Festivals and pooja

Deepavali Shopping List: Oil Bath, Pooja, Sweets, Snacks and Gifts

Everything a Tamil home buys for Deepavali, in the order you need it: the oil bath, the pooja, sweets and snacks, gifts, and safe crackers.

S Panchanathan Stores2 min read
Deepavali lamps, oil, sweets and gifts on a table
In this article4 parts
  1. When to buy what
  2. The full list
  3. Crackers: stay safe
  4. Questions people ask

Quick answer

Buy in three rounds: snack and sweet ingredients a week before, pooja items and gifts three days before, and flowers, fresh fruit and anything perishable the day before.

  • Oil bath: gingelly oil, shikakai or herbal bath powder, and a new towel.
  • Sweets and snacks: rice flour, besan, rava, sugar, ghee, oil, cashews and raisins.
  • This year’s date is on our Deepavali store page.

When to buy what

  1. A week beforeSnack and sweet ingredients

    Rice flour, besan, rava, urad dal, sugar, jaggery, ghee, frying oil, cashews and raisins: start the murukku and laddus early.

  2. 3 days beforePooja items and gifts

    Lamps, wicks, camphor, agarbatti, kumkum, and dry fruit gift boxes.

  3. Day beforeFresh things

    Flowers, bananas, betel leaves and any sweets from the sweet shop.

  4. Deepavali morningOil bath before sunrise

    Gingelly oil bath, new clothes, pooja, then crackers and sweets with family.

The full list

Deepavali listOne family · 4 of 10 on our site
  • Gingelly oil for the oil bath and lamps1 litreIn the shop
  • Shikakai or herbal bath powder1 packIn the shop
  • Camphor, kumkum, turmeric1 eachIn the shop
  • Rice flour, besan, rava1 kg, 500 g, 500 gIn the shop
  • Ghee and frying oil500 g, 2 litresIn the shop
  • Flowers, bananas, betel leavesday before

Deepavali marundhu

Many Tamil homes take a spoon of Deepavali lehiyam (a dry ginger and spice paste) on Deepavali morning after the sweets. Buy it ready or make it with dry ginger, pepper, jaggery and ghee.

Crackers: stay safe

Do

  • Buy from licensed cracker shops only
  • Burst them in an open space, with a bucket of water nearby
  • Wear cotton clothes and keep children with an adult

Don't

  • Light crackers in your hand or lean over them
  • Relight a cracker that did not go off
  • Burst them near parked vehicles, hay or dry leaves

Make the snacks with our murukku, ribbon pakoda and rava laddu recipes, and pack gifts with our dry fruit gift box ideas.

Questions people ask

What is the oil bath on Deepavali?

Before sunrise on Deepavali morning, families apply warm gingelly oil to the head and body, then bathe with shikakai or herbal powder. It is called Ganga snanam.

Do you sell crackers?

Crackers are sold only by licensed cracker shops and are not available on our website.

How early can I make Deepavali snacks?

Murukku and ribbon pakoda keep two weeks in airtight tins, so you can make them a week before.

Buy for this article

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