Diwali falls on Sunday, 8 November this year, so most offices will celebrate in the first week of November. Below: games that work for a team of 20 or 500, a menu for each party format, and how much tableware to order so you are not counting plates at 11 pm the night before.
The short version
Hold the party on Thursday 5 or Friday 6 November. Pick one format (high tea, a lunch buffet or packed meal boxes) and plan the activities around it: two or three team games, one creative contest and a dress theme is plenty. Then sort out the dull part early. Food quantities, tableware and bins are what go wrong on the day. Plastic plates, cups, cutlery and thermocol decorations have been banned in India since July 2022, so put “no plastic or thermocol” in writing to your caterer and order compostable bagasse tableware in bulk.
Who this is for: HR and admin teams, office managers, and anyone who has just been told they are organising the Diwali party this year.
Table of Contents
When should you hold the office Diwali party in 2026?
Short answer: Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) is on Sunday, 8 November 2026 and Dhanteras is on Friday, 6 November. The office party belongs in the week before, ideally Thursday 5 November.
Thursday gets you full attendance without clashing with Dhanteras shopping or puja. Friday works if you keep it to lunch, because people leave early to travel home or get ready for the evening puja. If a large part of your team travels out of town for the festival, move it to Monday 2 or Tuesday 3 November. Avoid the week after Diwali: half the office is still on leave and the other half has eaten enough mithai for the year.
15 Diwali office party ideas that actually get people involved
Short answer: Mix one creative contest (rangoli, diya painting or bay decoration), two or three quick team games (tambola, dumb charades, a blind sweet tasting) and a dress theme. Give remote staff their own version so they are not watching a livestream of other people eating.
Creative contests
- Team rangoli. Give each team the same 4 x 4 ft square, the same kit (colours, flowers, a few diyas) and 45 minutes. Judge on design, and give a separate prize for the team that uses flowers and leaves instead of chemical colour.
- Diya and lantern painting. Plain clay diyas are cheap and people take their work home, so the activity doubles as the party favour.
- Bay or desk decoration. Set a budget cap per team and two rules: no plastic tinsel and no thermocol cut-outs. Thermocol for decoration is on India’s banned single-use plastic list. Marigold, paper lanterns, fabric and fairy lights look better anyway.
- Ethnic day with small awards. Best-coordinated team, best drape, most traditional outfit. Cheap to run and it makes the photos worth posting.
- Mithai-making counter. Ask a local halwai or the canteen team to show people how to roll ladoos or shape pedas. Everyone packs a few to take home.
Team games for the office
- Diwali tambola. Housie tickets with festive words, sweets and film titles instead of numbers. Works for 20 people or 200.
- Dumb charades. Stick to Hindi festive films and songs. Play department against department.
- Blind sweet tasting. Blindfold one person per team and have them name the mithai: kaju katli, soan papdi, milk cake, motichoor ladoo. Serve each piece on a 5-inch triangle plate so the judges can tell the samples apart.
- Antakshari. Old-fashioned, loud and it needs no props. Teams by floor or function.
- Diwali quiz. How the festival is marked across India and beyond: Kali Puja in Bengal, Bandi Chhor Divas for Sikhs, Mahavira’s nirvana for Jains, the Gujarati new year that follows. Mix easy and hard questions so every team scores something.
- Rangoli Pictionary. Draw festive objects on a whiteboard against the clock. Five minutes to set up.
Low-effort and hybrid ideas
- Secret Diwali gift exchange. Secret Santa with a fixed budget. Nudge people towards handmade, local or edible gifts.
- Photo corner. A marigold backdrop, a few diyas (electric, if your building is strict about open flame) and a phone on a tripod.
- Hybrid version for remote staff. Run the quiz on a video call and courier remote employees the same sweet box the office gets, ideally a day early so they open it during the call.
- Wall of thanks. Everyone writes one line of thanks to a colleague on a paper diya cut-out. It costs almost nothing and people read every one.
What to serve: an office Diwali party menu for each format
Short answer: A high tea needs four or five snacks and two sweets. A lunch buffet needs two gravies, rice, a bread, raita and one dessert. Packed meal boxes suit shift staff and large offices. Keep it vegetarian and label Jain (no onion, no garlic) options.
The serving side is where office Diwali menus usually go wrong. Gravy soaks through thin paper plates, chutney runs into the sweets, and a lunch for 200 ends with three overflowing bins. Match the plate to the dish:
| Format | Menu idea | What to serve it on |
|---|---|---|
| High tea (4 to 6 pm) | Samosa or kachori, dhokla, paneer tikka, mathri, two sweets, masala chai | 7-inch deep plates for snacks, the 120 ml Kiwi bowl for chutney, 5-inch triangle plates for sweets |
| Lunch buffet | Paneer or chole, dal makhani, jeera rice, puri or naan, raita, salad, gulab jamun or moong dal halwa | 11-inch 4-compartment plates keep gravy away from rice; 180 ml bowls for dessert |
| Packed meal boxes (shifts, factory floor, hybrid days) | Pulao, dal, a dry sabzi, two puris, one sweet | 5-compartment meal trays or 3-compartment trays for smaller portions |
| Sit-down dinner | Starters, two mains, dal, rice, breads, dessert | 12-inch round plates and 240 ml bowls for dal and dessert |
| Sweets to take home | Leftover mithai and namkeen | Bagasse clamshell boxes instead of foil and cling film |
How much tableware to order for an office Diwali party
Short answer: For a lunch buffet, plan 1.5 dinner plates, 1 small plate, 2 bowls and 2 spoons per person, then add 10% for spills and second helpings. A high tea needs about 2 small plates and 1 bowl per person.
People go back for seconds, drop a plate, or take one for a colleague stuck on a call. Count servings, not heads. For a lunch buffet:
| Headcount | Dinner plates | Small plates | Bowls | Spoons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 85 | 55 | 110 | 110 |
| 100 | 165 | 110 | 220 | 220 |
| 250 | 415 | 275 | 550 | 550 |
| 500 | 825 | 550 | 1,100 | 1,100 |
Ordering these in bulk cartons from a manufacturer costs far less per piece than picking up retail packs the day before, and it means every plate on the counter matches.
Plastic plates at office events: what is banned and why HR should care
Short answer: Since 1 July 2022, India’s single-use plastic ban covers plastic plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, straws, trays, wrapping film around sweet boxes, plastic sticks for balloons, plastic flags and polystyrene (thermocol) for decoration. If your caterer turns up with any of these, your company is the one hosting a banned item.
Caterers default to whatever is cheapest, and in many cities that is still thermocol plates and plastic spoons. Put the requirement in the purchase order (“no single-use plastic or thermocol serveware”) or supply the tableware yourself. Supplying it yourself is often simpler, because you control the quantity and the look.
There is a reporting side too. Listed companies that file a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) disclose how they manage waste, and a festive lunch for 500 people produces a lot of it in one afternoon. Compostable tableware is the easiest piece of that to fix. Bagasse is made from sugarcane fibre left over after juice extraction, holds hot and oily food, and breaks down in roughly 60 to 90 days in compost. If your building has an organic waste converter or a composting vendor, used plates can go in with the food scraps. Our guide to biodegradable, compostable and recyclable explains the difference.
A three-week plan for the office Diwali party
- Three weeks out: fix the date, format and budget. Send a save-the-date and a short dietary form (Jain, vegan, allergies) so the caterer gets real numbers.
- Two weeks out: book the caterer and order tableware. Add the no-plastic clause to the order. Festive demand stretches lead times from late October, so order plates, bowls and trays now rather than in the last week.
- One week out: announce teams and contests. Buy rangoli and diya kits, confirm the quiz host, and courier sweet boxes to remote staff.
- The day before: set up and brief housekeeping. Put up decorations and place two clearly labelled bins at the food counter, one for food scraps and used bagasse, one for everything else.
- On the day and after: run to a schedule and clear up properly. Keep games to a fixed timetable so the party ends on time. Pack leftovers in clamshell boxes for staff, security and housekeeping teams, and send compostables to wet waste.
Where to buy bagasse tableware for an office Diwali party
Pulpcraft manufactures bagasse plates, compartment plates, bowls, meal trays, clamshell boxes and cutlery in India and supplies them direct from the factory, so offices and caterers pay wholesale prices without a middleman. Production is certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000 and ISO 45001, with SGS testing, Sedex membership and a BRCGS Packaging Materials certificate (Grade A).
Send us your headcount and menu and we will suggest a mix of plates, bowls and trays and quote for it. For a bulk order or samples, contact the Pulpcraft team or browse the full range. Order by late October so the cartons arrive before the decorations go up.
Frequently asked questions
What are good Diwali games for the office?
Diwali tambola, dumb charades with festive films, a blind sweet tasting, antakshari, a Diwali quiz and rangoli Pictionary all work well. They need few props, run in 10 to 20 minutes and suit mixed teams.
How can we celebrate Diwali in the office on a small budget?
Run a team rangoli contest, an ethnic day and a potluck or high tea instead of a catered lunch. Clay diya painting costs very little and doubles as the take-home gift.
What should be on an office Diwali lunch menu?
Two vegetarian gravies such as paneer and chole, dal, jeera rice, puri or naan, raita, salad and one dessert like gulab jamun or halwa. Label Jain options without onion and garlic.
Are plastic plates allowed at office events in India?
No. India banned plastic plates, cups, cutlery, trays and thermocol decorations from 1 July 2022. Use compostable alternatives such as bagasse plates and bowls.
How many plates do I need for an office party of 100 people?
For a lunch buffet, about 165 dinner plates, 110 small plates, 220 bowls and 220 spoons, which includes a 10% buffer for second helpings and spills.
The bottom line
Hold it on Thursday 5 November, keep the games short, and order plates, bowls and trays two weeks ahead so the food counter, the bins and the cleanup are settled before the first guest walks in.
Planning your office Diwali party? Pulpcraft supplies certified, compostable bagasse plates, bowls, meal trays and clamshell boxes in bulk. Get in touch for corporate pricing or samples.
