For international students and expats, Christmas in Taiwan is a time to seek out "chosen family." Christmas is the biggest holiday of the years and it’s reach is cross all country lines even ones that are not traditionally christmas. Are you worried if you will be able to celebrate your festivities in Taiwan? Don’t worry for the first time this year Taiwan has a Christmas holiday, well constitution day holiday . the Taiwan Share House Headquarters transformed into a festive hub, hosting a 48-hour marathon of international traditions, global flavors, and holiday cheer.
While many Taipei apartments are notoriously missing one vital feature—a usable kitchen—our residents and their friends made full use of our fully equipped shared kitchens to cook up a storm. Here is how we celebrated!
The marathon kicked off on Christmas Eve. We were thrilled to host a group of Spanish students along with friends from the Philippines, the Netherlands, and beyond.One of our previous share house tenants was looking for a big enough room with kitchen to host a spanish christmas eve dinner. We were willing to host.
We learned that for Spaniards, Nochebuena (The Good Night) is the main event. It is a traditional vigil marking the birth of Jesus, culminating in a massive family feast before the Misa del Gallo (Rooster's Mass) at midnight. Since most of them were students in Taiwan their friends became their family tonight for a Spanish feast. No matter what culture or what day you celebrate Christmas during the festive month of December , Spending it with friends and family while having a feast is the main focus.
Close to 20 people packed into the HQ to prepare a traditional spread that would be impossible in some standard Taipei studio aprtment. It was a Potluck event and everyone brought various dishes to celebrate.Some were already prepared and some others used our professional kitchen setup, to prepare:
Authentic Spanish Tortillas
Eggs, ham, and fries
Festive cakes and traditional treats
Pasta
Taiwan plum wine.
Fruit bowl salad
The energy was electric, and the feast lasted until the very stroke of midnight, officially welcoming Christmas Day together.
Some highlights include an impromptu classical Christmas carolling in Spanish where we sing the famous "Feliz Navidad "song. It is one of the most famous Christmas songs and it originally was in Spanish.
As the sun rose on the 25th, the party continued! This time, our Taiwan Share House event host invited a diverse group from Japan, Indonesia, Ireland, the USA, and Taiwan. Firstly we did a twist on the classical introduction where we pulled christmas antlers from a bag and depending on the color we reflect about our year end accomplishment . take a look .
The food on Christmas Day was a true reflection of our international community. We shared a "Fusion Feast" that combined traditional holiday staples with global comfort food:
The Classics: Roast chicken and pizza.
The Caribbean Twist: Homemade Caribbean-style Macaroni and Cheese and sweet Plantains.
The Local Touch: Classic Taiwanese Fried Rice.
The Toasts: Plenty of wine to cheer for new friendships!
After the feast, the HQ turned into a game zone where prizes were given out for the winners of the games.
We played Christmas-themed trivia and held a gift exchange under the tree. Since many of us didn't know each other that well we played a warm up introduction game with a twist where we blindly pulled a hat out of bag and based on the color play the Santa Claus naughty or nice game. We each took turns to talk about he year in review about what we did well or not so good. Since Christmas is fulled of tradition another one we played was a bingo game, where we each pulled Christmas theme activities from a box and crossed them of if we have ever done them before. This was fun way to talk about the different traditions we have experience in different countries around the world.
The next game was to test how well we know our Christmas origin stories using the website Kahoot , Christmas is so long and a storied tradition that many people might not know some of the real traditions originate from. No matter what the game was we all laughed at each other and with other during this Christmas event . After this we winded down and exchanged gifts. Seeing gifts piled up under our spruced-up Christmas tree—complete with banners, fairy lights, and a festive playlist—really made it feel like home, despite being thousands of miles away.
Many students looking for housing in Taipei realize too late that "studio living" can be lonely and lacks the space to cook. At Taiwan Share House, we prioritize:
Fully Equipped Kitchens: Large enough to roast a chicken or flip 20 tortillas.
Spacious Common Areas: Our HQ was spruced up with trees and lighting, perfect for hosting 20+ people.
Instant Community: You don't just get a room; you get an international network of friends.
As the evening of the 25th wound down, we headed out into the Taipei night to continue the celebration with the rest of the city, grateful for the warmth and culture we shared at the HQ.
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