For many people, Christmas and the end of the year celebrations are a big thing to look forward to, especially for expats who live away from their loved ones.
Yes, it was not the real thing and a bit sad that we could not spend it with our loved ones, but there are friends in the same situation, thus many people come with big groups of friends instead of family.
Table prepared for a big group of people
But even groups of friends at funny places like Doha will not necessarily be there year in year out. Last year, we spent it with a group of more than 10 friends. But people come and go, this year we had to celebrate with only the two of us, as most of our group of friends had gone for a more traditional Christmas at home.
Regardless of that, in the Middle East like Doha, it’s big business for the 5 star hotels who offer Christmas brunches. Keith and I used to go to either the InterContinental Hotel or Marriott Hotel, where they offer a very nice Christmas lunch buffet for hundreds of people at one time. This year we spent it in a different 5 star hotel, and this one was even bigger than the previous years. Our hotel catered for more than a 1000 people for one lunch!
I wonder if this is the same elsewhere at other expat destination?
25.269420 51.518884
