1.  Flower power: Thailand celebrated on 5 December the birthday of the world’s longest serving monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadejon, now clocking up 61 years as head of state, with Ambassador Mrs Rushda Thavaravej greeting guests to the Crowne Plaza Hotel with orchids.

2.  Feta festival: Specialist Hellenic fish dishes, cheeses, sauces and salads dominated the menu of Novotel Bucharest, as Greek gastronomy week kicked off and Romania bid farewell to Greek Ambassador to Romania Athanassios Dendoulis

3. Celebrating the state of Qatar on the national day of 18 December, Ambassador to Bucharest Mr Salem Abdullah Sultan Al-Jaber, welcomed guests to the Crowne Plaza Hotel for festivities.

4. Celebrating the Emperor’s birthday on 23 December, Japanese Ambassador Kanji Tsushima welcomed guests from the diplomatic and political community to the Crowne Plaza Hotel Bucharest.

5.  Real estate firm Regatta organised a Christmas party and fashion show at Bragadiru Palace, with general manager Eduard Uzunov and delux Italian auto brand Maserati’s Mike Costache in attendance with the prime minister’s wife, Ioana Popescu Tariceanu.

6.  Black squirrels, a half-consumed Mickey Mouse, kennels made of dried peas and a pigskin tattooed with a serpent are on display at the National Museum of Contemporary Arts. Collected from the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain (FNAC), Paris, the opening was attended by FNAC director Claude Allemand-Cosneau and French Ambassador to Bucharest Henri Paul