Family call-time planner

Find a time that suits every home

The calls families ask about most

Each page lists the hours both homes are awake, now and after the next clock change, city by city.

Diwali evening, Sunday 8 November 2026

Diwali falls on Sunday 8 November this year (see the Diwali 2026 dates for each country). If the family call starts at 7:00 pm in India that evening, this is the time in each home:

No single hour is evening in every home. Pick the call for the places your family actually lives, and if one home gets the early or late slot this year, give them the easy one next time. For the rest of the day, from the host home to who brings what, see how to plan Diwali with family abroad, and the call times worked out for a family in three time zones.

When the clocks change

Countries move their clocks on different days, and some never do. Between two changes, the gap between two homes can be an hour off what the family is used to. The dates below are worked out from the time-zone database, not typed in.

Five habits for a family call that lasts

1. 1

   Write the time in one home's clock

   Use the host's or the grandparents' clock, and put each other home's time beside it. "7 pm Delhi" survives being forwarded around the family; "evening" does not.

2. 2

   Let the busiest person choose first

   Often a grandparent with an early night, or a parent on shifts. The rest of the family has more room to move.

3. 3

   Take turns with the awkward slot

   If one home always gets the 6 am call, swap it next month. Fair beats perfect.

4. 4

   Check again when clocks change

   Countries change their clocks on different dates, so for a few weeks a year the gap between two homes is an hour off what everyone remembers.

5. 5

   Keep it short and regular

   Twenty minutes every Sunday is easier to keep than two hours once a month, and nobody has to save up news.

For a bigger gathering across several countries, read how to pick a date for a family gathering across time zones, and for the everyday side, staying close to family in another country.