DIY Diwali: Six projects to make your stay-at-home festival a hit

Staying at home this Diwali and wondering how to celebrate? Safety during the pandemic is of utmost importance, but that doesn’t mean you will miss out on the merriment.

Here are some do-it-yourself projects you can try out with your family and friends to make the festival of lights this year fun and memorable.

Paint a diya

The boring diya bought from the market can turn magical right before your eyes. Bring out your creative streak by painting traditional or quirky designs on them.

Things you need: Acrylic paint, glitter and earthen diyas.

How to make: Cover the diyas in solid colours and then draw designs on them with some more paint or glitter. The diya is your canvas; you can paint it any way you want!

Henna on your candle

If candles are more your way of spreading light, jazz up the store-bought ones with some henna design. This unique decoration is sure to catch the eye and can be a lovely gift too.

Things you need: Plain candles with a broad diameter, henna powder, glue and empty mehendi cones.

How to make: Take a bowl and mix some glue with an equal amount of water. Put in the henna powder and mix till thick. Fill this mixture into a cone and seal it well. Cut the tip of the cone to make a small hole and squeeze out the mixture directly onto the candle to make the design. Allow it to dry before lighting the candle.

Rangoli with a twist

Rangoli with colours and flowers has always been a Diwali tradition. You can make your rangoli stand out by using wool instead.

Things you need: Different coloured woollen balls, gum and a big white paper board

How to make: Draw your design on the white paper board and stick the wool yarn along the lines. You can use colours or more wool to fill out the rangoli.

Light up your spare bottles

No Diwali is complete without twinkling fairy lights. Here’s your chance to hold those lights in a bottle and make a quirky decoration for your living room this festival.
Things you need: Transparent glass bottles, battery-operated lights and glass paint.

How to make: Draw different patterns on the glass bottles and colour them with glass paint. Insert the fairy lights inside. The lights will reflect the different-coloured glass and make for a dazzling Diwali.

Diwali photo booth

All those new clothes and nowhere to go? Well, create your own photo booth at home and pose in your new attire. Don’t forget to post on Insta!

Things you need: A few fairy lights, some Diwali props, foil décor curtain and a few long nylon ropes

How to make: Select an empty wall or window as the backdrop. Make sure there is an electric plug point nearby. Hang two ropes one after the other horizontally. On the first rope, hang your foil décor curtain and on the second, twist your fairy light. The light will give your foil curtain a glow-in-the-dark effect. You can buy several photo props from online stores and add as many décor items as you want. Garlands can also be used.

Kaju katli, laddoos and kalakand — what’s Diwali without a sweet treat? Here’s a no-oven, no-gas kalakand recipe to indulge your sweet tooth this Diwali.

Things you need: Cottage cheese (500 grams), condensed milk (250-300 grams), milk powder (2-3 tablespoons), cardamom powder (5 grams), saffron (2-3 strands) and almonds (50 grams)

How to make: Strain the cottage cheese in a clean cotton cloth till all the water drains out. Mix the cottage cheese with the cardamom powder, milk powder and the condensed milk to make a soft dough. Add the saffron strands to a tablespoon of milk and let it steep till the milk takes on the colour of kesar; once it does, pour it onto the dough. Knead the dough gently, then spread evenly onto a square tray greased with ghee to refrigerate for 30 minutes. Half the almonds and set aside in the meantime. Take the tray out, cut your kalakand into even squares and garnish with a halved almond. The sweet treat is ready to be served!