7 Diwali Activities for Kids: Fun, Creative & Educational Ideas to Celebrate the Festival of Lights

If you’re looking for the best Diwali activities for kids, you’ve come to the right place! Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is one of the most widely celebrated festivals in the world and offers a wonderful opportunity to introduce children to different cultures, traditions and values through fun, hands-on activities.

Whether you’re celebrating Diwali at home, in school, at a nursery, or as part of a children’s club or community event, there are so many exciting ways to help children learn about the festival while getting creative. From making colourful diya lamps and beautiful Rangoli patterns to reading traditional stories, creating lanterns and enjoying spectacular fireworks displays, these activities encourage creativity, cultural understanding and quality family time.

At Club Hub UK, we love sharing seasonal activity ideas that help families make lasting memories. If you’re looking for local Diwali celebrations, craft workshops or family-friendly events, you can also use the Club Hub directory to discover children’s activities and events taking place near you.

Whether your child is learning about Diwali for the first time or it’s a cherished family tradition, these fun and educational ideas are sure to make this year’s celebration extra special.

In this article:

1. Read stories about the legend of Diwali
2. Make colourful diya lamps
3. Make your own salt dough diya lamps
4. Create beautiful Rangoli designs
5. Visit a fireworks display or enjoy sparklers safely
6. Make homemade Diwali cards
7. Paint and decorate glowing jar lanterns

What is Diwali?

Diwali is one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism. The name is comes from the Sanskrit term dipavali, meaning “row of lights.” The festival generally symbolizes the victory of light over darkness.

When is Diwali?

Diwali typically falls some time between October and November. The Hindu calendar is based on the Moon and so the exact date varies each year.

For many people this five day festival honours Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.

Many children all over the world celebrate Diwali. Therefore Club Hub wanted to share with you some really fun Diwali Activities for Kids that you can get involved with at home.

How people celebrate Diwali?

The main ways people celebrate Diwali include:

• Lamps and lanterns are lit
• Windows and doors are left open to help Lakshmi find her way to homes.
• Spring-cleaning the home
• Wearing new clothes
• Exchanging gifts (sweets and dried fruits)
• Decorating buildings with fancy lights
• Fireworks displays

Let’s have a look about how your children can get involved with some super fun Diwali Activities for Kids.

1. Read Stories About The Legend of Diwali – Diwali Activities for Kids

One of our most simple Diwali Activities for Kids include staying in your PJs and chilling out…Snuggle up with your kids, get cosy, make a little den or reading nook and retell the story of Diwali. Why not go to your local library and see if you can find a Diwali story! Search for a library near you from our directory to see if they are doing anything special for Diwali.

The Story of Rama and Sita is very popular to be told. Rama is the hero of the story of Diwali, rescuing the kidnapped Sita from her captor. And beautiful Sita, kidnapped by the evil Ravana but rescued by Rama and Hanuman. In the story of Diwali, diya are used to light the way for Rama and Sita return home.

2. Make Diya Lamps – Diwali Activities for Kids

Diya lamps were originally oil lamps with a cotton wick dipped?  in ghee. One of our fun Diwali Activities for Kids include making your own colourful versions of Diya Lamps with salt dough or clay. This is a super fun Diwali Kids Activity that can be kept throughout the year. These can be decorated with paint, sequins, glitter and self-adhesive jewels. Once you have made your lantern simply add your  to add tealight, light and watch the sequins glimmer.

3. Salt Dough Recipe & Diwa Lamp Instructions:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup salt
• 1 cup cold water

If you want to prepare more, just increase the number of cups proportionally.

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees
• Mix ingredients together until a ball is formed
• Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Add water, a few tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Knead dough for 10 minutes
• Wrap and let rest for 20 minutes
• Transfer dough to a floured work surface and knead until soft and pliable
• Mould in to a bowl shape and (you can also add little gems in ) you may want to make a few
• Transfer to baking pan
• Bake in the preheated oven until dry and hard, about 2 hours. Allow to cool completely before decorating

4. Decorate Your Home With Rangolis – Diwali Activities for Kids

One of our super fun Diwali Activities for Kids include creating Rangoli designs. Rangoli designs are created at the entrance of the house, not only to welcome the guests that visit, but also the Goddess herself. You could make this pattern with coloured sand, coloured rice or you could draw a Rangoli on a paper plate.

Rangoli paper plate designs are a great Diwali Kids Activity for  preschoolers as they are so simple to “jazz up”. They can use their favourite colours by decorating paper plates with paper pieces, gems, stickers and more, creating a circular pattern that transforms the blank plate. Once made, the paper plates can be hung up to create hanging decorations.

5. Go To A Fireworks Display/ and or Light Sparklers

One of our family Diwali Activities for Kids include going to a fireworks display and/or lighting sparklers. Diwali is all about celebrating light therefore watching fireworks and sparklers light up the night sky is so much fun. (Of course with adult supervision)

Children are fascinated by Fireworks, however for those who struggle with the loud bangs you could try and find somewhere quieter to watch them inside!

Why not take a look at our directory to see if you can find any firework displays near you!

6. Make Diwali Cards – Diwali Activities for Kids

If you or someone you know celebrates Diwali why not make a special Diwali card for them. This is one of the most simple Diwali Activities for Kids to do. It doesn’t take long to set up at all. Use some card/paper and your imagination with whatever crafty stuff you have around the house.

7. Paint / Decorate Jar Lanterns – Diwali Activities for Kids

One of our final Diwali Activities for Kids is to paint a glass jar and pop either an electric candle or tealight inside. If you have any finished jam jars don’t put them in the recycling, reuse them! Wash them out, wait till they are dry and then paint them, or cut and stick on tissue paper. When you pop a candle in it will shine through the glass and light up the room. It’s such a beautiful yet simple activity to do.

Find Diwali Activities Near You with Club Hub UK

Looking to celebrate Diwali beyond your home? Across the UK, many communities host Diwali festivals, family events, craft workshops, cultural performances and children’s activities to mark the Festival of Lights.

Whether you’re looking for a fun family day out, a creative craft session, or a local event where children can learn more about Diwali and its traditions, Club Hub UK makes it easy to discover activities taking place near you.

You can explore:

• Diwali celebrations and family events
• Children’s craft workshops
• Cultural and educational activities
• Family-friendly festivals and community events
• Kids’ clubs and classes throughout the UK

Visit the Club Hub directory to find Diwali activities and kids’ events near you, and make this year’s Festival of Lights a memorable one for the whole family.