My office Christmas party this year

was vastly different from ones I have been to in the past. For one thing it was 26 degrees, it took place on a Saturday night and English was not the predominant language.

On Saturday last week we had the Christmas party for the business that mum and dad run. At about 5pm in the evening the 15 staff (and their children) arrived on our doorstep. They looked amazing dressed in the finest sarees and other traditional dress. I thought I had made a special effort when I wore a skirt but I felt majorly underdressed.
The evening started with gift giving. I was given a rather interesting doll. I'm still trying to figure out the best place for it.

During the evening we had games and singing and dancing. One particular game involved breaking into three groups and singing songs. The first group would sing and then the next group had to start their song with the last letter of the previous group's song. This went on for an hour (all in Bengali). Mum, Dad and I and another girl from NZ tried to think up some English songs but we were soon out of the game as we couldn't compete.

We also had a quiz relating to the Christmas story. It was neat to see the children and the parents getting involved together through acting, drawing and singing. The classic was when we asked them where Jesus was born. The most common response was Rome...

During the festivities we had a power cut which last for an hour. Sort of enabled us to have an impromptu carols by candlelight...

Once the lights had come on we moved on to dinner. The fare was not your typical mince pies, turkey, lamb or potatoes but included: vegetable manchurian, vegetable pakoras, chow mein and chilly chicken (with the emphasis on chilly).

So that was the office party. ..quite different to the five star hotel variety but a lot less messy....