10 Fun Ideas To Make Diwali Memorable For Your Family – Simple Activities For A Joyful Festival

Veena is a little worried. She just overheard her children making plans for this Diwali.

Just two weeks left. I cant wait to meet Rohan and burst the 1000 Wala crackers with him! 8-year-old Mukund said.

Yay! And I'll have 10 pieces of Ammammas Mysore pak! Veena's 5-year-old daughter, Sahana, shrieked.

Veena doesn't want to puncture her children's enthusiasm with the truth. This time, the children cannot travel to Hosur to celebrate Diwali with Ammamma and their cousin, Rohan. She wonders what she can do to make the festive season a joyful time for her little ones.

There are plenty of ways to celebrate. But first, lets hear what some parents and children have to say about this years celebrations.

We have rounded up some nice and creative ideas to help you make this Diwali an unforgettable one for your family.

1. Creative Home-Organizing

Use Diwali as an opportunity to organize your house. On the face of it, clearing the clutter may seem like a chore, but it can be fun, we promise! An organized house will lift up your spirits especially if you have turned to DIY solutions to keep your home in perfect order. And it's an amazing family bonding activity!

Some ideas:

DIY makeup/jewelry organizer: Use a pegboard to hang your chains or bangles. You can also take an old glass bottle and put your bangles and bracelets around it neatly.

DIY pencil stand: If you have an empty candle jar or even a cardboard tube of toilet paper roll lying around, make a pencil stand out of it.

Kitchen organizer: How about making your own spoon-holder using old tins? Or try using a pegboard to hang vessels.

Organizing cleaning supplies: Repurpose a hanging shoe-holder to store cleaning supplies. Or if you have a tension rod, install it in your bathroom window and hang your cleaning supplies over it.

If these projects dont work out for you, there are scores of great ideas online.

2. Diwali Treats

Diwali and yummy food are inseparable. This year, how about trying some recipes that not only taste good, but also look appetizing? Culinary art is a great way to engage your child and have fun as a family. Sit together and make a list of delicacies that you all want to have this Diwali. Then come up with creative and colorful ways to decorate your dishes.

Kala, a mom of two teenage daughters, says, One of our all-time favorite sweets is marzipan. Its nothing but a thick paste of ground cashew nuts and condensed milk. The paste has a consistency similar to clay, so it can be easily molded into different shapes. We add natural food colors to the paste, and make roses, carrots, strawberries and whatnot. It's a very simple preparation, extremely yummy and a treat for the eyes!

3. Spread the Smile n Sparkle!

Donating your extra stuff to charity can be a cathartic experience. Plus, when the entire family gathers for a good cause, it's even more fun. As they say, shared joy is double joy!

Here's what you can do as a family:

• Give everyone a pen and a sheet of paper.
• Set a time limit (say, 5 minutes). Let each person write a list of things that they can give away. The person with the most items gets appreciative claps and a cool sticker.
• Make sure that all the items are in good condition.
• Explain to your child why you are doing this and praise her for agreeing to part with her favorite toy or book.
• Help each other pack all the items and donate them to an NGO.
• Celebrate your family's generosity with scrumptious foods or a jig!

Aruna, mom of 4-year-old Ahan, has made her son comfortable with the idea of giving. When Ahan's friends would visit, we would ask him to give away some of his toys to his friends. This made it easier for us to convince Ahan to donate on a bigger scale. We take him to orphanages, where he himself hands over his things to the children. The children are happy, and our son learns values, she says.

4. DIY Gifts and Cards

Who doesn't like to give and receive gifts? However, this year, as you may not be meeting your friends or extended family, gift exchange may not be possible. Fret not! Why don't you exchange gifts with your immediate family, with the people living with you under the same roof? Again, opt for DIY gifts. Don't tell each other what you're planning. If your child is too young to independently think of a gift, form teams! Team 1: Mother-Son and Team 2: Grandmother-Father and so on.

Some ideas for DIY gifts include bookmarks, hand-painted diyas, cardboard nameboards, tote bags made using old dupattas and coasters made of old newspaper.

5. Set the Mood for Gift Exchange

Put on some relaxing music, light up the house and sit together on the eve of Diwali to exchange your gifts. Make it more enjoyable by playing games like musical chairs or bingo. The winner gets to open his gift first. You can also hold out the wrapped gift for everyone to see, and let others guess what it could be. Once the gifts are opened, let everyone explain how they made the gifts and show appreciation for the ones they received.

6. Plan a Game Night

A gala game night can compensate for the lack of outings and meetings with family and friends. Everyone in the house should try to participate for maximum entertainment!

Some awesome game ideas:

• Laddu-making: If laddu (be it rava, atta or besan laddu) is one of the sweets you are preparing for Diwali, then shaping them into balls can be a competition. Give equal quantities of the laddu mixture in separate bowls to all the participants. Take out a stopwatch and see who makes the maximum number of laddus in say, 5 minutes. Reserve some points for neatness too!
• Guess-the-nut challenge: Take small cups and put an assortment of nuts in each of them- pistas, almonds, cashews and walnuts. Blindfold the participants and get them to feel the nuts and make them guess.
• Origami contest: All participants get color paper, scissors and glue. Now, use your imagination and make colorful paper diyas!
• Playdough challenge: One of you can be the organizer. Take chits of paper and write the names of various objects (e.g., diya, candle and sparklers) on each chit. Then, each participant picks a chit and tries to make that object using playdough. The others try to guess what it is.
• Freeze dance: Play some music and dance to your hearts content. But here's the rule the second the music stops, you freeze. If you continue to dance, then you're out of the game! One person should be in charge of the music. Get set for tons of fun!

7. Home Photo Shoot

Many of us look forward to wearing our new clothes on Diwali, and we love going out, meeting people and showing off our outfits to everyone! That may not be possible this year. But nothing prevents you from dressing up and recording your memories for posterity! So, dress up, pick a nice spot inside your house and do a proper photo shoot.

Quick tips for interesting shots:

• Use bedsheets, preferably white, to create a nice and elegant background for your photos.
• Flowers can make any picture come alive. Use flowers to decorate your wall. You can also throw colorful petals up in the air for a brilliant effect!
• Get a soap bubble blower and let the bubbles fly in the air while clicking your family pics.
• If your house has a balcony or a big window, let that be your shooting spot. Natural light is usually the best for photography, and mornings and evenings (the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset) work well.
• You can also try to recreate some childhood photos of your child. Reconstruct the same setting, costume and expression. Loads of fun guaranteed!

Quirky Ideas for Out-of-the-Box Dress-up:

Dress innovatively or wear something that you usually avoid to make your Diwali photos unique. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Repurpose old sarees and convert them into flowing skirts, kurtis or palazzo pants!
• Pair your favorite kurti with a beautiful skirt.
• Wear your saree with a crop top or a peplum top.
• Try an anarkali with a denim jacket.
• Wear a colorful bandana that goes well with your dress!
• How about a colorful belt with your saree or anarkali gown?
• Convert sarees or dupattas into veshti or pants for men and children.

8. Organize a Storytelling Evening

From the fall of Narakasura and Lord Ramas homecoming to the tale of Govardhan Hill and Hiranyakashipus defeat, Diwali is associated with many legends. To liven up the evening, narrate these glorious stories to your child. Keep some snacks ready, and let your child sit back and enjoy your narration. Use gestures and sounds to help your story come alive!

Raghav, a father of two, shares, last year, we organized a storytelling session in our house for all the children in our apartment. They had a blast! We used their toys to create a mini puppet show with sound effects and actions. This year, we may do it on a smaller scale, with just our children.

9. Legiyam

Diwali legiyam, a homemade medicine that aids digestion, is an important part of the celebrations, especially in South India. Children often give the medicine a miss. But try to make the Diwali legiyam consumption a fun family affair, and your child will most likely have it without a fuss!

Some ideas:

• Sit together and have the medicine in a gulp in attractively decorated spoons.
• Follow up with an activity maybe a joint rangoli or a quick jig.

Legiyam Recipe

Ingredients

• 10g chitharathai (lesser Galangal in English)
• 10g kandathipili (long pepper root)
• 10g arisithipili (long pepper fruit)
• 15g ajwain
• 15g dry ginger
• 20g coriander seeds
• 10g cumin
• 10g powdered pepper
• 10g athimadhuram (licorice root)
• 1tsp ground nutmeg
• 3g jathipathri (mace)
• 5g cinnamon
• 5g cloves
• 10g cardamom
• 10g turmeric powder
• 75g palm jaggery
• 50g ghee
• 100g honey

Method

1. Roast all the ingredients (except palm jaggery, ghee and honey) and then powder them.
2. Heat the palm jaggery in a little water in a pan, till it reaches one-thread* consistency.
3. Add the powdered ingredients to the jaggery and mix well.
4. Add ghee to the mixture.
5. Add honey and mix well.

*Dip a spoon or wooden spatula in the syrup and take it out. Allow it to cool for a few seconds. Next, touch the syrup with a clean finger. Now touch your thumb and finger together and gently, pull apart your finger and your thumb. On pulling apart your finger and your thumb, if a single thread is formed without breaking, the syrup has reached one-thread consistency.

10. Deck up Your House

And finally, spread cheer by decorating your house with diyas, colorful saree curtains, rangoli and flowers. Go in for DIY decor as much as possible, DIY projects are always satisfying and sustainable! From paper lampshades and flower arrangement to rangoli and diya decorations, there's plenty you and your child can do together.

There you go! Diwali can be an exciting affair even without outings and gatherings. Try these ideas out and you'll definitely won’t be disappointed.

Last Updated on July 25, 2025.