Diwali Events for Kids in Dubai 2026: 12 Things to Do With the Little Ones

Diwali Events for Kids in Dubai in 2026

This guide gives you twelve beautiful things you can do with the young members of your family. We have divided the activities and events in three groups:

• Diwali festivals and melas,
• workshops and activities,
• and Hindu temples with Meena Bazaar.

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For families, Diwali in Dubai is not one night. It is ten days of outings. Here is what is on each day, so you can pick two or three that fit around school:

Diwali Festivals and Melas for Families in Dubai

These are the big Diwali festivals and melas, or fairs, and three of them are free.

1. Diwali at Global Village, Dubailand

Global Village is the big outdoor park of world pavilions in Dubailand. For five days, it will hold the biggest family Diwali fair in Dubai. At the Kids Corner, children can colour a diya (a small clay lamp), make a rangoli (a floor pattern in coloured powder) and get their face painted.

Then the whole family can walk through the Diwali mela, the festival fair run with the India Pavilion. Come hungry. The Indian Chaat Bazaar sells pani puri, pav bhaji and mithai, the Indian sweets everyone shares at Diwali.

Pick Sunday 8 November, Diwali night itself. At 8pm, 600 drones will draw Diwali shapes in the sky above the Stunt Arena and the Syria Pavilion. Get there by 6pm and eat first. Then find a spot near the Stunt Arena by 7.30pm.

Not keen on the Sunday crowd? Go on Tuesday 10 November instead. Tickets are AED 25 that day, and Tuesdays at Global Village are for families and ladies only. You can buy tickets on the Global Village website or app, or at the gate.

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2. Noor Festival of Lights, Souk Al Seef

Noor is Dubai's own Diwali street festival on the creek, and 2026 is its third year. For a family, it is the best free Diwali evening in the city. The heart of it is a procession of lit-up puppets, led by dhol drummers beating big Indian drums. Small children can watch it from your shoulders.

Around the procession there will be Bollywood dancing, live music, storytelling and rangoli workshops. It all happens in the old-style lanes of Souk Al Seef.

Entry is free, but every visitor must register first on the festival's registration page. You choose 7 or 8 November when you sign up, so register the whole family before you leave home.

Come early, around 6pm. The rangoli workshops are likely to fill up, and no workshop times have been published. Fireworks have been reported, but nobody has given a time, so do not promise them to the children.

The easiest way in is the Metro. Al Ghubaiba station on the Green Line is a short walk away, and you skip the long search for parking.

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3. Diwali by the Creek, Jewel of the Creek, Deira

Jewel of the Creek is a waterfront promenade on the Deira side of Dubai Creek, next to the Marriott hotel. For six evenings, it will hold a Diwali fair where every activity for children is free. The event posts promise all of this:

• diya painting
• rangoli demonstrations
• colouring and Diwali crafts, with helpers at the table
• face painting
• a bouncy castle
• a basketball arcade game
• a petting zoo

Grown-ups get a festive market with clothes, jewellery and décor. There will be Indian food to eat, and dhol drummers and a DJ will play through the evening.

The fair will run every evening from Monday 2 to Saturday 7 November, 4pm to 10pm. For a calm visit, go on a weekday straight after school. You pay nothing to get in, and parking is free for three hours.

The posts ask families to register first through a link. Open the Instagram post below and sign up before you go. If you have a question, message the WhatsApp number in the posts, +971 54 247 7565.

See the Diwali by the Creek post on Instagram

4. Bloom and Glow Diwali Festival, Dubai Miracle Garden

Dubai Miracle Garden is the big flower garden in Al Barsha South. On Saturday 7 November, it will hold a morning Diwali festival among the flower displays, with a parade, Indian dance and a community rangoli competition. The festival starts before the garden opens at 9am. Your ticket is for the festival only, not for a normal garden visit.

Children have their own ticket, the Children's Diwali Activity Pass at AED 79. With it, they can paint a diya, join a mini rangoli workshop, colour Diwali pictures and get their face decorated. They also take home a souvenir and a certificate.

A family of four pays AED 499 for entry, welcome kits and diya painting, or AED 399 at the early-bird price. The garden does not say whether the child pass also needs an entry ticket. Check this when you book on the garden's events page. A Diwali pop-up market will also run on 6 and 7 November.

5. Diwali in Your Community, Dubai Holding Communities

Do you live in one of the communities run by Dubai Holding? Then Diwali will come to your own park for an evening. There will be rangoli and lantern displays, music and dance, sweets and photo booths. The evening runs from 4pm to 8pm, which suits young children with an early bedtime. Nobody needs a ticket, so it is an easy way to celebrate with neighbours of every nationality.

The evenings move from community to community during the week. The first ones will be on Sunday 1 November, in places such as Al Furjan and JVT. The last ones will be in Discovery Gardens and Jumeirah Islands on Diwali night itself. Find your community in the day-by-day plan above. If you want to check before you walk over, call 800 DubaiCM.

Diwali Workshops and Activities for Kids in Dubai

These four are for children who want to make, cook, perform or play, not only watch. One is in a mall, one is a family playdate, and two are hotel meals. Between them, they offer diya painting, rangoli, pottery, cooking, storytelling, puppet shows and a talent show.

6. Khushiyon Se Bhari Diwali, BurJuman Mall

BurJuman's Diwali programme is called Khushiyon Se Bhari Diwali, which means "a Diwali full of happiness". It is already running. Free Diwali workshops for families and children take place every Monday to Thursday, 5pm to 9pm, on Level 1 at Lobby B.

Everything is indoors, which helps on a warm afternoon. BurJuman Metro station is inside the mall, so you can come by train.

Has your child been practising a dance or a song? Every Saturday there is a Diwali Talent Show for anyone aged 6 and over, solo or in a group, from 6pm to 9pm. To take part, your child sends an audition video to burjumandiwali@gmail.com.

The other evenings have their own plan:

• Fridays: live music baithaks, which are relaxed sit-down music sessions, from 6pm to 9pm
• Sundays: roaming entertainers and Desi (South Asian) beats, from 6pm to 9pm
• Every day: a Diwali bazaar on Level 2

The mall does not say which craft is on which day, so ask at the customer service desk. Meena Bazaar is a short drive away, and you can add it to the same trip.

7. Dubai Wali Diwali Playdate, Danube Sports World

This Diwali afternoon is made for young children. It comes from The Marigold Mums, a community of Indian mothers in Dubai. Their aim is simple. They want children who are growing up far from India to feel close to the festival.

One afternoon will pack in six kinds of activity:

• Diwali crafts
• cooking
• storytelling
• sensory play
• pottery
• puppet shows

There will also be stalls from children's and family brands.

The playdate will be on Sunday 1 November, from 3pm to 7pm, at Danube Sports World. To get tickets, send a direct message to @themarigoldmums on Instagram. On 23 October, the organisers said only a few places were left, so message them soon. The price and the age range are not published, so ask about both in your message.

See the playdate post on Instagram

8. Greenhouse Social Diwali Brunch, Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek

This is a hotel brunch with the crafts built in. While the family eats, children will paint diyas, make rangoli and get henna on their hands. The buffet will have vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

There will also be a small festive market and a game of Antakshari, where each singer starts a song with the last letter of the one before. If you want the crafts and a proper meal in one sitting, this is the simplest plan on this page.

It is also the most expensive. A family of two adults and one child pays from AED 497, before any extras. An early-bird price of AED 119 has been reported, but nobody has said which ticket it is for. When you book, ask the hotel for the child's price and the age band.

9. Diwali Feast, Mövenpick Hotel Apartments Downtown Dubai

The Mövenpick dinner is the cheaper hotel meal with crafts. It is a Diwali buffet where children can make rangoli and paint clay pots, on the hotel's garden terrace in Downtown Dubai. There will be a live counter for chaat, the spicy Indian street snacks, and another for desserts. A small pop-up market will be open too. Dinner will run from 7pm to 10pm on Saturday 7 November.

Children aged 7 to 12 pay AED 84.50, and children under 6 eat free. Adults pay AED 169. So two adults with two children under 6 pay AED 338 in total. Book through the hotel, and ask about the price for a 6-year-old, because the hotel has not stated it.

Hindu Temples and Meena Bazaar With Kids in Dubai

Workshops show children what Diwali looks like. A temple visit and a trip to the bazaar show them what it means to the families who celebrate it. All three of these outings are free, so you only pay for travel and what you buy.

10. Hindu Temple Dubai, Jebel Ali

For many families, Diwali does not feel complete without a visit to the temple. Hindu Temple Dubai in Jebel Ali is the city's main Hindu temple, and it opened in 2022. At Diwali, children will see the deities dressed for the festival, with lamps, flowers and families in their new clothes all around.

The temple has 16 deities, with Shiva at the centre. Your children may already know three of them:

• Ganesha: the elephant-headed god of new beginnings
• Krishna: the playful god of many children's stories
• Lakshmi: the goddess families pray to on Diwali night

The temple has published its Diwali programme. The Lakshmi Kuber Poojan, the prayer to Lakshmi and to Kuber, the god of wealth, will be from 6pm to 7pm on Sunday 8 November. On Tuesday 10 November, the Annakut, a big display of food offered to God, will be on show from 11.30am to 6pm.

Entry is free, and you do not need to book. The queues are longest on Diwali evening. With small children, go in the morning instead, or come for the Annakut on Tuesday.

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The temple's full Diwali programme, day by day, is in our page on Hindu Temple Dubai on Diwali.

11. Meena Bazaar, Bur Dubai

Meena Bazaar is the old shopping district of Bur Dubai. In the days before Diwali, families come here to buy their diyas, rangoli colours, sweets and new clothes. Let your children choose their own diya and a bag of rangoli colour. It is a simple way to make Diwali theirs, and it costs only what you choose to spend.

Go early in the week if you can. The streets fill up on the evening of Dhanteras, Friday 6 November, when families buy something new for good luck. Noor at Souk Al Seef is a short walk away along the creek, so you can pair the bazaar with Noor on Saturday 7 or Sunday 8 November.

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12. BAPS Hindu Mandir, Abu Dhabi

The stone temple at Abu Mureikhah is the best-known Hindu mandir in the UAE. At Diwali, it will show the Maha Annakut, a huge display of food offered to the deities. Children remember it long after. Over the five days there will be pujas (prayer ceremonies), cultural performances and family activities. The temple will also open specially on Monday 9 November, a day when it is normally closed.

It is a day trip from Dubai, so go in daylight and plan the drive. You cannot simply turn up. Every visitor must register in advance and carry an ID. About 60,000 people came last Diwali, so book your slot this week.

Last year, the mandir also held a separate Kids' Diwali Celebration on 1 November 2025. This video shows what the children did there. The mandir has not announced a children's day for 2026 yet. Check its Instagram, @abudhabimandir, for news.

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For the day-by-day Diwali programme at the mandir, read BAPS Mandir Abu Dhabi on Diwali.

How Much Diwali in Dubai Costs for One Child

Seven of the twelve outings are free, so Diwali with children does not have to cost much. Global Village costs AED 25 or AED 30 a person, and that includes the Kids Corner and the drone show. The Miracle Garden activity pass is AED 79. The hotel meals cost the most.

Remember that parents pay too. At Global Village, an adult pays the same AED 30 as a child from Friday to Sunday. So a family of two adults and two children over 3 pays AED 120 on Diwali night, or AED 100 on Monday or Tuesday.

Which Diwali Event in Dubai Suits Your Kids?

Few organisers give an age rule, so here is our own advice. It is based on the time of day, the size of the crowds and what the children actually do there:

Free Diwali Events for Kids in Dubai

Here are the seven free outings in one place. Children under 3 also go free at Global Village, so we have added it to the list:

More Diwali Family Meals in Dubai With a Child Price

Some families like to mark Diwali with a meal out. You have already met the Radisson Blu brunch and the Mövenpick feast above. These three restaurants also have a Diwali offer, but they have shared fewer details, so call before you book:

Planning a night out for the grown-ups too? Our page on Diwali parties in Dubai lists the dinners, brunches and parties.

Diwali Events for Kids Not Announced Yet for 2026

These four family events have not yet announced a Diwali 2026 date. Here is what they did last year. Dubai Safari Park, for example, held a five-day Diwali festival in October 2025. Wafi City put on free puppet shows in its atrium.

Dubai's official Diwali programme is the Festival of Lights, from 2 to 12 November. It promises more free diya painting and rangoli workshops across the city. The venues and times will be announced closer to the date, so check the Visit Dubai events calendar again from Monday 2 November.

Three places that often host family events have not listed any Diwali activities this year:

• Expo City Dubai: the former Expo 2020 site
• Mohammed Bin Rashid Library: the big public library on the creek in Al Jaddaf
• Dubai Public Library: the city's network of public libraries

Rangoli competitions in Dubai

Dubai Miracle Garden will hold a community rangoli competition on the morning of Saturday 7 November, at its Bloom and Glow Diwali Festival, before the garden opens. Does your child prefer the stage? Then try the BurJuman Diwali Talent Show on Saturdays, for ages 6 and over.

Many schools also hold their own rangoli contests, so ask your child's class teacher. In 2025, Liwan at Swissôtel Al Ghurair gave a prize for the best rangoli at its Diwali brunch.

Diwali Activities for Kids at Home in Dubai

Some of the best Diwali memories are made at home. You can do all of these in a flat or a villa, with things from Meena Bazaar, a hypermarket or a craft shop:

• Paint plain clay diyas with acrylic paint, and let them dry overnight before you light them.
• Make a rangoli at the door with coloured powder, coloured rice or flower petals. Draw the outline in chalk first.
• Fold paper lanterns and make a toran, a string of paper leaves or flowers, for the front door.
• Help in the kitchen with an easy sweet, such as rolling ladoos, and pack a small box for a neighbour.
• Light the diyas together at dusk on Sunday 8 November, and tell the story of Rama coming home to Ayodhya, the story behind the lights.

Hosting friends as well? Our guide to a Diwali party at home in Dubai covers decorations, food, games for children and what it all costs. To learn the date and the meaning of each of the five days, read Diwali in Dubai 2026.

Before You Go: Diwali With Kids in Dubai