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Diwali messages and wishes, for family far away

Short wishes for everyone on the list, longer messages for the people whose kitchen you’re missing, and what to send with them so it feels like you’re there.

Updated

Diwali is loud, crowded and full of food, which is exactly why it’s hard to be far away from. A message can’t pass the sweets round, but it can bring a bit of the noise with it. Here are wishes for everyone on the list, and longer messages for the people you’re really missing.

Short Diwali wishes

For a card, a message, or the first line of a letter.

Happy Diwali. Wishing you light, sweetness, and a very full plate.

Shubh Deepavali to you and the whole family. May the year ahead be bright.

Happy Diwali from all of us. May your home be full of light and your tin full of barfi.

Wishing you a Diwali full of people you love, and a new year full of good news.

Happy Diwali. May the year ahead be as bright as your rangoli, and slightly less wonky.

Sending light and love across the miles this Diwali. Save us some sweets.

Happy Diwali and a happy new year, from our house to yours.

May this Diwali bring you peace, good health, and at least one quiet moment.

For family you can’t be with

For parents, grandparents, and anyone whose kitchen you’re missing, say what you’d be doing if you were there. The specific details are what make it feel like home.

Happy Diwali, Nani. It doesn’t feel like Diwali without your kitchen, so we’ve done our best with ours. The photos are proof. Not all of them are flattering.

Happy Diwali, Mum and Dad. I lit the diyas on the windowsill like you taught me, and the smoke alarm joined in. I miss the noise of the whole house. Save me a seat next year.

Happy Diwali to the loudest family in the world. We’ve made the kaju katli. It’s not like yours. The kids ate it anyway. We’ll ring during the puja so you can see the lights.

This is the first Diwali I’ve spent away from you all, and I didn’t expect to miss it this much. I’m thinking of the rangoli on the doorstep and Chacha’s firework “safety talk”. Happy Diwali. I’ll be home next year.

For friends and colleagues

Warm and simple works best, especially if you’re not sure how someone celebrates.

Happy Diwali. I hope you have a wonderful time with your family this weekend.

Wishing you and yours a very happy Diwali, and a bright new year ahead.

Happy Diwali to the whole team. Thank you for the sweets in the kitchen; we’re all very grateful and slightly sticky.

For Bhai Dooj

The last day of the festival is for brothers and sisters, and it’s the one most often missed when you live apart.

Happy Bhai Dooj. You’re still the most annoying person I know, and I’d still fight anyone who said so. Love you, little brother.

Happy Bhai Dooj, Didi. Thank you for every time you took my side, and most of the times you didn’t.

What to send with it

A few lines in a message is lovely. A proper Diwali letter, with the things around it, is the next best thing to being in the room.

  • The news from home. Who’s visiting, who’s cooking, who’s already fallen out over the seating plan.
  • Photos. The diyas on the windowsill, the rangoli before anyone walks through it, everyone dressed up.
  • A film. The puja, the sparklers, the family saying Happy Diwali one after another. It’s the part they’ll watch twice.
  • A memory. A Diwali from years ago, and what made it.
  • A recipe. The sweets you made, and what went wrong.

When to send it

Diwali follows the lunar calendar, so it moves each year, usually falling in October or November. In 2026 the main day, Lakshmi Puja, is Sunday 8 November. The festival runs over five days, from Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj, so there’s room to choose your moment.

If you’d like your message to arrive at a particular time, send it early and keep it sealed until the day: on the morning of Lakshmi Puja, say, or as the diyas are lit. They’ll see the envelope, and a countdown, until then. A Diwali envelope starts from $1.29 for a letter, and opens on any phone, anywhere, with nothing to install.

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