With the festival of lights around the corner, everyone’s mind goes back to the favourite time of their childhood, with diyas and decorations welcoming you to every home, as you made the rounds visiting friends and family. This year, the celebrations might be slightly subdued in light of the social distancing guidelines, but there’s no reason to refrain from lighting up your own home in preparation. Give your home a Diwali makeover with these simple tips to bring some much-needed sparkle into your lives.
Diwali or Deepavali as it is known in various parts of the country is a time to get your homes squeaky clean, put on your best garments and prepare for an avalanche of sweet dishes bubbling away in the kitchen. What can you do to ensure your house lives up to the spirit of the season?
The entrance matters
Let your home make the best first impression as you spruce up your entrance with diyas and torans. Diyas refer to the earthen lamps used in most Indian households for the daily pujas and though there are many modern options, the humble earthen lamps hold a special significance in our culture, besides being environment friendly and endlessly reusable. Torans or vandanamalikas are ornamental decorations used on gateways or hung on walls inside houses and nowadays, you can find guides on how to really personalise and make them your own. You could just order one online, but since you have the time this year, make it a fun activity for the whole family to get involved.
Spend some quality family time
As mentioned previously, get the whole family involved in decorating the house. Through the lockdown, many of us got involved in making things with our own hands, with the help of easy online DIY guides. So, get the kids together and watch some videos, get your arts & crafts supplies and go to town! You can use paper cups, old bottles, bangles and other items lying around the house to reduce the costs and make your homes stand out even more. Update the curtains and decorate the cushions with some bright new fabrics and make some festive-themed wall art. Once you see how great your home looks and how personalised it feels, you’ll never resort to buying cheap décor options at the market for any other festival.
Give your home some flower power
No Indian festival is complete without flowers of all shades providing a feast for all senses. Flowers in shades of yellow, red and orange are most preferred for this season and we suggest roses, gerberas and carnations for the best look and fragrance. If you feel like natural flowers are an ecologically unsound option, you could opt for artificial flowers that easily pass for the real things. Even your Rangolis can be decorated with flowers to add to their design, which is yet another activity for the kids to indulge in.
Get the lights right
This season calls for you to ditch all the white lights and opt for the warm, fuzzy glow of yellow lights to complement the diyas. You could also string together a bunch of fairy lights to accentuate the glow with minimal efforts. Place them in jars around the corners or hang them on the walls to truly bring home the spirit of the festival of lights! Just make sure that the fairy lights you purchase are safe to use for extended periods of time, as they include a lot of wiring which could potentially be hazardous.
All in all, make sure you have a wonderful Diwali and spread some sorely missed festive cheer in 2020. From everyone at Bricks & Milestones, we wish you a very Happy Diwali!
