مدونات هوتباك

The morning the pantry turned pink It usually starts with an email from HR. "Next Thursday is our Pinktober morning. Wear something pink, join us in the pantry at 10, and there will be a short talk from a visiting doctor." By Wednesday afternoon, someone in admin is staring at a shopping list wondering...

Ask anyone who has hosted a Halloween party in the UAE what ran out first and the answer is almost never the sweets. It's cups. Napkins go next, usually around the time the pizza arrives. This year Halloween lands on a Saturday, 31 October, so expect the full spread: compound trick-or-treat routes, office parties...

At Diwali, the box gets opened before anything inside it gets eaten. Someone in the office passes around a box of truffles, or a neighbour drops off kaju katli, and the first thing people notice is the packaging. A neat gold box with every piece sitting in its own slot says "made with care"....

Halloween is not a small event in the UAE anymore. Hotels now do full-themed brunches. Restaurants run special menus for the week. Cafés sell a lot more cookies and cupcakes than usual. All of this means more cups, more tissues, and more packaging. The problem is, these things usually run out at the worst...

Halloween in the UAE means a lot of treats. Schools hold class parties. Nurseries plan small activities for the kids. Communities and offices organise their own events. And at almost every one of them, someone is packing cookies, sweets, and snacks into little bags and boxes. If you have done this before, you know...