DIY kits are heaven-sent for parents.

Even on a lockdown, parents can still feel the holiday rush. There are online recitals, academic exams and preparations for Noche Buena. Kits prepared by someone else allow parents to have an activity with their children without worrying about the mess. Parents are also less likely to over-purchase or leave out an item.

Romila Roque, or Aling Vicky, created Whisk Ko Lang (@whiskkolang on Facebook and Instagram) because of this. The concept for the shop is very much like the concept behind the pancake mix. They started producing DIY baking kits for people who don’t want to buy ingredients in bulk from supermarkets or just want to try a trending recipe online.

“When we started, it was just selling baking kits with pre-scaled ingredients. It comes with complete procedures and customers only need to ‘whisk ko lang’ (whisk them together). That’s why our tagline is ‘Ihalo Ang Mga Pangarap,’” Roque said.

It later evolved into other DIY products such as cookie kits for children and adults (build-your-own vagina or penis, anyone?). Her brother asked her to create a cookie kit for her niece and nephew for Halloween.

“Initially I was just making them for my niece and nephew but because of social media, people started ordering. At first it was just the Halloween and shapes kit. Now we have at least 13 theme kits for kids and adults to enjoy,” she said.

Roque fell in love with baking in high school. She pursued her passion and is now a technical chef for a food manufacturing company. One of her work-from-home tasks during the lockdown is making recipe videos for the company.

Gingerbread house kit

For the holiday season, she created a gingerbread house kit. It comes with cookies to make the house, edible glue, assorted candies and sprinkles and an instruction card.

“They should start by sticking the front windows and back parts before putting it on the base. When the edible glue dries up, that’s the time they attach the roof and chimney,” she said. And when the foundation of the house is complete, it’s time to decorate it. Well, that is if the kids did not snack on the candies before building it.

Whisk Ko Lang can accept orders until Dec. 23. They will resume work on Dec. 28. Kits can last seven days at room temperature and up to one month when refrigerated.

Tel. 0905-5156822

Family tradition

Jacqueline Tan wanted to make decorating cookies part of their family Christmas traditions. She started it two years ago with her daughters Simone and Sarah. She thought other families would like it, too.

So she collaborated with Sweetbite by Jane, named after her sister-in-law.

Tan’s kit at P150 comes with sugar cookies in the shapes of a Christmas tree, gingerbread man and a star. It has three icing colors of red, yellow and green, sprinkles and colored chocolate buttons. Children can mix the colors to create new ones.

Ingredients come from local suppliers. Cookies are freshly baked daily with a recommended shelf life of five days. Because of the shelf life, the kits can only be delivered via riders and cannot be mailed. Tan also produces other kits perfect for the holiday season through her company Articrafts Hobby kits. INQ

@sweetbitebyjane and @articraftskits on Facebook