21 December,2025 12:42 PM IST | Mumbai | Akshita Maheshwari
The Detales Communications team prepares full-fledged campaigns for their scavenger hunt teams for Christmas. PIC/SHADAB KHAN
As Christmas rolls around, the city seems to collectively switch its phones to Do Not Disturb. Work slows, calendars empty, and December becomes shorthand for rest, reunions, and indulgence. While many pack their bags for holidays or retreat into family time, there is a large section of the city for whom this is the most demanding month of the year.
For those in hospitality and service-oriented businesses, Christmas doesn't mean fewer hours. It means longer days and fuller tables. Restaurants, cafes, and kitchens run at their busiest just as the rest of the city clocks out. The season of joy, after all, requires people who keep showing up to create it. So how do you celebrate Christmas when there's barely time to pause? Read more and find out.
For those in public relations, the holiday season often arrives with a packed calendar of events and back to back deadlines. But for Tripti Bhatia-Gandhi, Christmas has always remained non-negotiable.
The founder and CEO of Detales Communications makes it a point to protect the festive spirit, even during the busiest time of the year. For nearly 15 years now, she has brought Christmas alive at work through the Detales Christmas Scavenger Hunt, played out across the neighbourhood of Bandra.
"My mum made Christmas very special for me growing up," says Bhatia-Gandhi, "We wrote letters to Santa, decorated the house, and really looked forward to it every year. When I started Detales, I wanted to carry that feeling into the workplace too, because Christmas is my favourite holiday."
The scavenger hunt began as a small internal activity and has since grown into an elaborate annual ritual. She tells us, "The entire team is divided into four groups, each given a clue sheet that sends them across Bandra to complete a series of tasks. Teams build their own identities from scratch, complete with names, logos, Instagram pages, badges and wristbands, approaching the hunt with the same seriousness as a brand campaign."
Tasks range from singing Christmas carols to strangers, to partnering with restaurants to create signature cocktails and convincing passers by to try them. Every detail is planned, produced and executed by the teams themselves.
The hunt culminates in a year end celebration on December 22. Spread across nearly 20 different tasks, the evening unfolds over several hours. While the top two teams receive a cash prize, all participants are recognised, keeping the focus firmly on participation.
Although there is also a Secret Santa that happens at work, Bhatia-Gandhi wanted to go one step beyond to make sure her team has fun. "Everyone gets really invested." The thoughtfulness extends beyond the hunt.
Acknowledging that December is also the most demanding month of the year, Bhatia-Gandhi makes it a point to soften the grind. From arranging back and shoulder massages during work hours to introducing small weekly treats, the idea is simple: if the work has to be relentless, the care should be constant too.
For bakeries, Christmas is the season that puts baking at the centre. With that comes a level of demand that turns December into a relentless, sugar-dusted marathon. "For us, Christmas is complete madness," says Manish Khanna, founder of the 28-year-old Brownie Point, "There is no day, there is no night. We work 14 to 15 hours every single day."
Chef Manish Khanna and his team do a big Christmas party on December 25 where they order all their favourite food and eat the desserts they so painstakingly baked. PIC/NIMESH DAVE
His kitchens churn out marzipan, kulkul, guava cheese, milk cream, and plum cake. "Guava cheese and milk cream have to be cooked for three to four hours and then dried for two to three days. It's a long process, but that's what makes Christmas baking special."
Corporate orders begin as early as the first week of December, with offices embracing Christmas gifting much like they do Diwali. "Right now, I have an order of about 2400 pieces going out," Khanna says, "The last 10 days have just been stirring pots, checking consistency, assigning teams."
Most of Khanna's staff has been with him for years and knows that December sustains the rest of the year. "They understand that this one month helps us catch up," he says, "I don't have to motivate them. Often, they're the ones telling me, âSir, let's make a little more.'" Khanna's affection for his staff is evident. "This season works because everyone supports each other."
That shared push is rewarded with shared celebration. Once the rush eases, the team comes together for a small Christmas party. "After all the work is over, we order food from outside and sit together. We do this on Christmas and New Year's," Khanna says simply. Once the frenzy fades, Khanna and team actually celebrate in January, when they finally have a moment to breathe. "I save the last batches of plum cake for then. Although fresh plum cake is to die for, when it's soaked and matured in the rum for so long, that taste is unmatched. That's the real prize of Christmas for us."
Steps cafe is located at the eponymous steps of Mount Mary church in Bandra. Christmas then becomes the busiest month of the year. Social media manager at the cafe, Piushi Ajwani, tells us, "Mount Mary does a midnight mass, so we have a lot of footfall on Christmas eve as well. December 24 is the only day of the year we stay open till 4 am."
Most of the staff at Steps isn't Christian but their annual party for the kids of the Steps neighbourhood is the day they look forward to the most every year. FILE PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
They have employees from all over India who have migrated to Mumbai to work. Steps offers these employees accommodation near the cafe. They all live together, eat together, work together. Over the years, they have come to become a little family. "Most of our staff don't come from Catholic families. [Team member] Sherwyn Dsouza joined us recently and he's extremely enthusiastic about Christmas. This year, there's even more excitement because the staff have organised an unofficial Secret Santa among themselves, which is really adorable. Little things like that bring everyone together and make the celebration feel shared."
But the spirit of Christmas is to give back, and this isn't lost on the Steps family. Every year, they organise a party with their staff for the kids from the Sarkari Basti nearby. "We've been doing this every year since the cafe started. The Sarkari Basti is right behind Steps, and there are a lot of children. We interact with them daily. They say hello when they pass by after school, and we've seen many of them grow up," says Ajwani, "So on December 22, we host a party for the children."
The party consists of games and prizes for everyone to win, the kids and staff both. The owner, Ravi Kanal is also an art director so he designs custom jerseys for all the employees at the cafe. "Last year the theme was football; this year it's ugly Christmas sweaters. The kids and staff get to pick their own numbers, and on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, all of us wear the jerseys together."
Steps is all lit up for Christmas
Even though most of the staff is not Christian, the spirit of the holiday is inescapable at Steps. All the employees get personally involved in every detail from decoration to the organisation of the party. Ajwani says, "It is chaotic, and everyone definitely puts in overtime. But because we're all there together through the entire season, there's a strong sense of camaraderie. If someone needs a break, others step in." Over the years, the staff has also built a relationship with the kids of Sarkari Basti, and every year they look forward to this celebration of Christmas.
