepare Noche Buena dishes.

• DTI releases recommended Noche Buena Price List
• DTI tells businesses to follow Noche Buena price guide