As a kid living in Laguna, a province in the Philippines, Janette Santos always looked forward to the large cardboard boxes that her aunt sent from Chicago. These boxes were big, sometimes even bigger than moving boxes, and typically arrived at her doorstep during the holidays. As she opened them, she caught a whiff of a familiar detergent smell that Filipinos who have received boxes from the U.S. describe as the scent of “imported goods” or of “America.” Packed to the brim with household supplies, small toys, chocolates, and canned goods, there was at least one item for every member of her immediate and extended family.
The balikbayan boxes that Santos received from her aunt left an impression on her. “I guess in America they have a lot of nice things,” said Santos, who migrated to the U.S. in 1978. “I said, ‘Someday maybe we should go to America, then you will just get it anytime you want.’”
Since no weight limit is imposed, most balikbayan boxes weigh 70 to 100 pounds, according to Forex Cargo, one of the Filipino-owned balikbayan box shipping companies in Illinois that started as a money remittance service. Balikbayan box shipping companies charge a fixed price that ranges from $60 to $110 depending on which region in the Philippines it is being shipped to.
To many Filipinos, it is their way of maintaining ties to relatives they haven’t seen in years.
