Imagine the delight on the faces of your family members as you set down the new Pan de Manila paper bags on your dining table. Inside the bags are your household’s usual fare: pandesal and spreads and boxes of creamy coffee blends.
On the paper bag’s exterior and in the holiday packaging of your favorite Cafe con Leche and Chocolate con Leche, a traditional Filipino stone house stands in the middle of laidback plaza life.
Women in their baro’t saya stand under the shade of a towering mango tree as onlookers in traditional Spanish-era garb continue to prepare for the noche buena ahead.
With packaging this beautiful, you can give them as gifts, store them as keepsakes, or put them on display in a corner of your home.
Pan de Manila has been a purveyor of Filipino traditions, celebrations and recipes.
One of its yearly traditions is collaborating with local artists to promote Filipino arts.
Through this special illustrated design collaboration with iconic graphic designer Mia de Lara, Pan de Manila releases this nostalgic and elegant packaging for Christmas.
Dreaming in sepia
This year’s theme, “Kay Sarap Balikan, Paskong Nakaraan,” highlights traditional Filipino celebrations.
The intricate plaza scene by De Lara invokes an important conversation with history.
She crafted an original drawing that is not only pleasing to the senses but also emotionally stirring and uplifting. She thought of the delicious feasts that awaited her family whenever they would travel to Pampanga, her mother’s hometown, to celebrate together.
“I think what makes a Filipino Christmas truly unique is the family ties that bind us closely together,” shared De Lara. “No matter how far away you are in the world, Christmas signals homecoming, reunion and reconciliation.”
For the past 15 years, Pan de Manila has featured the works of up-and-coming local artists on its Filipino Art-inspired Christmas paper bags.
Past years’ collaboration includes artists such as Larry Memije, Rina Albert-Llamas, Dante Hipolito, Amador Barquilla, Jovan Benito, Bibsy Torio, Noel Mahilum and Christian Regis, among others.