Diwali gift ideas for family and friends
WorldRemit has a huge number of customers who celebrate Diwali in a whole host of ways. But, of course, giving gifts at Diwali is very high on the agenda.
Many people, who can’t be there to celebrate with their loved ones, send money home with WorldRemit’s fast, secure and low cost money transfer service. Others send Diwali gifts by post or online, or give gifts to their friends and family face to face. If you’re looking for some inspiration on what to give at Diwali, then you’re in luck. In this article, we’ve put together some great gifting ideas - gifts that show you love and care for those you’re treating.
Table of contents
WorldRemit Content Team
• 4 mins read • Updated
What is Diwali?
Diwali, or the Festival of Light, is a Hindu festival that symbolises light winning over darkness, good triumphing over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. While it’s primarily a Hindu festival at the start of the Hindu New Year, it’s also celebrated by more than one billion people from a number of faiths across countries such as; India, Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, and Fiji.
The five-day festivities are a time of prayer, feasts, fireworks, gatherings and gift giving, both charitable (danya) and to family and friends. It’s also known as Deepavali, meaning row of lights.
Diwali gift ideas for the family
At many festivals, there’s a tradition of gift-giving, and Diwali is no exception. As it’s known as the festival of prosperity, love and appreciation, exchanging gifts denotes the expression of companionship and fellowship. Sending spiritual Diwali gifts also expresses one’s prayer for the wellbeing and prosperity of the receiver. Here are some ideas for more intimate gifts you may want to send to your family.
1. Silver - all that glitters is not gold
The giving of silver is traditional at most Indian festivals, but even more so at Diwali. Why not give a silver thali (serving plate) for Lakshmi puja (a diwali ritual), or a set of silver diyas, or katoris (that can be used to serve dry fruits and nuts)? You could also give silver coins at Diwali to bring wealth and prosperity to your loved ones.
2. Delicious gifts - food hampers
As Diwali is a time for feasting, a food hamper makes a very welcome gift. It’s also easy to send one from afar. Taking your loved ones culinary likes and dislikes into account, you can choose between fruit, sweets, chocolates, condiments or nut hampers - or a combination of them all. You can even add an extra gift like flowers, or a photo frame.
3. The art of giving
At Diwali, homes are cleaned, decorated and made to look beautiful. And there’s no better way to contribute to that than by gifting a piece of art like Rangoli. Rangoli is displayed in almost every house on Diwali to attract the goddess of money – Mata Laxmi. You’ll find a lovely piece of Rangoli to send from Gift Across India. You can also send wall paintings, decorative lights and lanterns.
4. Light up their lives
People spread positivity and invite the goddess Lahshimi into their home by lighting lamps and diyas during Diwali. This celebrates the idea that every time you're on a dark path in life - lights will guide you home. So why not add to the positivity and gift diyas, lamps and candles at Diwali?
From handmade diyas and candles to factory-made ones, each will bring a light and cheer to your family. Diyas are made from different materials as well, ranging from clay to bronze, copper, brass, silver, and even gold. So, they make for beautiful decorations as well.
5. Culinary gifts
Giving gifts that are actually useful to your family is always a winner. Crockery and cookware are always so well-received at Diwali when the kitchen is seeing even more action than usual. Consider dinner sets, casseroles and utensils. You may even want to check out some more unique gifts like rice cookers.
Diwali gift ideas for friends
Let’s not forget our friends at Diwali - here are a few gift ideas for them that show thought and care.
6. Give them what they want with gift cards
Gift cards are a bit of a win-win for both giver and receiver. For the giver, it can really save time, money, and energy especially in the run up to the festivals. There’s no need to rush from one shop to the next looking for gifts.
Better still - your friends can choose exactly what they want with gift vouchers from Amazon and the like. If you are looking for the best Diwali gift cards then you should consider paying a visit to Gyftr.com.
7. Gift something useful - stationery kits
Stationery is always a very welcome gift and extremely useful for the recipients. They are the perfect gift for friends, students and employees (if you have them) this Diwali. Choose from letter writing kits, cards, files, folders, journals, desk organisers, and planners - so your friends can organise their lives even better and stay on top of paperwork. Who knows they may use some of it to write you a ‘thank you’ letter.
8. Delight then with some jewellery
At Diwali, your friends always want to look their finest. So why not gift them some lovely jewellery to complete their outfits? It needn’t be expensive real jewels - imitation jewellery can be really well-designed and beautiful these days. Choose from traditional or party wear necklace, earrings, bracelets, rings, anklets and ear cuffs. Check out some great gifting sites like Giftalove
10. Personalised gifts for your besties
When it comes to your very best friends, you can have a little bit of fun without breaking the bank. Have a look for some mugs and tee-shirts with personalised messages - possibly an in-joke between the two of you. Or, you could be more touching and send a best friend photo gift. This can be a custom picture frame, full-size canvas, or matching personalised best friend keychains displaying your shared smiles and memories. Best friends usually have some great photos together – and this is the perfect way to show you cherish them.
Send money abroad as a Diwali gift with WorldRemit
Of course, one of the best ways to gift someone at Diwali is to send them money with WorldRemit. Whether you’re sending money to Nepal or any other country that celebrates Diwali, you can enjoy a fast, low cost and secure money transfer service with us. Best of all, your first three transfers will be fee-free with code 3FREE.
We hope you enjoyed this article. If you found it of interest, you may well be interested in these articles, too:
The contents of this blog post do not constitute legal or financial advice and are provided for general information purposes only. If you require specific legal and / or financial advice, you should contact a specialist lawyer or financial advisor. Information true at time of publishing.
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