The Colombian Christmas Shopping List: What to Buy Before December (and When)

Colombian Christmas is not a single dinner — it is a month. From the Novena de Aguinaldos on December 16th through New Year's Eve, kitchens run nonstop, and the same handful of ingredients show up over and over. If you buy them early, the season is easy. If you wait until the second week of December, half of them are sold out everywhere.

Here is the shopping list we build every year, and why each item matters.

1. Natilla: the dessert everything else revolves around

Natilla is the sweet, firm custard that gets cut into squares and eaten with buñuelos. Traditionally it is made with maicena (cornstarch), milk, panela and cinnamon; most households now start from a natilla mix because it sets reliably every time.

What to have on hand:

• Natilla mix (or maicena, if you make it from scratch)
• Panela — unrefined cane sugar, the flavor that makes natilla taste Colombian instead of just sweet
• Cinnamon sticks and cloves
• Coconut or raisins, if your family adds them

Tip: natilla keeps well in the fridge for several days, so it is the one thing you can make before the guests arrive.

2. Buñuelos: the salty-sweet cheese fritter

No natilla without buñuelos. The classic version uses almidón de yuca (cassava starch) and a dry, salty white cheese — queso costeo or a similar firm cheese — rolled into balls and fried until they turn golden and hollow.

• Buñuelo mix, or almidón de yuca plus cheese
• Eggs, a pinch of sugar, baking powder
• Enough frying oil — you need real depth, not a shallow pan

Tip: fry them at a moderate temperature. Oil that is too hot browns the outside before the inside cooks, and the buñuelo collapses.

3. Hojuelas and manjar blanco

Hojuelas are the thin, crisp fried pastry ribbons dusted with sugar that appear on every dessert tray, often served alongside arequipe or manjar blanco. They are cheap to make, they disappear instantly, and they make a table look festive with almost no effort.

4. Hot chocolate — with cheese in it

Colombian chocolate de mesa comes in tablets that you melt into hot milk or water and whisk with a molinillo until foamy. In much of the country the correct move is to drop a piece of fresh white cheese into the cup and eat it with a spoon at the end. If you have never tried it, this is the season to.

• Chocolate de mesa tablets (look for the versions with clove and cinnamon)
• Fresh white cheese, if you want it done properly

5. Coffee for the Novena nights

Nine nights of prayers, songs and visitors means nine nights of coffee. Stock more Colombian coffee than you think you need, plus panela for those who want café con panela rather than plain sugar.

6. The savory side: tamales and the main table

Depending on the region, Christmas Eve dinner runs from tamales wrapped in plantain leaves to lechón, pernil or pavo. What almost every version needs from the pantry:

• Guascas, cumin, achiote/color, sazonador and bouillon
• Arepa flour and precooked corn flour
• Rice, dry peas and beans
• Ají, tomato sauces and condiments for the table

7. Sweets, wafers and the gift tray

Wafers, bocadillos of guava paste, coconut sweets, candied fruit and hard candies do double duty: dessert tray at home and gift for anyone who drops by. They travel well and they store for weeks, so they are the safest thing to buy early.

A simple ordering timeline

• Early November: shelf-stable items — panela, natilla and buñuelo mixes, chocolate de mesa, coffee, wafers, candy, arepa flour, spices.
• Late November: the second round of whatever your family always runs out of, plus gift-tray sweets.
• First week of December: cheese, dairy and anything with a shorter shelf life.
• Mid-December: too late for the popular items. Every year, without exception.

Buying for a store or restaurant?

Retailers, panaderias and restaurants: Navidad demand for natilla mix, buñuelo mix, panela and chocolate de mesa spikes hard and early. We plan our import volume around it, and wholesale customers who commit in October and early November get the best availability. Open a wholesale account or email sales@jeta-imports.com.

Shopping for your own kitchen? Browse the catalog — we ship nationwide from DeLand, Florida, with same-day dispatch on orders placed before 3:00 PM EST.