I'M JUST STARTING TO WORK ON 2014 CHRISTMAS IN COSTA RICA LIST
In the meantime you have this info (which is out of date) but also Bookmark:
ChristmasInCostaRica.info
This page is about where to go for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Dinner in Costa Rica - though note that LOTS of restaurants•businesses in/around Costa Rica pretty much close DOWN BY around noon on December 24 as a large percent of Tico's celebrate MORE on Christmas Eve - December 24. That seems to be their big time to gather the family, eat (TAMALES are THE THING to eat on Christmas Eve!!!) and just P-A-R-T-Y!!!!!
WOW!! I think this is one of THE HARDEST Lists to make as MOST places don't even know if they're doing a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day Dinner till days before. Also, MANY that have done them in the past don't
seem to be having Christmas Dinner this year or are no longer in business but I'm going to work on this and share with you hear so BookMark it and keep checking back!!!
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ALSO - check out our list of upcoming
HOLIDAY BAZAARS • ARTISAN FESTIVALS at:
LivingLifeInCostaRica.blogspot.com/2013/11/ArtisanFairsInCR.html
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Do YOU know ANYONE DOING
CHRISTMAS EVE OR CHRISTMAS DAY DINNERS
to add to this list - or the New Years Celebration List?
Email me DETAILS (even if it's after the fact so we have it for next year) like above at
LivingLifeInCostaRica@gmail.com
WHERE:
WHAT:
WHEN:
WHAT:
PRICE:
(does it INCLUDE the i.i.??)
LOCATION:
RESERVATIONS:
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WHERE TO FIND
THANKSGIVING and CHRISTMAS
FOOD FIXIN's
(note – some of the prices listed are from 2 years ago and prices for just about everything in Costa Rica's gone up – but at least you get the basics)
More and more stores are getting the typical Turkey Dinner Fixin's - pretty much YEAR AROUND!!!!!
(note – some of the prices listed are from 2 years ago and prices for just about everything in Costa Rica's gone up – but at least you get the basics)
More and more stores are getting the typical Turkey Dinner Fixin's - pretty much YEAR AROUND!!!!!
SERIOUSLY - if you're looking for the traditional North American fixin's we're used to - just go to AutoMercado as no other store other than AutoMercado has all that we're used to!! In '13 we went to WalMart (since it was closer to where I was staying) and we still had to take a taxi ON Christmas Day to get the Pumpkin Pie mix, Yams, Stove Top Stuffing, Cranberry's and cold Rompope (Tico's version of "EggNog" [can you believe they didn't have ANY Rompope in the refrigerated section and )
AUTOMERCADO
They have BY FAR THE LARGEST SELECTIONS!! YEAHHHH!!!
They even have many of the items at the end of an aisle by the registers!!
PRICES - December 1, 2013
For the future - AutoMercado is THE BEST store for just about all your processed Americana Thanksgiving & Christmas food needs (are Canadian Thanksgivings & Christmas similar foods??) - AND - they have just about all of it YEAR ROUND (well - except for the whole fresh pumpkins & cranberry's)!!
Turkey (U.S. Butterball style and Tico turkeys) • Stove Top Stuffing (Chicken, Turkey or Savory Herb) - 1,360-c • Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Mix (they have 3 different brands & 3 different sizes) - 2,050-c & Pumpkin Pie Puree ($??) • Libby's Apple Pie Mix ($??) • Canned Cranberry’s - Ocean Spray Whole Berry OR Jellied Cranberry Sauce - 1453-c, S&W Jellied Cranberry Sauce - 1,080 • FRESH Cranberry's ($??)(SOMETIMES you can find them frozen) • Canned Sweet Potatoes - 1,583 • Bruce’s Canned Yams - 870 • Canned Green Beans • Henry’s Jarred Homestyle Roasted Turkey Gravy - 1900 • Knorr Packaged Gravy - 980 • McCormack’s Packaged Gravy - 920 • Idahoan Mashed Potatoes - 605 • Apple Sauce - 1,050-c • Reynold’s Oven Bags - 3575 (2) • Aluminum Foil Pans - 1300-1335 • Frozen Mrs. Smith’s Apple Pie - 3575 • Canned Whipped Cream (though most of what I've seen was "Light" [I mean REALLY!! If you're going that far why not just get the full on richer stuff]) or make it yourself with the little Creme Dulce's in a box in the milk section (shelf or fridge) - even REAL PUMPKINS at AutoMercado (but they were a small fortune - like $15-$20 for a small-medium-ish whole pumpkin). They even have Chocolate Covered Cherry's!!!
Though I've never seen canned string green beans or fried onions or Frozen Pie Crust.
Plus of course they have fresh things as well like potatoes, Calabaza or Ayote Sazon.
'13 - Pamela found an 8kg/171/2 pounds BUTTERBALL Turkey for just 20,000-colones (actually - that's just a bit over $2/pound - that's MEGA CHEAP from the past)Whole Honey Suckle Turkeys - 16,875 for 15lbs. I went there a few days before Thanksgiving and they didn’t have hardly anything so don't wait till the last minute.
PRICESMART has some of the better prices around for a pound of nuts BUT - MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE BAG as numerous people (like myself) have experienced some bugs in them in the past (they were not the freshest)!!!!
Pecans - 8995, Walnuts 5195, Almonds 4825, Mixed Nuts in Shells (hazelnuts, almonds, pecans and Brasil nuts) 3205, Sliced Almonds 2595 (450 grams) - remember - these are OLD PRICES!!!!
MAS X MENOS
Carolina Turkeys, Stove Top Stuffing, Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Mix, Ocean Spray Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce, Reynold’s Oven Bags .
SARRETO’S
Escazu (San Rafael) - past Pizza Hut and the Uno gas station by La Cascada Argentinian/steak restaurant or 200 meters west of the Los Anonos Bridge -
They had THE BIGGEST can of Pumpkin Pie mix plus Canned Cranberry Sauce, Oven Bags.
WalMart (aka "Super Wally World!")
We went to WalMart ON Christmas Day to pick up things for a last minute dinner and ALL they had was Turkey, Pepperidge Farm Stuffing, Canned Whipped Cream, Cranberry's, Jarred Gravy, Rompope (though they had NONE refrigerated) and Chocolate Covered Cherry's!!! So we had to go to AutoMercado.
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WHERE DO I FIND
PUMPKINS?
Pumpkins as we North Americans know them are not really grown in Costa Rica. If you see a dish that CLAIMS to have "Pumpkin" in it - it's usually
AYOTE
which DEFINITELY is NOT "Pumpkin" but it's somewhat similar!
In the past I HAVE seen REAL PUMPKINS (usually at a small fortune) at AutoMercado and PriceSmart if you REALLY feel a NEED to mush your hands in the guts of it and make it yourself. The last one I saw at AutoMercado was about $14-$20 and it wasn't even that big!!
You
can get the Libby's canned Pumpkin Pie filling (along with ALL SORTs of other Pie Fillings) at AutoMercado pretty
much year-round and I've seen it at Saretto's as well BUT I have not seen frozen pie crust yet so ya gotta
make your own.
(Do you have a good Pie Crust Recipe? Please share it at the bottom under "Comments"!)
(Do you have a good Pie Crust Recipe? Please share it at the bottom under "Comments"!)
Nasty
as some people may think it is, my choice for whipped cream (mainly out
of ease [plus I LOVE squirting it into my mouth!!]) is Reddi Whip in the
red can but I have not found it in Costa Rica for YEARS but they have their own brand in the refrigerated section.
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WHERE TO FIND
CHRISTMAS GOODIES
I'm working on a page where
Christmas Cookies Chocolate Truffles Christmas Themed Cupcakes
Holiday Meals-to-Go
Cookies come in denominations of 10 for 3.000
Truffles come in denominations of 6 for 2.500
Themed Cupcakes come in sets of 6 for 2.500
Order by going to our contact page! Make sure you specify which holiday treat you would like to order, how many of the treat as well as when you would like them!
Delivery and pick up available.
For more information check out our special offerings page!
CONTACT:
WHERE TO FIND
PUMPKIN PIES
PUMPKIN PIES
I'm working on a page where you can find various things we CRAVE - throughOUT the year!
PRE-MADE
SADLY FOR US - LA COCINA DE ROBIN - ROBIN’S KITCHEN has closed!! (yeahhhh for her in her new endeavours of enjoying life!!)
PRICESMART
has a pretty tasty Calabaza•Pumpkin Pie for a decent price (sorry - I can't remember it now)
PRICESMART
has a pretty tasty Calabaza•Pumpkin Pie for a decent price (sorry - I can't remember it now)
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WHERE TO FIND
YAMS or SWEET POTATOES?
Yams or Sweet Potatoes as we North Americans know them are not really grown in Costa Rica. The closest thing we have in Costa Rica to "Yams" or "Sweet Potatoes" are
CAMOTE
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WHERE TO FIND TURKEYS • PAVO
LivingLifeInCostaRica.blogspot.com/TurkeysCR
for Thanksgiving and Christmas in Costa Rica
Many
people I’ve heard from feel Costa Rican Turkeys/Pavo don't have
flavoring (including MSG which to me is a GOOD thing!!) or preservatives
and can be quite tough, but they’re locally raised hence not as expensive (no
freezer container/import taxes).
Sarah
Joy heard that turkeys raised in Costa Rica tend to be raised primarily
for Christmas so if you want one for U.S. or Canadian Thanksgiving,
they most likely won't be at their perkiest!!!
TURKEY COOKING HINT:
Don’t laugh too hard but in college I used to sell Tupperware hence, as UN-Domestic Goddess as I am, I did learn some hints!!
•
cook the Turkey breast side down and IF there was ANY way to get a BIG
brown paper bag to fit it in (withOUT wax paper in it) – put it in
that!!! TENDER!!
•
I’ve heard if you cook it in one of those Reynolds Turkey bags – you
take it out and while still in the bag, wrap it in towels to soak up a
lot of the juice (don’t know why you’d want to soak up the juices as I
LOVE a REALLY JUICY Turkey!!).
See "WHERE TO FIND THANKSGIVING FOOD FIXIN's" above for the frozen ones in mainstream markets.
REPORTS FROM PEOPLE THAT HAVE BOUGHT SOME OF THE TURKEYS FROM THE MARKETS
PriceSmart - 20,000 colones 8 kg (171/2 pounds)
NOTE: I had a few people tell me they bought their turkey a few weeks ago and paid LOTS MORE, and I had some people tell me they bought their turkey days before (in 2013) and it was CHEAPER!!! I'm going on Thanksgiving Day with a friend and we'll see what it was and report back!!!
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ALTERNATIVES
Costa Rican Local Grown and Fresh:
PIPASA's
I
have called their corporate office LITERALLY 15 times, Facebooked them AND emailed them to 2 employees someone on their blog gave me plus from their form on their website and either
no answer or passed around (one time I was passed around 3 times and on
hold for 15 minutes!!!) with NO SUCCESS and NO responses 3 WEEKS later!! Someone on their Facebook page said they DID carry Pavo - I just
want to get the price and what locations! GRRRRRR!!!! And you wonder why SOOOO MANY people get frustrated living here??? I'm trying to bring THEM more business!!!!!
This was last years pricing but it's a start!! (hopefully I'll get to calling around getting markets prices this year)
EscazuNews.blogspot.com/2012/11/pavos-en-costa-rica-turkeys-in-costa.html
SOLD OUT FOR THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS!!!
But he'll have more after the first of the year and year-round.
Want to eat healthy?? My Guy with
Organically Fed (void of any chemical stimulators) • Free Range • Humanely Raised with the freedom to move about YOUNG HENS and TOM TURKEYS
is SOLD OUT - but he has some
FREE RANGE ORGANICALLY FED CHICKEN
LOCATED:
Central Valley - South/West side
LivingLifeInCostaRica.blogspot.com/2013/11/OrganicChickensCR.html
But he'll have more after the first of the year and year-round.
Want to eat healthy?? My Guy with
Organically Fed (void of any chemical stimulators) • Free Range • Humanely Raised with the freedom to move about YOUNG HENS and TOM TURKEYS
Purchase them LIVE • Freshly Processed - OR - Freshly Frozen!!
LivingLifeInCostaRica.blogspot.com/2013/10/TurkeysCR.html is SOLD OUT - but he has some
FREE RANGE ORGANICALLY FED CHICKEN
LOCATED:
Central Valley - South/West side
LivingLifeInCostaRica.blogspot.com/2013/11/OrganicChickensCR.html
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WHERE TO FIND
TIPS
(TipsCR.com • facebook.com/TipsCostaRica • 2-543-2100)
JopCo
(215-3545 / JopCo.net)
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CHRISTMAS DINNERS AROUND THE WORLD
Buzzfeed.com/melismashable/christmas-dinner-around-the-globe#3n76otp
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For NEW YEARS CELEBRATIONS check out:
LivingLifeInCostaRica.blogspot.com/2013/11/NewYearsEve2013CR.html
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Was this information helpful to you?
Tracking this information isn't easy and was VERY time-consuming (VERY last minute as MANY places didn't want to commit and many backed out from last year as well!!)
PLEASE consider making a
DONATION
to help keep this site alive!!!
See the top Right corner of the blog on what options we take!
I REALLY appreciate it as this blog is the only $$ source coming in at the moment!!
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PLEASE "SHARE" this with everyone you know and tell where you're reserving that you heard about it from Vicki's Blog
LivingLifeInCostaRica.blogspot.com/2013/12/ChristmasDinnersCR.html
.
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