‘Bright lights,’ ‘love,’ ‘comfort Indian food’ and ‘thoughtful gifts’ are some of the words that come to my mind when I think of Diwali, the very widely celebrated Indian Festival of Lights. Anyone who celebrates has personal and beautiful traditions associated with Diwali, and many more such traditions are created every year. A lot of these traditions have been followed throughout the years since olden times. One of the new trends is that of having Diwali parties with your loved ones!
People meet at one place, usually someone’s rooftop, all decked up in ethnic wear to enjoy food, drink, play cards, and share love and joy. Diwali parties are highly popular, from school-going teens to their grandparents, with every age group beginning 10 days before Diwali. Typically celebrated with food, drinks, and cards by so many people, this pattern has been associated with these get-togethers. So let me help you break some of the monotony and bring to you some ideas about bringing some dynamic new elements to your Diwali season this year!
Indian Secret Santa
We have all been a part of or at least heard of having secret Santa celebrations within our group of friends during Christmas time. Why not bring this one to Diwali as well? Call up your friends a few days before the party and make a random selection of who gets to be whose “Secret Diwali Santa.” Everyone can buy super fun Diwali-related gifts for their pick. On the day of the party, everyone can sit together and exchange those gifts, taking turns opening theirs and just having a gala time seeing who got what! The only rule is that it has to be something you would give as a Diwali gift :)-
CHILDHOOD GAMES
Another vivacious idea is to go down memory lane and bring back games like Dancing on Newspapers, Musical Chairs, and Dance and Statue. The vibes all around are already very wholesome during Diwali season and bringing these back will give everyone a fantastic laugh and of course, sweet memories. I mean, what could be more fun than two people fully dressed in Indian outfits dancing on a piece of newspaper getting smaller every time the music stops, right?
P.S. Being all decked up adds a really fun element to the game ;)
BYOD (Bring Your Own Decoration)
Do a decor potluck for Diwali! One thing I believe we all love about this festival is the vibrant decorations in everyone’s houses. So for this party, ask everyone member to bring one piece of decoration to the venue. From the pool of decorative elements, everyone puts them together, deciding where and how to decorate the place. It could be an amazing activity to begin the party with and click loads of pictures continuing onto a long night of fun!
A QUIRKY DIY PARTY
Preparing for Diwali includes painting diyas (earthen lanterns), making rangolis (colourful powder designs) and bandhanvaars (handcrafted doorframe hangings), and a lot more do-it-yourself things. It is about the effort everyone puts in to prepare for a day of celebration and good vibes. For the party also it could be a great bonding experience to sit together and do such activities. It could be a Diwali version of painting dates that are super popular these days. Have a unique diya painting hour or make bandhanvaars together in pairs or teams. A twist could be to make it competitive by having someone judge the best ideas!
So there we have it, some personally curated ideas to add that extra spark to your Diwali bashes this season. Coming together with family and friends or even random strangers but with the festive vibe in the air is something else and with or without these elements will still be just as special!
So a joyous and wholesome Diwali to anyone reading this and hopefully trying out these ideas will bring you some more fun :)