A team rangoli, diya painting, mithai potluck, housie, secret friend and mini giving drive can be achieved around deadlines. This guide will show you how each event can work, how long they will take and costs. We have some ideas for remote teams, a step by step guide and safety/inclusion considerations. See the comparison table below and use this to create a list of events that suits your team size.
Why Your Activities for Diwali in Office Need a Proper Roster?
Diwali usually happens at the end of a busy quarter, so targets are on everyone’s minds, appraisals are coming up and half of your team will be thinking about getting home. A planned Diwali week will give people a reason to take a break from their screens. Employee engagement events should be small, planned and optional.
Having a big lunch isn’t too bad, however they don’t always leave an impression. Having a few small events throughout the week gives everyone the chance to participate without taking a whole day out of their working day. They also won’t feel like they’re being forced to attend.
Quick Comparison of Activities for Diwali in Office
| Activity | Time needed | Group size | Cost | Works best for |
| Team rangoli | 45 to 60 minutes | Teams of 4 to 8 | Low | Mixing departments |
| Diya painting | 45 minutes | Any | Low | Quiet, creative breaks |
| Desk decor contest | 1 to 2 days | Individuals or pods | Low | Open-plan floors |
| Mithai potluck | 60 minutes | Any | Low to medium | Whole-office bonding |
| Housie (tambola) | 45 minutes | 20 or more | Low | Larger teams |
| Diwali quiz | 30 minutes | Teams of 4 | Minimal | Short lunch breaks |
| Secret Diwali Friend | 1 week | Whole office | Low | Cross-team goodwill |
| Giving drive | 1 week | Whole office | Varies | Purpose-led teams |
| Breathing and stretch session | 30 minutes | Any | Medium | Stressed, deadline-heavy teams |
Creative Activities for Diwali in Office That Pull Teams Together
Team Rangoli Competition
Randomly assign teams to ensure mixing between departments. Accounts will be sitting with design, sales with operations and conversations will naturally happen. Give each team a section of the floor to work on using tape. Provide flower petals, coloured rice, chalk and stencils. Allow 40 mins.
Judged by how well they worked as a team, used the materials provided and how they fit with the theme. Using flower petals and natural colours means they will be easier to clean up. Housekeeping will have to clear the lobby that evening.
Diya Painting
Plain clay diyas are very inexpensive. Provide some acrylic paints, brushes, glitter pens and a few examples to use as a reference. Allow 45 mins to paint. The completed diyas can be used to decorate the reception, given to employees to take home or donated to a local charity.
Using LED tealights will mean you don’t need permission from building management to use open flames. Most corporate parks will not allow this.
Decor Contest
This will be very low cost and un-planned. Provide each pod with a small budget to purchase some decorations. Have a panel from another floor judge the decorations. Great if you have a large open plan office and it’s difficult to get everyone together.
Social Activities for Diwali in Office That Run on Food and Fun
Mithai Potluck
This is the easiest event to organise. Ask people to bring along either a homemade dish or their favourite sweet from their region. This is a great way to learn more about your colleagues. Bengalis bringing a sandesh, Gujaratis bringing a ghari and Tamils bringing an adhirasam.
Label all the dishes with the main ingredients. Ensure there are some sugar free options and some Jain friendly options (no onion and garlic).
Diwali Quiz/Housie
A quiz is a great idea for a 30 minute lunch break. Include a mixture of general and regional questions. Why do Bengalis worship Kali on Diwali night? Why does Gujarat celebrate the new year the following day? What does the oil bath tradition mean in Tamil Nadu? Ensure you have mixed teams to keep it friendly.
Housie is great for larger groups. It is also one of the cheapest events. Cheap tickets, one person calling out the numbers and small prizes such as boxes of dry fruit or hand painted diyas.
Themed Dress/Photo Booth
This requires very little effort. It is a good idea to make it optional as not everyone will have festive clothes and some don’t like to dress up.
Teen Patti – If your team play teen patti make sure you use plastic money. Check with your HR policy.
Meaningful Employee Engagement Activities for Diwali
The most memorable activities for Diwali in office are often the quiet ones, where people give something to a colleague or a neighbour.
Secret Diwali Friend
Everyone will draw a name. Throughout the week they will give small anonymous gifts or notes. At the end everyone will find out who they were! Set a maximum amount to spend on each gift to ensure people don’t feel pressurised. Handwritten notes often go down better than expensive items.
Giving Drive
Team up with a local NGO or give sweets, school supplies and warm clothing to local families. Alternatively give your festive decorations to local potters/small vendors. Keep it optional and visible. After the event, tell the team what happened.
Thank You Cards
Create a notice board where people can add short notes to thank someone from another team. Quick to setup in 10 minutes. People usually stop to have a read.
Wellness-Minded Employee Engagement Activities for Diwali
As it is a festive time of year, people will be staying up late, eating heavy foods, and the air quality will be poor. Many teams will feel drained after the week. Add one wellness event to your list, and this will help reduce the slump.
- Breathing and Seating Stretches – A 30-minute session with a trainer will help refresh a tired floor.
- Light Mithai Table – Substitute some of the fried items for dates, figs, nuts, and jaggery-based items.
- Small Plants – Give small indoor plants as a gift. This avoids the firework debate, and the items will last longer than boxed sweets.
- No Fireworks – Fireworks are a fire hazard and can cause issues for people with asthma. Most buildings will not allow them.
Activities for Diwali in Office for Remote and Hybrid Teams
It is easy for people to feel left out if all the photos are from one floor. Try:
- Virtual Rangoli – Get everyone to post a photo of their home rangoli/diya in a shared channel. Vote at the end!
- Online Housie – Use free tools to create tickets. One person will call out the numbers.
- Mithai Delivery – Send a small box to each remote employee.
- Home Show and Tell – 20 mins. People can share a family tradition.
Ensure events are within overlapping times. If your colleagues are sat in Dubai/London check the time difference.
How To Create Your List?
- Define Timeframe and Budget – Decide which working days you’ll have before the holiday. Agree with finance how much you’ll spend per person. Most will go on food and gifts.
- Survey – Create a quick 3 question survey. This will tell you what people really want. Half the office may want a quiz over a dance floor.
- Choose 2-3 events – Don’t have more than one event per day. Be sure to have a creative, social and meaningful event.
- Assign Ownership – Each event should have one person responsible. Have a back up. Usually if it is a joint effort nobody will do it.
- Share 2 Weeks In Advance – Share the schedule, rules and that it is optional.
- Confirm Space and Safety – Confirm you have space on the floor, no open flames and housekeeping can help.
- Ask for Feedback – Ask 2 questions. What did you enjoy? What would you not do again? Save answers for next year.
Safety/Inclusion Considerations
Often Diwali events go wrong due to small considerations.
- Make events optional. Even if your colleagues don’t celebrate Diwali they still deserve a good week.
- Consider dietary requirements. Label any allergies. Separate vegetarian and non vegetarian foods.
- Ensure accessibility. A floor rangoli can be difficult for wheelchair users or those with knee issues. Provide a table top version.
- Consider client work. Ensure you have staggered times so you don’t lose all your support/sales teams.
- Avoid alcohol and money games. This causes HR issues and excludes people.
- Most commercial buildings will need permission for diyas, lights and decorations.
When To Use An Event Coordinator
Most of the ideas can be organised by a coordinator. If you have more than 30/40 people it will start to become an issue. Booking a space, having someone to facilitate and organising will take up working time. This is where companies like Capers Corporate Wellness (a Gurgaon based corporate event management company specialising in team building, leadership and wellness engagements) come in. Particularly if you need your Diwali event to fit in with other employee initiatives. Take a look at their corporate engagement services to get an overall idea of what they can do.
FAQs
What are the best events for Diwali?
A rangoli, diya painting, housie, mithai potluck and secret friend will work for most office sizes. Choose 2-3 to spread throughout the week. All events should be optional.
How much should a company spend on Diwali?
Most will go on food and gifts. Rangoli, quizzes and housie are very inexpensive. These events work well for a small budget.
How long should the events be?
30-60 mins per event works well. A full day event will take people away from client work. Keeping events short will produce a better result.
How can I include people who don’t celebrate?
Make it a seasonal break. Keep everything optional. A quiz, thank you card wall and shared lunch will make it easy for people who don’t celebrate to get involved.
What employee engagement ideas work for remote teams?
A virtual rangoli, online housie and mithai delivery will keep people involved. Ensure events are within overlapping times. Nobody will want to join at midnight.
Conclusion
Choose 2-3 events. Ensure each has an obvious owner. Keep events short. Have a mixture of creative, social and kind events. Ensure they are safe and inclusive. Employee engagement events should be enjoyed by people. Having a tight and well organised list will ensure people enjoy them.
