Holiday Party & Notes From Hosting A Party In India

When you live overseas, you have more opportunities to host a party for your colleagues than you do back home. At least that has been the case for my husband’s job. It is nice to invite in the people whom you work with to your home to celebrate your holiday which allows you to see them in a different set up than in the usual office. You get to know your peers better in a more relaxing environment.

We had our first holiday party in 2013, but I am afraid that I was too overwhelmed to host an office-wide holiday party where 35 people showed up that I have no photo records of the party that year. I seem to have gained slightly more confidence in 2014 after one time experience in 2013. I managed to take photos of the holiday party table which I posted in a blog post “Hosting A Party For 30 People”.

I have gradually gained knowledge in the Indian culture since we moved to Mumbai. One of the things I did not know about the Indian food culture is that there are two kinds of food groups here: veg (vegetarian) and non-veg (non-vegetarian). I have been familiar with terms such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free, but I have never heard of non-veg which took sometime for me to get used to. Non-veg means food that contains meat as well as eggs. I find egg-free a little tricky if you are not used to baking and cooking without eggs.

If you look closely, you notice that I have two of the same desserts and dishes. I had one regular cake and one egg-less cake, one regular loaf and one egg-less loaf, and vegetarian spring rolls and non-vegetarian spring rolls.

I have listed the notes I have taken for hosting a party in India. Please scroll down to the bottom to see the list. I hope my notes will be helpful for those expats to prepare for a party for your Indian friends.

Here are my small notes from the party.

1. Always prepare eggless desserts for veg eaters especially if you plan on baking.
2. Label everything as your guests will ask if the dishes are “veg” or “non-veg”.
3. Icing cookies were not popular among Indians (or maybe adults in general), but some liked to take a few home for their children.
4. Bruschettas are very popular among Indians. They are easy to make and the colors are great for the holiday party.
5. Cheese platter is always popular among Indians.
6. Watermelon is great for the festive color and it also went fast.
7. Indians do love homemade samosas.
8. Sprite, Pepsi, and Lemon Sodas are popular drinks for non-alcoholic beverages.
9. Do not make something unusual from your country for a party (i.e. sushi cake) for Indians. It may not fly well.
10. This may not apply to office party, but Indians normally arrive later than the starting time. 30 minute late is the same as fashionably late in the West.

My husband and I enjoyed celebrating the holiday season with his colleagues who come from various religious backgrounds. We made the festivity more about appreciating their team work throughout the year and valuing the unity as a team. It meant a lot to us to be able to share the happy time with them. My husband and I know that we will look back on this time of year next year and will be very nostalgic.

Have a lovely holiday season, everyone!!