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The holiday season is a time to gather with family and friends, partake in seasonal activities and, of course, eat your favourite comfort foods. But this time of year is also hectic, which can make planning any holiday meal overwhelming. Luckily, we’re here to help. Check out some of our favourite Thai dishes for you to make this Christmas.

The holiday season is here, and it's time to start planning the perfect Christmas event! Whether it's a fun-filled family gathering or an elegant corporate party, everyone loves to celebrate Christmas in their unique way. But, planning an event isn't easy, especially when it's about Christmas. When it comes to creating the perfect event, there are so many options. In this blog post, we'll provide you some amazing ideas and themes to make your event unforgettable.

1. DIY Christmas Ornaments Workshop

Creating handmade Christmas ornaments can be an excellent idea for your event. You can organize a workshop where people can learn to make their unique decorations. It can be an excellent activity for friends and family to bond over. Your guests will be able to take home a personalized ornament, which can act as a memorable keepsake.

2. Wreath Crafting

Crafting a wreath has become a popular Christmas trend in recent years. You can teach your guests how to create a stunning wreath for their homes with just a few simple materials. Participants will enjoy this hands-on activity, and the end creations can be a great addition to their Christmas decorations.

3. Homemade Gift Hampers

Gift hampers are an ideal way to show love and appreciation. You can create customized homemade gift hampers for your loved ones who attend your event. These hampers can be filled with items such as chocolates, homemade cakes, and Christmas-themed decorations.

4. Cocktail Making Workshop

Hosting a cocktail making workshop can be a fun idea for your New Year's Eve party. If you’re good at making cocktails, this is an excellent opportunity to teach others. You can introduce guests to some unique and different cocktail recipes, which they can use in their future parties.

5. Traditional Christmas Dishes Workshop

There is something special about the traditional Christmas dishes. If you’re good at cooking them, then you can teach others. You can organize a Christmas dish workshop where participants can learn to cook various traditional dishes and share with their family and friends.
Moving on, let's take a look at some fantastic ideas and themes for Christmas and New Year's events.

6. Breakfast with Santa

Breakfast with Santa is an exciting concept, especially for families with young children. You can organize this event at low cost and make it memorable by inviting Santa! Children will enjoy the morning meal, and parents can take some beautiful photos with Santa.

7. Dumpling Making Parties

Cooking parties are a new trend and can be a grand idea for Christmas day. The party can be served with Christmas-themed food and decorations. You can host this party at your home or book this at Otao kitchen venue to make it more significant.

8. Christmas Markets

Christmas markets are trendy events where people can come and buy unique Christmas gifts or just enjoy the festive atmosphere. You can create a perfect market with a theme, for instance, a vintage market or a natural market, to add an extra festive touch.

9. Christmas Party

Last but not least, what's Christmas without a theme party? You can host a Christmas party with a themed decoration, for instance, Italian classics or New Mexican. You can plan some fun activities such as games, movies, and singing Christmas carols.

With these creative ideas and themes, your Christmas event planning will turn from stressful to fun. Whether you decide to host a DIY workshop, dumpling party, or a themed party, you’ll be able to create memories that will last a lifetime. Always remember that the most important thing about the holiday season is coming together with loved ones and cherishing those moments. Happy Event Planning!

Gift cards are a great gift to give someone because they guarantee your friend or family member can find something they’ll love. However, since the cards are so small, coming up with gift card wrapping ideas can often be hard.

Though you can easily give them in an envelope with a card or in a small gift bag, it’s often nice to do something creative that really shows you care. However, coming up with fun ways to wrap a gift card can often be time-consuming, especially if you don’t know where to start.

Luckily, we’ve curated a few creative ways for you to wrap your gift card so you can skip the guesswork and get to wrapping!

2020 has transformed the event industry world upside down. Technology became a matter of fact, and the events started happening on screens. As the world has not recovered from COVID-19 yet, Virtual event has been the safest way to organise an event.

Most physical events have been on hold for the past six months. While corporate events will likely be the first to make a full comeback, many companies we spoke to delayed all live business meetings well into 2021. When you hold corporate events, they will be mainly Zoom webinars during the pandemic, but these types of interactions won't deliver results long-term.  With the live stream becoming the default meeting room, how do you enhance these experiences to make an impact on your team? Read more to get you some ideas?

Business event future is shrouded in uncertainty which the outlook depends on several factors in Australia and overseas such as resurgences of the virus, medical advances, restrictions on travel, the economy at large after easing restriction. The industry will bounce back. After all, we can't wait to see other people face-to-face because we like a strong sense of community and other people. Speak to many of our event planners, they share with us:

Drinking tea is an ancient tradition when it comes to human civilization. It’s even been estimated that the Chinese have been drinking tea for over 10,000 years. All true teas come from the plant Camellia Sinensis, and there are four basic types of true teas derived from this plant. These teas are green, black, white, and oolong tea. All of these have many health benefits, and the difference between them lies on the degree to which the leaves of the plant are oxidized. 

Although drinking is the most popular way people consume tea, there are other ways that you can incorporate this in your daily meals. Here are six of them:

How to Buy Real Indian Spices Directly From the Source

Fragrant, rich Indian spices awaken the senses, bring health and unlock the secret to creating authentic dishes! It's hard to live a life without authentic Indian cardamom, coriander, cumin, black pepper, turmeric and more once you've experienced these flavors! Some popular Indian spices are added at the final stage of preparation to create a perfect finish. Others are heated to perfection in a pan with ghee before being poured over a simmering dish. Here's a rundown of the best ways to use Indian spices when whipping up authentic dishes:

• Marinating.
• Frying spices in hot oil.
• Stirring Indian spices into sauces.

Of course, some people simply like to use real Indian cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg or cloves to create hot elixirs that are full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. One of the best things about Indian spices is that their quality and potency allow for "a dash" to do! That means that going with quality will allow you to use less product because you'll be getting vibrant, potent flavors in every pinch.

Anyone who has ever been on a quest to get their hands on authentic Indian spices knows that it can be hard to find the real deal. Unfortunately, the spices that you find on the shelves at the grocery store can be quite tasteless and bland. How can you get real Indian spices at home? It turns out that your home can turn into spice central with a little bit of digging for real Indian spices online! Let's explore why getting a true taste of India may be easier than you think! 

How Do You Buy Spices Directly From India? 

The best way to buy Indian spices directly from India is to go straight to the source. You'll want to find genuine sellers located in India to avoid issues with quality or authenticity. It used to be extremely difficult to track down spice merchants in India if you weren't in the industry. However, many spice sellers in India today actually list their products on major selling platforms like Amazon and eBay. You can also typically buy directly from spice sellers without going through a third-party platform by using "bulk spices from India" or a similar search term. 

The key to making sure you're getting authentic Indian spices is to check where your spices will be shipped from once you place an order. Always check to see that sellers are located in India when purchasing on a major site like Amazon. Generally, it pays to place a bulk order of spices to ensure that you'll get a good rate without the need to pay new shipping fees the way you would if you ordered small batches. The fact that most Indian spices are dried means that they have long shelf lives.

 Paying for Spices Shipped Directly From India

 The payment methods that you typically use when making purchases online may not apply when making an international purchase from India. It's possible that the merchant you're purchasing your spices from may prefer that you send a money transfer to India. This request shouldn't intimidate you. It's actually quite easy to simply complete a money transfer to someone in India via a widely used company like Western Union.

Real Indian Spices Don't Have to Be a World Away

Many of the spices for sale at mainstream grocery stores really are a dime a dozen. The truth is that you need to source spices from India if you want the real deal in your kitchen. Start stocking up your pantry with the tastes and fragrances of India today!