Nani is in Delhi. Your brother is in London, or Chicago. You are in Sydney with two children who want to light the diyas themselves. Diwali falls on Sunday 8 November 2026, and nobody's evening lines up. This is a practical guide for families like yours: who hosts, when the puja starts, who brings what, the one call that works for the most people, and how everyone's photos end up in one place, with the grandparents in all of it.
First, agree which days you keep
Lakshmi Puja falls on Sunday 8 November 2026 in India, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, by the Drik Panchang calendars for New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, New Delhi, Chennai, Melbourne and Auckland (checked 1 October 2026). The days around it move. Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj fall a day earlier in the US and Canada (Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November) than in India, Australia and New Zealand (Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November). The day before Diwali has different names and customs depending on where you are, so say "the day before Diwali" in the family group and let each home keep its own. Many families call the festival Deepavali; Sikh families mark Bandi Chhor Divas the same day; Jain families keep Diwali for their own reasons. Your temple or gurdwara has the last word, and the plan should carry the day your family actually keeps.
Pick a host home and a puja time
When a family lives in three countries there is rarely one gathering, but there is usually one home everyone thinks of as the centre: often the grandparents'. Name it as the host, even if half the family will only be there on a screen. Then agree the puja time in the host's own time zone and write it down that way, with the other cities beside it. A time written as "7 pm Delhi" is easy to convert; "evening" is not. If you keep separate pujas in each home, that's fine too. Write each one down, so the other branches know when to call and when to leave you alone.
A plan for a family in three countries
- Six weeks out: agree the host, the day and the puja timeOne message to the whole family, one answer. Write the puja time in the host's zone with the other cities beside it.
- Three weeks out: share out the cooking and the shoppingEach dish and each job gets one name. The home that is hosting doesn't cook everything.
- Two weeks out: fix the call timeCheck the clocks again after the first week of November: the US and Canada change theirs on 1 November.
- The week of Diwali: confirm who's online and whenMake sure the grandparents know the call time in their own time zone, and who will help them join.
- On the day: everyone adds their photosFrom every home, into one album, so next Diwali starts from this one.
Split the cooking: who brings what
In the host city, Diwali is a potluck whether anyone calls it that or not. The mithai, the snacks, dinner, the diyas and rangoli colours, the puja items and the flowers each need one person's name beside them. Two people bringing the same sweets is a small problem; nobody bringing the diyas is a bigger one. Relatives abroad can take jobs too. The London cousin can order the sweets to Nani's door; the Sydney branch can be in charge of the playlist and the call. When every job has a name and a date, the family group stops being a list of "has anyone…?" messages.
A Diwali job list to share out
- The host and the puja time, agreed by everyone
- Sweets and snacks: who makes them, who buys them
- Dinner: who cooks which dish, and any allergies or fasts
- Diyas, rangoli colours, flowers and puja items, and who picks them up
- The call with family far away: the time, and who sets it up
- Photos on the day: a reminder for everyone to add theirs
Find one call time that works
One evening can't hold everyone. Diwali evening at 7 pm in Chicago is midday Monday in Sydney and 6:30 on Monday morning in India. Sydney's 7 pm on Sunday is 2 am in Chicago. So pick the call for the three places your family actually lives in, not for the whole world. The table shows four times on Diwali weekend, with clocks as they will be on Sunday 8 November 2026, after the US and Canada have ended daylight saving and Sydney has started it. New York and Toronto are an hour later than Chicago; Los Angeles is two hours earlier.
| Best for | Sydney | India | London | Chicago |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India, Australia, US | Sun 2:30 pm | Sun 9:00 am | Sun 3:30 am | Sat 9:30 pm |
| India, Australia, UK | Sun 7:00 pm | Sun 1:30 pm | Sun 8:00 am | Sun 2:00 am |
| India, UK, US | Mon 12:30 am | Sun 7:00 pm | Sun 1:30 pm | Sun 7:30 am |
| US Diwali evening | Mon 12:00 pm | Mon 6:30 am | Mon 1:00 am | Sun 7:00 pm |
No row works for everyone, and that's the point. A family in India, Australia and North America can meet on the evening before Diwali in America, which is Diwali morning in India and afternoon in Sydney. A family in India, Australia and the UK has the easiest time: Sunday morning in London, lunchtime in India, evening in Sydney. Whoever ends up with the 3 am slot can send a voice note and watch the photos the next morning instead. A short call where the grandparents see every grandchild beats a long one where half the family is half asleep.
Share the photos into one album
On Diwali night every home takes fifty photos: your mother's rangoli in New Jersey, your brother's first diya in his new flat, Nani's hands rolling ladoos. By the next morning they are scattered across five chats, compressed, and half of them never reach the grandparents. Agree one place before the day. Ask everyone to add their photos and videos to it, and to add a line saying who is in each one and where. That caption is what makes a photo findable next Diwali. Keep it to the family: ask relatives before a photo of them goes anywhere public.
Keep the elders in it
Grandparents are often the reason for the whole plan, and the easiest people to leave out of it. Set them up a week early, on a call, not on the day. Show them where the plan is and where the photos will be. Give them the call time in their own time zone, written down. Pick one grandchild to be their helper on the day, the one who answers when the screen goes frozen. And give them a job: telling the children the story of the day, choosing the puja time, or simply being the first face on the call.
Doing it all in Kunbaa
Kunbaa is an invite-only family space, and on kunbaa.com you can plan Diwali with family abroad in it today. Start an event, pick Diwali, and the plan starts with Diwali's own checklist: the host and puja time, sweets and food, diyas, rangoli colours and puja items, the call with family far away, and a reminder for everyone to add their photos on the day. Change any of it; it is your family's plan, and your family picks the day it keeps. A family admin can also mark the festivals your family celebrates, under "Festivals we celebrate" on the Connected Members page of their Kunbaa dashboard. On the day, everyone adds their photos to the event's album, and only the relatives you invite can see them. Everyone in the family joins free, wherever they live, and each relative has their own place on the family tree. Grandparents can follow the plan and the album on kunbaa.com in a browser. See how events work, or how Kunbaa works for families spread across countries.
Frequently asked questions
- What time is Diwali in India if I'm in Sydney, London or Chicago?
- On Sunday 8 November 2026, India is 5½ hours behind Sydney, 5½ hours ahead of London and 11½ hours ahead of Chicago. So 7 pm in Delhi is 12:30 am Monday in Sydney, 1:30 pm in London and 7:30 am in Chicago.
- Is Diwali on the same day in every country in 2026?
- Lakshmi Puja is on Sunday 8 November 2026 in India, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, by the Drik Panchang city calendars. Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj come a day earlier in the US and Canada than in India and Australia. Your temple or gurdwara's calendar decides.
- How do we decide who brings what for Diwali?
- Write one list of every dish and job, put one name beside each, and keep it where everyone can see it. Relatives abroad can take jobs too, like ordering sweets to the host's door or running the call.
- How do we include grandparents who aren't comfortable with technology?
- Set them up a week before, on a call. Give them the call time in their own time zone, written down, and one grandchild to help them on the day.
- Who can see our Diwali photos on Kunbaa?
- Only the relatives you invite. Kunbaa is invite-only, has no ads and sells nobody's data.
