Away for the Holidays: Hosting Guests Who Celebrate Diwali, Thanksgiving and Everything Between

Early and late November, back to back on the calendar, bring two entirely different holidays through the same small building: Diwali, which fell on 8 November this year, and American Thanksgiving three weeks later. Neither is ours to claim any expertise in. What we can do, and try to, is make sure a guest marking either one away from their own family does not have to do it in a hotel room with nowhere to put a plate down.

In short: several guests each November are away from home during Diwali or Thanksgiving, and the practical help we can offer is not a themed gesture but the basics done properly, a real kitchen for a proper meal, enough space to host a friend or two, and the discretion to let a guest mark the day quietly or not at all, exactly as they choose.

What we have actually learned to do

We are not going to pretend to run a Diwali celebration or a turkey dinner. What we have learned, guest by guest over a few autumns, is that the most useful thing a building can offer someone away from home for a meaningful date is a proper kitchen and enough room to use it, rather than any decoration on our part. A guest cooking a Diwali meal for friends met locally needs counter space and a full set of pans as much as anyone hosting on any other night of the year, and that is squarely within what each 70 square metre apartment already provides.

Small requests, taken seriously

A handful of small things do come up around these dates, an extra set of crockery for guests, a request about quiet hours moved slightly to accommodate an evening gathering, or simply someone asking whether candles are permitted. We say yes to as much of this as we reasonably can, because the underlying request is rarely elaborate, it is just to be treated as a person marking something that matters to them, in a space that can actually hold the occasion.

We would rather field an odd request in November than have a guest quietly decide the building was not somewhere they could ask at all. That, more than anything, is the standard we are actually holding ourselves to.

The wider point about who stays here

Morrison Court's guest list in any given month is a genuine mix, which is part of what we mean when we talk about who's behind the next door, a building where a Diwali dinner in one apartment and an ordinary Tuesday in the next are both completely unremarkable. That mix does not happen by accident, it is a direct result of the screening process described in five apartments kept in balance, which is also, quietly, why nobody has ever complained about the smell of good cooking travelling down the hall.

We would rather have five apartments occupied by five genuinely different households than five identikit short lets that happen to be empty over the same week for the same reason. The former makes for a more interesting building. It also, as a rule, makes for better neighbours.

What we would say to a guest planning ahead

If a specific celebration matters to you and falls during your stay, tell us early rather than assuming we will not have thought about it. We cannot promise expertise in a tradition that is not ours, but we can promise a kitchen, some flexibility on timing, and a genuine willingness to make the evening work.

Frequently asked questions

When is Diwali in 2026?

Diwali fell on 8 November 2026, and guests staying with us around that date are welcome to mark it as they wish, including cooking and hosting friends in their apartment.

Can guests host a small gathering or cook a holiday meal in a Morrison Court apartment?

Yes, within the two-guest occupancy limit for overnight stays and standard house rules, guests are welcome to invite friends over and use the full kitchen for a proper holiday meal.

Does Morrison Court organise events for Diwali or Thanksgiving?

No, we do not run organised celebrations, but we do accommodate reasonable requests around these dates, such as extra tableware or a small adjustment to timing, so guests can mark the occasion themselves.

A holiday away from home is easier in a space built to actually hold one, and the apartments that make that possible are listed with current dates at https://www.morrisoncourt.com.