Christmas in Costa Rica: tamales, traditions and where to go

Christmas in Costa Rica happens at home. Families make tamales together, set up a portal (nativity scene), pour rompope and tell the children that the Niño Dios, not Santa, brings the gifts. Christmas Eve is the big night, 25 December is a national holiday, and the year-end bonus sends families to the beach.

How do Costa Ricans make tamales for Christmas?

Together, at a tamaleada, and by the dozen. The University of Costa Rica’s School of Nutrition (UCR) describes the tamaleada as two moments, making the tamales and eating them as a group, and ties December tamales to three dates: 8 December (the Immaculate Conception), 24 December and 31 December. Costa Rica Vibes says many families make them in early December.

A Costa Rican tamal is corn masa, worked with the fat and broth from cooking the meat, around a filling. The traditional Christmas filling, per the UCR, is rice tinted with achiote, a few vegetables such as carrot, green beans or peas, and pork, which it calls irreplaceable. Family recipes add chickpeas, olives, prunes or hard-boiled egg, and some households now use chicken and vegetable oil instead of pork and lard.

The wrapper is banana leaf, hoja de plátano. The UCR explains why: the leaf has a natural waxy coat that keeps water out while the tamales boil, it is big enough to wrap with, and its oils give the tamal its aroma. Each tamal is tied with string, and two tied together make a piña, the unit tamales are counted and sold in.

The UCR says an older woman who keeps the family recipe usually runs the day; beginners clean the leaves and cut the vegetables, and experienced hands do the wrapping. Recipes change by region: in the south there are rice tamales wrapped in bijagua leaves, with a Fiesta del Tamal de Arroz in Buenos Aires de Puntarenas, and in Sarchí, sweet rice tamalitos.

In November 2025, the Ministry of Economy (MEIC) priced the 14 ingredients of the “canasta tamalera” at ₡20,159 for 25 piñas, or ₡806 a piña, 22 percent less than in 2024, per Observador.

If you are visiting, buy them at supermarkets, sodas, market stalls or from neighbors who sell from home, per The Tico Times; reheat them well and eat the tamal off the leaf, not the leaf itself. Costa Ricans serve them with coffee or aguadulce and still trade tamales between families, per the UCR.

What is rompope, and when is it served?

Rompope is Costa Rica’s eggnog: milk, egg yolks, sugar and cinnamon, with guaro (cane liquor) or rum added last, per the UCR. La Nación notes the Costa Rican version is less spiced and usually thinner than versions from other countries.

The UCR traces the recipe to a 17th-century convent in Puebla, Mexico, and La Nación cites a Costa Rican recipe book whose 1903 edition already told rompope apart from milk punch. It is poured for visitors who come to see the portal and at the rezos del Niño, held from 25 December into January, until the portal comes down on 6 January or 2 February, per CRHoy.

What is a portal, and who brings the gifts?

The portal is the family nativity scene. CRHoy describes the usual one: the Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, a mule and an ox, on moss or sawdust with plants, cypress sprigs for scent, fruit offerings and colored lights. Families aim to finish it by 8 December. The Baby Jesus goes into the manger at midnight on the 24th, per The Tico Times, and the portal comes down on 6 January or 2 February, often with a Rezo del Niño: prayers, then coffee, tamal asado (corn cake) and rice pudding, per CRHoy.

The Niño Dios, the Christ Child, is the traditional gift-bringer, though Santa, called Colacho, has gained ground. In a 2015 UNIMER poll in the Greater Metropolitan Area, 39 percent of parents said they tell their children the Niño brings the gifts and 27 percent of respondents said Santa, per The Tico Times. Costa Rica Vibes says children usually get small gifts on the 24th and bigger ones on the 25th.

The tree is usually a cypress. A 2016 study by the Tecnológico de Costa Rica says it had been grown as a Christmas tree for about 40 years, with small farmers producing about 500,000 trees a year.

What happens on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

Christmas Eve, the Nochebuena, is the main event. Costa Rica Vibes calls 24 December the most important day for many families: a late dinner, often tamales with roast pork, and the Misa de Gallo, the midnight mass. The 25th is slower, with family visits and beach barbecues; in Tamarindo, Jacó and Manuel Antonio the beaches fill with locals and visitors, per The Tico Times.

What is the aguinaldo, and why is everyone at the beach?

The aguinaldo is the year-end bonus, a 13th-month pay. The Ministry of Labor (MTSS) says it equals one twelfth of everything earned from 1 December to 30 November and must be paid by 20 December. For 2026, El Financiero reports that the public sector is paid on Friday 4 December.

Add the school vacation, which begins once lessons end on 9 December 2026 per the Ministry of Education, and you get busy shops and families heading to the coast. Costa Rica Vibes suggests driving to the beach early in the day. Our Costa Rica in December guide covers crowds and booking.

Why is it so windy at Christmas?

Because December is trade wind season. The IMN describes the Central Valley’s dry season as the time when the trade wind blows all day. On Christmas Eve 2025, the IMN forecast gusts of 25 to 50 km/h in the Central Valley and the northern Pacific, and 60 to 80 km/h in northern Guanacaste and the highlands, per Observador. Pack a light jacket; see Costa Rica weather by month for each region.

What is open on 24 and 25 December?

Most things on the 24th, far fewer on the 25th. Christmas Day is a mandatory paid holiday under article 148 of the Labor Code, per the MTSS; in 2026 it falls on a Friday, per La República. Christmas Eve is a working day.

In 2025, El Financiero reported that Banco Nacional and BCR would close two hours early on the 24th and that the main banks would close on the 25th, with apps and SINPE Móvil still working. Costa Rica Vibes says many restaurants and grocery stores close on the 25th, while hotel restaurants and the bigger tourist towns usually have options, and suggests doing the big grocery shop by 22 December. If you stay for the new year, our New Year’s Eve in Costa Rica guide covers 31 December and 1 January.

Where should you spend Christmas in Costa Rica?

Choose by the Christmas you want.

• Beach in Guanacaste or Nicoya. The driest region: the IMN says only 4 percent of the northern Pacific’s yearly rain falls from December to March. Sámara is about two hours by car from Liberia airport; see where to stay in Sámara.
• Central Pacific. The beaches closest to San José, where the IMN treats December as a transition month. Punta Leona is about 1.5 hours by car from San José airport (SJO) without traffic, and closer to 2 hours with it; see Punta Leona beaches.
• Monteverde. A cool Christmas, with December highs of 20 to 22 °C and nights near 14 °C per Costa Rica Vibes and usually fewer crowds than the beach towns. See Monteverde in two nights.
• Central Valley. The city Christmas, close to family and the airport; our Escazú guide explains the area.

For public events, San José’s Festival de la Luz, the Christmas light parade, is on Saturday 12 December 2026, from Plaza de la Democracia to Torre Mercedes on Paseo Colón, per Teletica (September 2026), and the Tope Nacional horse parade is on 26 December, per CRHoy (October 2026). Our Costa Rica holiday festivals guide covers the season’s events.

Where to stay for Christmas: our homes

Four of our homes fit the regions above, each with a kitchen or kitchenette.

• Casa Azul, Punta Leona. Our single-story family house for up to eight, with a king bedroom, a bunk room, a dining table for six and a private pool in the middle of the house, unfenced, so watch small children. The Arenas supermarket is 75 meters away. From $287 a night.
• Casa Almendros, Sámara. Our beachfront house on a quiet stretch of Playa Sámara, with three air-conditioned bedrooms for up to six and a dining table for eight. Quiet hours start at midnight. Two-night minimum, from $303 a night.
• Calma Loft, Monteverde. Our container loft for two, three with an air mattress, 15 minutes by car from Santa Elena, with a fan heater for cold evenings. No restaurants are within walking distance, so shop in Santa Elena before the 25th. Not suitable for infants under two. From $103 a night.
• Alta Pietra, Escazú. Our oversized one-bedroom apartment with a king bed, a private hot tub and a shared rooftop pool, about 15 minutes from downtown San José by our estimate. The condominium allows no visitors beyond the four guests on the reservation and keeps quiet hours from 20:00, so it suits a calm Christmas, not a party. Two-night minimum, from $150 a night.

Those are the lowest prices we have seen on Airbnb, and Christmas dates cost more; Airbnb shows the total for your dates before you confirm. For the Christmas week, message us on WhatsApp with your dates.