The first year of having a baby is filled with numerous joyful occasions to celebrate! Here is how I celebrated my third born’s first Lohri with a simple at-home celebration and traditional food and decorations.
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Baby’s First Lohri
I dug out my traditional Punjabi fan (or Pakhi, as it is called) to create a centerpiece.
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Lohri Centerpiece Decoration with a Hand-painted kettle and traditional Punjabi Pakhi (hand fan)
My prized hand-painted Kettle is perfect for such occasions. Together with the Pakhi and some stacked gifts (to be handed out to guests later), it creates a lovely centerpiece.
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Adding more color to the decor with my Hand-painted Kettle
For the bonfire tonight, here goes sesame, groundnuts and popped corn.
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Til, Popcorn, Groundnuts, Chikki – and some patriotic flair with a packet of tricolor ‘chiraunji’ we found on the street stalls selling Lohri stuff.
The traditional Lohri fare is on the dessert table for nibling away while we wait for the dinner. Gur or jaggery gives warmth to the body and is traditionally a part of many winter dishes. It is an inseparable part of Lohri fare too. Rewri, Gajak, gudpara, murmura laddoos…
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Traditional Lohri Food Items – Rewri, Gazak and Jaggery Murmura Laddoos. Although the laddoos are not exactly traditional, they go well with the theme.
More popcorn, rewri and groundnuts to replenish throughout the evening.
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Lohri Food Items in Jars
Gajak takes a different form in the shape of rolls and looks rather lovely on the tiered stand methinks.
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Gajak/Gazak Rolls – I found a variation of the traditional Gajak for this Lohri. The ‘rolls’ make it look prettier on the display!
The winter favorite Gajar ka Halwa is always on the menu for Lohri dinner!
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Gajar ka Halwa – The Ultimate Lohri Dessert!
Now all that is left is looking forward to the evening fun. The kids love the bonfire and grown-ups enjoy a full-on Punjabi meal with close family and friends. All this to the beats of classic and new Punjabi chartbusters surely!P.S. You will see the images watermarked – Dot Com Women India. I used to run that website but it is now closed and all it’s content has now been moved to my blog Fabulous Mom Life 🙂
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