Diwali Decorating Ideas | Easy&Modern

I'm sitting here trying to work on a design for the Becky Higgin's Holiday Card contest.  So of course I am looking at old pictures and just generally getting nothing done.

I realize that I have yet to decorate for actual Diwali this year, even though it is only ten days away.  We still have bats and cobwebs hanging up all over the place from Avi's Halloween Dress Rehearsal.

All I really need to do though is take those down and put away the candy bar I set up.  I have a lot of decorations that I made from years past that are just waiting to be hung.  If I slather myself in Off I can even go outside and attempt another chalk rangoli on our patio.  You know we have no shortage of chalk.

If you are like me and woefully behind, don't worry!  Diwali decorations are great because they can be left up all winter.  So even if you are late, you still have plenty of time to enjoy them.  And, to help you out, here are some of my favorite easy&modern decorating ideas.

Chalk Rangoli| If you live in America, getting access to real rangoli powder can be challenge.  Even if you do live really super close to an Indian store (ahem, cough), you might have no idea how to use said powder.  I am utterly clueless with it.  Also, how am I supposed to keep the kids from messing it up?
This is why I like chalk.  It is easy, accessible and won't get messed up when kids walk on it.  I try to find a part of our patio that is shielded from the rain, though it doesn't stand up that well to big downpours.  I think a lot of houses have a shielded entryway where this would work as well. 

Flower Rangoli| Another fun rangoli to make is a flower rangoli.  The good thing about these is that a few flowers go a long way.  I made this one for a friend's Diwali party and it held up really well all night.  

Paper flower garlands| I love all of the Martha Stewart crepe paper flower tutorials.  In orange and pink I think they make really nice Diwali decor as well.  Most of the flowers I made were using the tissue paper pom-pom flowers. I made shaped crepe paper flowers as well.  These are a bit more time intensive so I didn't make quite as many, ha! We packed these loosely in boxes for the move and they held up really, really well. 

Paper Lanterns and Twinkle Lights| I added some of these last year, along with big bulb lights and silver tinsel.  Martha Stewart has a paper lantern kit available at most craft stores.  Bring your 40% off coupon and it's not a bad deal. 

Mini Marquee Letters| I made these mini marquee letters last year as well after reading a tutorial at Oh Happy Day.  They are a true standout and I left these up for a long time last year.  We didn't have a mantle in our apartment, but we do now and I think they will fit there perfectly.

No matter what you celebrate, I wish you happy holidays and happy decorating.  If you have any other fun holiday decorating DIYs to share, please link me up in the comments!

Introducing Minted's first Diwali Card Collection! Ends Monday: $25 off + Free Shipping on all holiday cards. Code: JOY25FS.  Choose Express Service for an extra $20 off, you can get more than a total of $45 off your order that way!