Diwali puja essentials: a checklist for home

Setting up a Diwali puja at home outside India usually means hunting for a handful of specific pieces. This checklist covers what most households lay out for Lakshmi puja on the evening of Diwali, Sunday 8 November 2026, and which of them we stock. Every item below ships from US stock in 1–2 days, so there is still time.

The checklist

• A thali to hold everything: Brass Puja Thali Set, $49
• Diyas to light: Brass Diya, Pair, $42
• Incense: Mysore Sandal Agarbatti, 120 sticks, $16, or Natural Dhoop Cones, $12
• A murti, if you don't have one: Brass Ganesha Idol, 6 in, $45
• Door decoration: Beaded Door Toran, $29
• A rangoli at the entrance: Rangoli Stencil & Colour Kit, $22
• A lantern outside: Paper Kandeel Lantern, $19
• Sweets for the offering: Soan Papdi Festive Box, $12

Families differ on what goes on the thali, so treat this as a starting point. Flowers, fresh fruit, rice and the ghee or oil for the diyas you will buy locally.

The thali

Our thali set puts everything on one 10 in brass plate: a diya, a bell, kumkum bowls and an incense stand. It is the kind of set sold in the metal shops of Chawri Bazaar in Old Delhi, made in Moradabad, whose brassware is GI-registered. It weighs 1.1 kg and suits daily puja after the festival as well.

Diyas

The diya pair is solid brass, cast in sand moulds in Moradabad and turned and polished by hand. Each is 4.5 in across. Brass diyas are lit year after year, and between festivals each doubles as a tealight holder. Polish them with lemon and salt.

Incense: agarbatti or dhoop

Agarbatti are sticks; dhoop are cones without a bamboo core. Our Mysore Sandal Agarbatti, from a GI-registered tradition, are rolled by hand by women's groups around Mysuru from bamboo, charcoal, sandalwood and natural resins: 6 boxes of 20 sticks. The dhoop cones come from Kannauj, India's perfume town, made from guggul resin, rose petals and herbs, 40 to a pack. Burn sticks in a holder and cones on a heat-proof dish, and never leave either unattended.

Ganesha

Ganesha is worshipped first in most pujas, and many families place him beside Lakshmi at Diwali. Our 6 in Ganesha is solid brass, sand-cast in Moradabad, the "Brass City", and finished by hand. It weighs 900 g.

At the door

The toran is hung over the front door to welcome Lakshmi. Ours is 36 in wide, made of cotton, glass beads, mirrors and gota trim from Kinari Bazaar. Below it goes the rangoli: our kit has reusable stencils and 8 lead-tested colour powders, for floor use only. For outside, the 14 in kandeel is the star lantern Delhi hangs every October; it ships flat with an LED string, and should only ever be lit with LED.

Next

For gifts to take when you visit, see the Diwali gift box guide and Diwali sweets that ship. Everything for the festival is on the Diwali gifts hub.