Festive Files: Christmas at Home with Lulu Tan-Gan
Brea and Hazel wear LULU TAN-GAN. Photographed by Colin Dancel for the December 2024/January 2025 Issue of Vogue Philippines. Artwork by Bea Lu
For Lulu Tan-Gan, Christmas is an invitation to slow down, make space for loved ones, and savor the comfort of home.
Vogue Philippines speaks with veteran designer Lulu Tan-Gan for Festive Files, focusing on the holiday traditions of Filipino creatives. She reflects on peaceful moments and family-focused practices that shape her Christmas each year.
What’s your favorite thing about Christmas in the Philippines?
Christmas is the coolest time of the year, in weather and in spirit. It’s when we slow down, make time for the people we love, give thoughtfully, and quietly reflect on life: spiritually, mentally, and from the heart.
Do you have any holiday traditions that are unique to your family?
Our family tradition is simply making time for each other. And braving the holiday traffic, no matter how horrendous it gets.
What’s the one Filipino Christmas food you can’t live without?
Lechon!
How do you usually spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?
Christmas Eve is for preparing the feast and opening gifts; Christmas Day is for unhurried time—nowhere to go, nothing to chase, just being together. Then, New Year’s Eve is often spent with friends. We’ve spent some years abroad, but Christmas at home always pulls at the heart.
Are there any childhood holiday memories that still make you smile?
I miss my dad’s Ang Pao (red envelope). [Laughs]
What’s your go-to Christmas or New Year outfit?
I never really plan ahead; whatever’s white or has a bit of sparkle in my closet usually wins.
Do you have any favorite holiday songs or movies that you watch every year?
There are so many choices these days. I just go with the mood of the moment! I don’t really look back.
Are there any New Year’s Eve rituals or superstitions you follow?
No rituals, only resolutions. And then celebrating, if I manage to follow through on fifty percent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lechon is the one Filipino Christmas food designer Lulu Tan-Gan says she can’t live without, central to her family’s Christmas Eve feast preparations each year.
Lulu Tan-Gan spends Christmas Eve preparing the feast and opening gifts, while Christmas Day is reserved for unhurried time with family. New Year’s Eve is usually spent with friends, though Christmas at home remains her priority even after years abroad.
Lulu Tan-Gan fondly recalls her father’s Ang Pao, the traditional red envelope containing money given during Chinese-Filipino celebrations, a memory she says she still misses.
Lulu Tan-Gan doesn’t plan her holiday outfit in advance, opting for whatever white or sparkly piece she has on hand in her closet at the time.
Lulu Tan-Gan doesn’t follow specific New Year’s rituals, focusing instead on setting resolutions and celebrating if she manages to follow through on about fifty percent of them.
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