HAPPY DIWALI AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO OUR DEAR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WHO ARE CELEBRATING. Wish you all the best in this new year!
Nina’s good friend and neighbor hosted their annual Diwali open house on Saturday this year and it was an absolute blast. What does this mean? Well Nina thought it was such a great concept that we had to share it with you all!
In essence, they sent out an invite to all their family and friends, near and far, and hosted a Diwali gathering (minus any religious happenings) where people were welcomed to stop by any time in between 12pm and 8pm. They dedicated the day to this event and the whole family was present the whole time. We thought, what a great way to accommodate all the people you want to see with giving your guests the flexibility within their schedules. That aside, what a lovely family tradition to have around the kids to continue to pass down the importance of family and our culture. Brilliant.
Outside, there were holiday appropriate decorations, like battery operated diyas and rangoli. Inside, there was an entire buffet of all kinds of food that was constantly replenished. In addition, for the kids, they set up different stations with a number of unique kids crafts, coloring, a library and games. On a few tables were the following:
- a few books on the holiday itself
- coloring pages with illustrations related to the holiday
- art and crafts with colored rice and glue
- word searches/trivia sheets related to the holiday (for the tweens/teens)
Upon joining the party, guests mingled, ate, played, read and most importantly came and left as they pleased. It never felt too crowded at any point as people were constantly coming and going. The kids got to meet their friends and some new friends, learn about the holiday and culture in a “fun” way and were not tied down to a certain schedule. The freedom of the “open house” concept kept the entire experience a pleasant and enjoyable one.
It was such a good idea that Nina is totally thinking of which holiday she can implement this concept for! What do you think of the holiday open house concept? We love that you could literally use this idea for ANYTHING – holidays, birthdays, basically any event whatsoever!
PS – Big thank you (and photo courtesy) to Pinky and Neel! Thanks for introducing us to your Diwali Open House!
