On Nov. 12, 2023, Diwali — a major Indian holiday featuring lights, fireworks, gifts and feasts — begins.
What is Diwali?
Diwali, which is also called Divali or Deepavali, is one of the major holidays in India, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. It is a festival of lights, symbolizing the victory of light over darkness, that typically is celebrated over five days.
Diwali also marks a beginning, so preparations for and gifts celebrating this holiday can have a new year feel to them. Diwali is a time to don your best clothes, gather for meals with friends and family, and exchange gifts. Lights, fireworks and colorful diyas — oil lamps made from clay that represent enlightenment, knowledge and wisdom — are prominent parts of the celebration.
Traditional gift ideas often include nuts, sweets and anything gold. Gold jewelry and coins are popular gifts, but anything in gold, especially anything that would make the recipient’s new year more prosperous and successful, fits the bill. Keeping these traditions in mind, we rounded up the best Diwali gifts to give to your friends and family this year.
Diyas are small lamps symbolizing goodness and purity that are lit on Diwali to drive out darkness and welcome in light. Traditional diyas were lit using ghee, but in modern times tea lights are used as diyas for Diwali celebrations.
Editor-favorite kitchen brand Our Place has its own Diwali collection, complete with this fry set with a special spoon designed by Lekha founder Trishala Bhansali, a beautiful wavy cooling rack designed by artist Manjit Thapp and two clay diyas made in India.
From the brand Maalicious, which works with women artisans in India, this gorgeous 24-karat gold-plated bracelet features tiny elephants, which symbolize health and happiness. More of that this year, please.
Talk about an ice cream party. From New York City-based egg-free ice cream shop Malai Ice Cream, this Diwali celebration pack is filled with flavors inspired by the founder’s childhood. The desserts include pints of ice cream flavored with warm spices and aromatic flavors like ginger, nutmeg, cardamom and saffron.
Kulture Khazana was founded by Akruti Babaria as a way to share cultural stories with families after the birth of her son. She developed a product line that helps families make heritage and culture accessible and shareable, including this Diwali Celebration Kit that she says is “a Diwali party in a box!”
Babaria created this Rangoli puzzle because, she explains, “The product was born out of my need to create Rangolis for festivals, but the homes and weather weren’t conducive to traditional powder Rangolis.”
For those seeking a religious Diwali gift, this handmade Bhagwan is a versatile charm that can be displayed in cars or on backpacks, or used as a gift tag.
This book, written by journalist and activist Raakhee Mirchandani, shares Diwali traditions through the eyes of a little girl named Devi. A charming holiday story following one girl’s family as they celebrate their Diwali traditions with the ones they love.
Reviewers love this Desi word game for keeping spirits high during their Diwali parties. Plus, it's perfect for everyone in your family to play, no matter their age.
Gazal Kothari’s interest in handcrafted jewelry led her to start her own line of fashion jewelry called Hyperbole Accessories, which features jewelry like these pink lotus earrings, hand-painted by artisans in India.
Natural, clean and plant-based formulations like these are a staple in ayurvedic skin care regimens dating back thousands of years. For every purchase, Soma Ayurvedic donates a set of school supplies to deserving children in orphanages and a hygiene kit to women who don’t have access to these necessities.
If you’re looking for a way to keep kids occupied at a family Diwali party, check out this Festival of Lights Bingo set. The classic game has been reimagined for the holiday with Happy Diwali playing cards and related words instead of numbers.
Tea is a staple in Indian households, and this colorful tea latte kit makes a really fun turn on traditional gifts of tea that’s absolutely perfect for Diwali with its focus on color.
This award-winning, lightweight and brightening facial serum for all skin types was made by Michelle Ranavat, a first-generation Indian American.
Because gold is associated with Diwali, picking up on the gold theme is an easy way to select gifts. We love this blinged-out personalized water bottle in black and gold.
As with sweets, nuts are a staple of Diwali celebrations, and they make great gifts — especially for a host or hostess. This gift set includes 4 ounces each of roasted almonds, pistachios, jumbo cashews, pecans and mixed nuts, bundled in a reusable wood crate.
Fire is another way to incorporate the color gold and lights into a modern Diwali celebration, like this cast-iron fire bowl in bronze.
These flame color changers are a fun way to add extra flair to a night around the fire, making the gathering feel extra festive — the perfect thing for Diwali!
Nuts are a traditional Diwali gift, so looking for items that complement or elevate serving and eating nuts is a surprising way to approach gifting. We love this pistachio server, which is stylish and functional.
Journals are wonderful gifts for any occasion, and we like this gold blank journal for jotting down goals and wishes for the new year.
If you’ll be attending a Diwali party, packing homemade (or store-bought, we won’t tell) sweets in a pretty gold serving bowl is a pretty way to elevate a gift of food.
For people who know their way around the kitchen, making homemade sweets is a great way to approach Diwali gift-giving. These sweets boxes come in three sizes and a choice of red, green, pink, cream or maroon, and feature a windowpane on the lid so recipients can see what they’re getting.
Indian sweets like laddus, jalebis and burfi are traditional choices, but any sweets are an acceptable Diwali gift. This gift box has 36 dark, milk and white chocolates with fillings that include ganache, praline, caramel and even some crunchy nuts, which are also a Diwali tradition.
For people who like it hot, a sampler of spiced nuts is a great gift idea. This gift set includes barbecue peanuts, buffalo hot peanuts, everything-seasoned mixed nuts, honey sriracha almonds, sweet 'n' spicy snack mix and traditional mixed nuts.
This gold spice box, crafted in India, comes with seven small bowls and is a beautiful (not to mention practical) way to store your favorite spices.
Gold bangles are a staple of Indian women’s accessories wardrobe. This set of two gold-coated bangles from Hey Harper can be worn together or individually.
While gifts of gold are traditional, there are lots of ways to flip tradition on its head when it comes to selecting Diwali presents, like these gold-accented Stan Smiths.
Another fun way to incorporate gold themes into gift-giving is to choose items for the home in gold tones. This super-luxe 10-piece bar tool set, which comes with a bamboo stand to hold all the pieces when not in use, is perfect for the aspiring home mixologist.
Candles are a great gift idea for any occasion, and Diwali is no exception —?it’s a festival of lights, after all! This gold-glitter candle comes in two sizes: a small 8-ounce candle with a 40-hour burn time and a 19-ounce size with an 85-hour burn time, both in the beloved sugared citrus and tropical fruit Volcano scent.
When it comes to thoughtful gift-giving, we love an “add-on” present — something small that one typically wouldn’t buy for oneself that elevates a gift. This set of three gold candle accessories includes a candle wick trimmer, a candle dipper and a candle snuffer.
Kitchen shears are such a useful thing to own, but they’re a bit on the practical side to give as a gift — unless you elevate the form by picking a luxe-looking style. These gold-handled kitchen shears fit the bill perfectly.
