20 Creative Ideas to Celebrate Diwali at The Workplace!

“At the dawn of light, all darkness disappears.”

― Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!

Diwali may have started as a festival of lights celebrated by Indian Hindus across the globe. However, over the years the festival has become a global phenomenon, thereby becoming a cultural representation of the Indian population. Celebrating Diwali, therefore, isn’t merely a homage to the festival. Instead, it is a crucial employee engagement idea to celebrate Diwali at the workplace. 

The significance of festivals continues to grow as we evolve as multicultural workspaces.

One of the essential elements of Diwali is that it signifies the dominance of good over evil. Following the tradition, Indian households and businesses clean their space to purge them of evil. Keeping the same idea in the center, the Diwali celebration in corporate offices can also serve the same purpose. It can be a way to purify the place of corporate sins such as segregation, lobbyism, and exclusivity. As we celebrate the festival as one giant corporate family, the inclusivity creates a holistic environment opening communication channels. And, what’s more? Those who have never been a part of the festival get to see the spirit of the festival of lights.

Now, you must be thinking that such a celebration is not new. Several companies have already made it their agenda to celebrate Diwali in the office annually. Then, what can make your corporate Diwali stand out? To answer this question, we are not merely discussing how to celebrate Diwali here. The idea transcends beyond celebrating. You can use your theme for Diwali to help the festival regain its old glory. The festival, if celebrated jovially, can be the flagbearer of an inclusive and eco-friendly workplace with a futuristic goal. 

While discussing creative Diwali celebration ideas in the office, we also want you to consider the other side. The number of pollutants released on Diwali night, the dust particle’s stability, the pollutant layer’s height, and the surface wind speed on the following day all affected the concentration of particulate matter, PM2.5, and PM10 last year. The charts grow tremendously every year. Hence, in a growing corporate economy, taking a stand is the need of the hour.

Beat this data and make a difference. As a workplace, you can spread the message more effectively and stand for the cause collectively. Use 25 innovative and creative ideas to celebrate Diwali in the office.

 20 Diwali Celebration Ideas in Organisation

Diwali is an extravaganza affair, not just a celebration with immediate relatives. It’s also a great time to foster interactions at work for many people. For many people, their workplaces are like their sweet summer homes. It is a place where they form great bonds and form new memories. Stressing on the same, workplaces should be places where employees feel more expressive and honest towards their ideas. So, why not employ all this creativity to develop the best Diwali theme in the office? Diwali indeed calls for a lavish celebration even at work!

Let’s put a little more “LIGHT” on the same and discuss 20 creative employee engagement activities for Diwali.

1. Start With the Décor

We have cleaned our houses during Diwali, followed by some decor. Then, why not do the  same activity at work as a team bonding exercise? Come up with a great plan, set the date, and engage all your employees from different niches to come together and decorate the workspace. You can also sit together and brainstorm to create a decoration theme that speaks for your company. This is one of the best ways to celebrate Diwali at the corporate offices.

2. Goodbye Workplace Attires

The unspoken rule of a workplace is to wear somber and chic clothes. The uniformity it gives is well and good, but what about the festive spirit? Diwali is all about self-expression and colors. Play with your clothes and instruct the same to all your employees. Encourage ethnic wear and colorful assembles. Anything that speaks Diwali, lights, and a multicultural workplace would do.

3. An Innovative Puja

Diwali Pujas are famous globally for their uniqueness. You can bank upon the same to make your Diwali theme for the office more inclusive yet innovative. Nobody said the puja has to cater to one faith. 

To each their own!

Make it a point that this puja is open to all, and rather than going for a traditional puja, opt for a corporate one. Plan a puja where you pledge to uphold company values in terms of unity, pay homage to the progress you’ve made, and celebrate. Such an activity leaves a strong and clear message; employ it to your advantage.

4. Sweets Are A Must

Some of us find Diwali synonymous with all the sweets and different food items we get to eat. Why not use the sweet tooth for your company’s benefit? Build a sweets pyramid comprising all kinds of Indian delicacies and let your corporate family feast upon it. And if you are celebrating Diwali virtually, make sure a box full of sweets reaches all your workforce on time. They are a great conversation starter and a face-saver in times of crisis.

5. Folk Art and Music

You have to understand that India is a vast geographical space. With every state or region, we have numerous Diwali traditions. Some families light Diyas, while some opt for a huge bonfire. Some go for the traditional dhaks, while Carnatic Music adorns some Diwali celebrations. Utilize this diversity. Your workforce indeed hails from diverse landscapes, so imbibe this diversity. Ask them to bring forth their culture and folk music with them. Listen to these different forms of music and enjoy the variety. You can also participate in any particular activity their culture celebrates.

6. A Little Story Telling

Diwali has a peculiar story attached to it. Each culture celebrates it differently from the other and there is a different story attached to it. Ask all your employees to go and delve a little deeper to find out their story. Now, when you celebrate Diwali at your office, an impromptu story-telling session won’t hurt. Discuss the similarities and differences of all the narration; you would be amazed to know how strikingly unique each of these stories is.

7. Dance and Celebration

What’s an Indian celebration without a little bit of Bollywood dance and music? Set the stage for all your star performers. Many employees might baffle you with their amazing dancing or singing skills. Diwali is one occasion where you can learn more about their likings and talents through these programs. Encourage everyone present there to participate and enjoy as each employee comes forward and dances their heart out, irrespective of age and hierarchy.

8. Eco-Friendly Handouts

Gifting tradition has always been a part of the corporate Diwali celebration. What used to be Diwali Bonus got replaced by incentives and coupons, but the tradition remains. You can stand out and make a difference here by gifting eco-friendly Diwali goodies. There are a variety of green initiatives that makes amazing giftables for both personal and professional uses. Find out what suits you and gift your employees a gift that speaks volumes.

9. Diwali Themed Tags

Name tags or titles are the latest additions to the celebration game. Thanks to sites like Buzzfeed, people have come up with question tags from weddings to Diwali parties, and never seen before answers.

You can use popular Diwali tags like, “Which Diwali sweet are you?” “What’s your spirit patakha?” etc., to make your party a blast. You can also use some of the inside jokes from the company to make such tags. Try the idea, trust us, this is just as hilarious as it seems on the websites.

10. Themed Photoshoot

Photos are always in. Whatever the festival be, no matter where you are, formal, informal, all else cease to matter. Pictures, or rather selfies, have taken the world by storm. So, why not use them for the greater good?

Set up a photoshoot booth and organize a competition amongst yourselves to get more and more clicks. The pictures are not just a token to remember a great event but also a tremendous connecting link. You can use them all over and, thanks to different apps, employ them for a little bit of PR and branding as well. The hashtag trends, too, can be created using the same. Think about it, it’s fun, creative, and beneficial, all at once.

11. Potluck Party

Diwali is not just the festival of lights but also the celebration of hungry stomachs. Different cultures equate to different foods. Different food means a different adventure that awaits you. Be open to this and throw a potluck party to taste cuisines across the globe. Diversity also comes in the form of our eating habits and the food we eat. Celebrate it by having an open table. A company that eats together sticks together. Follow the mantra and have a dinner comprising all the homecooked meals your employees bring to the table. No team-building exercise can be better than this!

12. Donation Drives

Charity is also a significant aspect of Diwali. When we clean our houses, we often find things that are of no use and end up donating them to the underprivileged. Organize something similar at the workplace and get rid of all the residual and unused items. You can take the initiative to collect such things from others as well. Collaborate with different NGOs and organize a donation drive to do your bit as a part of society.

13. Cleaning and Awareness Programs

As we have discussed before, Diwali is one time of the year when we clean everything around us. Using the same idea, you can also organize cleanups of public spaces and gather people around to raise awareness. Beach Cleanups, Road Cleaning, and No Plastic campaigns have been very successful, especially during the festivities. Make the best use of your time and company values to achieve something great like this.

14. Secret Gift Rotation

Secret Santa may be a little far away, but you can still organize a gift-giving game. Plan an anonymous gift rotation game where people randomly select their recipients. Then, as the time draws closer, sit together as the office gang and guess who gave what and to whom. It is a fun and hilarious game to guess the anonymous giver.

15. Treasure Hunts

Treasure Hunts are perhaps the oldest and most trusted team-building game in corporate spaces. There are legit places where you pay to go on a trail as a group and enjoy your time. However, we would suggest coming up with a treasure hunt of your own within the confines of your office. This unites you as a team and gives you an opportunity to go around and about your office building as a team. On the other hand, a little healthy competition also wouldn’t hurt.

16. Customized Cubicles

Cubicles are personalized spaces that allow a safe window for all employees. It is also the space where they feel most productive and at ease. So, organizing a customized cubicle game can be helpful. Allow them to take creative liberties within their space. However, ensure that each of these cubicles follows the Diwali theme for the corporate. It will give their decor and idea a unique touch.

17. Dressing Others

Dressing yourself is something that we do all year round for all festivities. Try something different by giving your employees a chance to dress their comrades or bosses. Make a random selection and assign each person a dress and another individual. Let them dress each other up and make the competition more exciting by giving it a time crunch.

18. Family Affair

Inviting your extended family is a Diwali tradition. Extend the same tradition a little further. Invite your extended workforce, like helpers, pantry staff, etc. You can make it a tradition free of all staff hierarchy where each department comes together like a huge family and enjoy together. Giving gifts to all your helpers also can be a great personal touch.

19. A Little Carnival

Rarely do we see a corporation having a yard sale or a carnival of any type. You can use Diwali as an excuse to organize one. Promote ecological concerns and arrange a green carnival free of plastics with things made at home. You can have games with prizes, food casseroles from home, and different toys and items handmade by children of the employees.

20. Diwali-Themed Pictionary

Pictionary is a great start to all kinds of Diwali games. It is also one of the best employee engagement activities for Diwali, where you can impart values like team building, creativity, or on-spot thinking. Divide the employees into different teams and play the game. You can divide them based on departments and see the competition rising.

 Parting Remarks

It should go without saying that enjoyable employee engagement ideas for Diwali at work fosters team spirit. Numerous organizations are embracing cutting-edge practices like donating, smorgasbord lunches, public demonstrations, selfie contests, etc., to promote a sense of community and collaboration. In a broader sense, the festival stands for this unity and creativity. However, each corporation has its own way of making the best of the festivities. Employing ideas solely relies on how you utilize these ideas – optimize them as per your needs and see the magic unfold. The festival’s spirit will take over, leaving you with a united front and a next year’s Diwali celebration to plan.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

What are some ideas to celebrate Diwali virtually?

To celebrate Diwali virtually, you can organize different activities and games online. There are various virtual games, such as  Tambola, Solitaire, etc., that you can play with the team. You can also participate in customized games organized by the company.

Why do we celebrate Diwali in corporate offices?

Corporate Diwali is a great way to celebrate workplace unity and promise team spirit. It also helps build a functional group of working professionals and gives them a chance to know each other properly outside of the professional domain.

What are some creative ways to celebrate Diwali in the office?

Some of the creative ways to celebrate Diwali in the office:

• Donation drives
• Smorgasbord lunches
• Public demonstrations and drives
• Selfie contests
• And much more!

Why do we celebrate Diwali in the office?

Celebrating Diwali in the office has many benefits. It allows you to be a part of the company in all senses. It further promotes team-building, creativity quotient, and overall employee growth.

How do we plan employee engagement activities during Diwali?

The purpose of employee engagement activities during Diwali is to boost the company morale and inculcate unity and inclusivity among the employees. As a company, it unites different niches and upholds the spirit of celebration.