Caga Tió Cupcakes

These fun Caga Tió cupcakes celebrate the famous “pooping” log that brings children presents each Christmas here in Catalonia, Spain.

Christmas cupcakes…but make them Catalan. ♡

This December marks our fifth holiday season living here in Barcelona…and Teo’s very first! We had such a fun time this past weekend taking him to the central Christmas market, buying his first tree, adding to our nativity set, and watching his eyes light up seeing all of the twinkly lights around the city. But of course, it wouldn’t be the Christmas season here without one of the best and quirkiest Catalan traditions that we absolutely love…the arrival of Caga Tió, the famous Catalan pooping log.

If you’ve never heard of Caga Tió, Barclay and I actually recorded a video learning about the tradition when we first moved here (see below). But in a nutshell, kiddos across Catalonia spend the month of December feeding their Caga Tió oranges and food scraps each day, while trying to be on their best behavior under his watch all month long. Then on Christmas Day, the kids all gather to sing a song and (yes) whack Tió repeatedly with a stick. Then if they were good and their Tió is nice and full…he “poops” out presents for everyone.

It’s a centuries-old tradition that everyone here still has so much fun celebrating. (As our friends say, is it really that much weirder than a dude from the North Pole sliding down your chimney?) So this weekend, we had a great time finally introducing our Teo to our Tió. And together, we started feeding him early so that he’ll be ready to do some excellent pooping this Christmas. Then I got a little carried away…and made cupcakes to celebrate.

So for anyone here in Catalonia or around the world who wants to celebrate Caga Tió in an extra sweet way this year, here’s a quick tutorial for how to make these cupcakes!

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