Bangles to Make
Here are some suggestions for making bangles with your children - perfect for an Indian theme or perhaps a girl's slumber party?
Diwali Crafts
Diwali is a joyful celebration and many of its symbols - candles and lights, rangoli, flowers and fireworks - make ideal subjects for exploration with your children through crafts such as these below.
Beaded Candle Holder
When you light a tea light in this pretty beaded candle holder, no-one will guess that it is a recycled glass jar! Use pretty glass or plastic beads for a lovely stained-glass effect.
Catherine Wheel Craft
Here's a fun paper plate craft idea for toddlers and younger children on Bonfire Night (or any fireworks themed holiday). Be prepared to get a little sticky!
Chalk Rangoli
Even the youngest children will enjoy creating their own chalk rangoli designs. First, use a white chalk to outline your patterns, or to draw dots to form a grid. Then use coloured chalks or poster paint to fill in the design.
Chocolate Sparklers
Here is an original recipe for "fireworks" occasions such as Bonfire Night, Fourth of July and Canada Day.
You will need:
Coloured Sand Rangoli
You may be able to buy coloured rice for your rangoli projects. If not, coloured sand (available from craft stores) makes a good alternative. You can also die your own coloured salt, by simply mixing cheap table salt with food colouring and then spreading it out to dry.
Crayon Etching Fireworks Picture
Here is a fun idea for an unusual fireworks picture using wax crayons. Younger children love to reveal the different colours as they scrape off the top, black layer.
Diwali Door Hanging
At Diwali it is traditional to hang an embroidered door hanging, or toran, above doorways to welcome visitors and hopefully the Goddess of Fortune Lakshmi to your home. Make your own simple version from paper with the help of our printables.
Diya Collage Card
Using simple collage techniques and bright-coloured scraps of fabric, paper and card, kids can make this beautiful Diya collage card for Diwali. Of course you could make a bigger version to display during this Hindu festival, too.
Diya Craft
This is a simple clay craft idea which children enjoy because it is fast and the results can be used quickly! You could of course adapt this idea to give as a gift.
Diya Fuse Bead Pattern
Choose bright pinks, purples, greens, reds, oranges and yellows for this diya design, which is fun to make for Diwali. The flame is a little fragile so be very careful when removing the finished creation from your peg board. We used a large square peg board for this design.
Diya Mobile
This simple diya mobile will look pretty hung in the entrance or window during the Diwali Festival of Lights. Use bright colours and different textures so that your mobile really catches the light!
Diya Template
This useful diya template makes it so simple to decorate the walls or boards or fridge! Just cut the shapes out from brightly coloured paper or card and then decorate with stickers, "jewels", braid, glitter ... whatever you have to hand!
Drawing Pin Decorative Candle
Children will really enjoy creating this pretty drawing pin decorative candle - it is very satisfying to push the pins in, and even the youngest children can produce a really good effect.
Fireworks Paintings
Kids will really enjoy making these glittery fireworks paintings (but please make sure that the kids, and the house, is well covered up first!)
Flower Garland
In Hawaii they welcome visitors with a garland of fresh flowers, or a lei. And in certain parts of India it is customary to wear a necklace of fresh flowers at Diwali, the festival of lights. Why not try our paper flower garland instead?
Glass Painted Candle Holder
Recycle some little glass jars into these sparkling glass painted candle holders! Quick and easy for kids to do - and very special.
Glittery Fireworks
This Bonfire Night craft is a little messy, but it really captures the excitement of a sky filled up with fireworks, and even the youngest children can make a spectacular picture.
Indian Elephant Fuse Bead Pattern
This gorgeous Indian elephant is dressed in typical Indian fashion, and he's fun to make out of fuse beads.
Kitchen Foil Sparklers
These kitchen foil sparklers are fun to make and mould and make a satisfying "sparkly" noise when shaken! But be warned, they won't stand up to too much shaking...
Make a Basket
This paper basket craft can be adapted and decorated for almost any occasion and made by any age of child (with help as appropriate).
Make a Rangoli 1
This pretty design can be the base of a rangoli collage using rice, glitter, chalk or petals - or even a playdough mat! It might also be fun to colour it in and then embellish the design with glitter glue, gold pens etc.
Make a Rangoli 2
Use coloured sand, glitter, rice, petals, confetti - whatever you have at hand - to make a pretty rangoli design using this template as inspiration. Of course you could just colour in the design and embellish as you do. You could even use playdough to make the rangoli...
Outdoor Rangoli
Sarah and Jack really enjoyed this outdoor rangoli craft, and I think you will agree that the result was lovely to look at.
Painted Candle Craft
We made our candle to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, but you could make Christmas or Halloween candles in exactly the same way. They would also make a lovely hand made gift.
Rangoli Fuse Bead Pattern 1
Here is an original rangoli design that your children can create for your Diwali celebrations. This pretty design is intended to have a lacy effect, which is why we haven’t filled all the gaps. Be very careful when you remove it from the pegboard!
Rangoli Fuse Bead Pattern 2
Make a pretty circular rangoli for Diwali with your fuse bead collection, using your brightest and prettiest colours. We’ve put a gold star in the centre, tipped with blue jewels!
Ribbon Bangle
Refer to our main bangle page for instructions on making the basic bangle.
You will need:
Sparkly Chalk Fireworks Picture
This chalk fireworks picture has a secret ingredient to add the sparkle - sugar syrup!
You will need:
Tea Light Holder
This pretty little candle holder makes a sweet little gift for kids to make, and is a perfect craft for Diwali too.
You will need:
More Crafty Ideas for Diwali
More Diwali Activities
There's a lovely, magical story associated with Diwali. We have a range of printables and colouring pages which you can use for telling and retelling the story, including some new simpler colouring pages for younger children this year.
The Story of Diwali