Diwali Activities for Kids: 11 Easy Ideas + Printable Diwali Worksheets

Diwali holidays are full of light, sweets and visitors — and also a lot of “Mumma, I’m bored!” moments while the grown-ups clean, cook and shop. The good news: children don’t need screens or expensive kits to have fun. A few diyas, some paper, crayons and a little imagination go a long way.

Here are easy, low-cost Diwali activities for kids aged 3–8, sorted by type, plus printable worksheets you can use when you need ten quiet minutes.

Diwali craft activities

1. Paint your own diyas

Buy plain clay diyas from the local market and let children paint them with poster colours or acrylics. Add dots with an earbud, or stick on a few sequins. Younger children can just cover the diya in one bright colour — it still looks lovely lit up. An adult should always handle the lighting.

2. Make a paper lantern (akash kandil)

Fold a sheet of A4 paper in half lengthwise, cut slits from the fold (stopping 2 cm from the edge), open it, roll it into a tube and staple. Add a strip handle on top. Children aged 5+ can do most of it themselves; younger ones can decorate the paper before an adult cuts it.

3. Design a Diwali greeting card

Fold a card, draw a diya or rangoli on the front and write “Happy Diwali” inside. It’s great writing practice — and grandparents treasure handmade cards far more than forwarded messages.

4. Make a toran from paper leaves

Cut mango-leaf shapes from green paper and marigold “flowers” from orange tissue, then tape them onto a string. Hang it on the door or the study table.

Rangoli activities for kids

5. Chalk rangoli on the floor or balcony

Draw a simple circle and petals with chalk, then let children fill each section with a different colour of rangoli powder, rice or flower petals. Chalk is easy to clean up later.

6. Rangoli on paper

If floor space is short, a paper rangoli works just as well. Children can colour a printed rangoli design, or draw half a pattern and try to make the other half match — a sneaky symmetry lesson.

7. Dot-grid rangoli

Traditional kolam and rangoli designs often start from a grid of dots. Make a 5×5 grid of dots on paper and let your child join them into patterns. It builds pencil control and spatial thinking.

Learning activities with a Diwali twist

8. Diwali colouring pages

Colouring is the easiest quiet-time activity during a busy festival. Big, simple outlines — a diya, a lantern, a box of sweets — work best for little hands.

9. Diwali maze and puzzles

Mazes (“help Diya carry the diya to the rangoli”), dot-to-dots and match-the-shadow puzzles keep older children busy while building problem-solving and pencil control.

See the Diwali Activity Pack – ₹99

Kindness activities: what Diwali is really about

10. A Diwali kindness checklist

Make a list with your child and tick things off through the week:

• Help clean one room or cupboard
• Share a box of sweets with a neighbour or the building guard
• Make a card for grandparents
• Donate one toy or book you no longer use
• Keep pets indoors and calm during loud noise

11. Celebrate with lights, not loud bangs

Many families now prefer a quieter, cleaner Diwali. Talk to children about how noise and smoke affect animals, babies and elderly people, and make diyas, fairy lights and lanterns the stars of the evening.

Safety tips for a happy Diwali with kids

• Keep lit diyas and candles out of reach and never leave them unattended.
• Choose cotton clothes over synthetic ones near flames.
• Keep a bucket of water or sand nearby.
• Store rangoli colours and craft supplies away from very young children who might put them in their mouths.

Printable Diwali worksheets for kids

If you’d like everything in one place, our Tiny Brain Snacks: Diwali Activity Pack has 30 printable A4 pages for ages 3–8, with each activity marked Easy or Medium:

• 6 colouring pages (diya, rangoli, akash kandil, sweets box, family lighting diyas, a gentle night sky)
• Colour-by-number rangoli and rangoli symmetry on a dot grid
• Count the diyas, adding diyas and sharing sweets maths
• Patterns, dot-to-dot, maze, match the shadow, spot the difference and a word search
• Diwali word tracing and writing, a greeting card and a paper lantern craft
• A kindness checklist, answer keys, a 10-day holiday tracker and a “Diwali Star” certificate

Get the Diwali Activity Pack – ₹99

Want more for the holidays? Try our Colouring & Mazes Fun Pack, the Hindi Varnamala tracing pack, or get every pack in the Complete Worksheet Library. For everyday practice, see our guides to the LKG syllabus and UKG worksheets.

FAQs: Diwali activities for kids

What are some easy Diwali activities for preschoolers?

Painting clay diyas, colouring a big diya or lantern picture, filling a chalk rangoli with rice or petals, and counting diyas are all simple, safe activities for 3–5 year olds.

How can I explain Diwali to young children?

Keep it simple: Diwali is the festival of lights, when families clean and decorate their homes, light diyas, make rangoli, share sweets and spend time together. Each family celebrates in its own way.

How can kids celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali?

Use clay diyas, make paper lanterns and flower or rice rangolis, reuse gift wrap, and choose lights instead of loud crackers to protect animals and air quality.

Are there printable Diwali worksheets for kids?

Yes. Our Diwali Activity Pack has 30 printable A4 pages for ages 3–8 with colouring, maths, puzzles, writing and crafts, plus answer keys and a certificate.