Diwali 2026 is Sunday, 8 November, and the week around it has five days that each get their own card. Momento Studio has 16 animated templates for that week: seven for Diwali itself, including a three-page blessing, and three each for Dhanteras, Bhai Dooj and Chhath, in post, square and story sizes. All are free to open and edit without signing up. This guide says which card to send on which day, to whom, at what size, and what to write on it.
The cards themselves are on the Diwali card templates page, each with a button that opens it in the editor.
The dates
| Day | Date | Templates |
|---|---|---|
| Dhanteras | Friday, 6 November 2026 | Gold Coins (4:5), Lakshmi (1:1), Shopping Story (9:16) |
| Choti Diwali | Saturday, 7 November 2026 | Use a Diwali card |
| Diwali | Sunday, 8 November 2026 | Deepak (4:5), Family Portrait (4:5), Greeting Post (4:5), Rangoli Circle (1:1), Rocket Night (9:16), A Wish That Travels (9:16), Diwali Blessing (4:5, 3 pages) |
| Govardhan Puja | Monday, 9 November 2026 | Use a Diwali card |
| Bhai Dooj | Tuesday, 10 November 2026 | Bond (4:5), Square (1:1), Story (9:16) |
| Chhath Puja | Sunday, 15 November 2026 | Sun River (4:5), Arghya (1:1), River Story (9:16) |
Diwali falls on a Sunday this year, which means most of the sending happens on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Make the cards during the week before; the editor saves the project, so the Bhai Dooj card is a two-minute change on Tuesday.
See all 16 Diwali week templates
Dhanteras, Friday 6 November
Dhanteras is the day of buying gold and utensils and the first diyas, so the cards are about Lakshmi and coins. Dhanteras Gold Coins rains coins onto a dark ground with a kalash; it is the card for family groups and for jewellers and shops. Dhanteras Lakshmi is a square with a Lakshmi motif and lotuses for the feed. Dhanteras Shopping Story is the 9:16 one, and the natural pick for a store's status: change the headline to the offer and the date line to the store hours.
What to write: "Shubh Dhanteras" or "Happy Dhanteras", one line wishing wealth and health, and the family or shop name. Keep it short; Dhanteras cards are read on the way to the market.
Choti Diwali, Saturday 7 November
There is no separate Choti Diwali template, and you do not need one. Most families send a single Diwali card on Saturday evening when the first lamps go up. Use Diwali Deepak and write "Happy Choti Diwali" or simply "Shubh Deepavali": the diyas light one by one on both days.
Diwali, Sunday 8 November
Seven templates, chosen by who is receiving the card.
- Family and the building group: Diwali Deepak. Diyas light in sequence, a rangoli halo breathes, and the family name sits below the wish. The default card, if you only send one.
- With your photo: Diwali Family Portrait. A photo frame with marigolds and diyas around it and the family name underneath. The card grandparents keep.
- Clients and teams: Diwali Greeting Post. A clean 4:5 with a logo space and a one-line wish; see the business section below.
- Instagram feed: Diwali Rangoli Circle. A square rangoli that draws itself with the wish in the centre.
- Status and stories: Diwali Rocket Night, a 9:16 night sky with rockets climbing and bursting, or A Wish That Travels, a 9:16 story where the wish moves across the frame as a lamp passes from hand to hand.
- Something longer: Diwali Blessing, three pages: the lamp, the blessing, the family name. It plays as a short film from the link and exports as MP4.
Hindi lines already in place
Diwali Deepak and Diwali Blessing carry a Hindi line you can keep or rewrite. Every text layer accepts Devanagari, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil and any other script, so "Shubh Deepavali", "দীপাবলির শুভেচ্ছা" or "தீபாவளி நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்" all work.
Govardhan Puja, Monday 9 November
As with Choti Diwali, use a Diwali card and change the greeting to "Happy Govardhan Puja" or "Annakut ki shubhkamnayein". Diwali Rangoli Circle with the wish rewritten is the usual choice, since the square posts well on the Monday feed.
Bhai Dooj, Tuesday 10 November
Bhai Dooj is two days after Diwali and has its own three cards, drawn around the tika and the thali rather than diyas. Bhai Dooj Bond is the 4:5 card for a brother or a sister, with a line for both names. Bhai Dooj Square is the feed version, and Bhai Dooj Story is the 9:16 one with the tika being applied as the story plays.
If you only send one Bhai Dooj card, send the 4:5 Bond with a photo of the two of you added as a layer. There are more ideas, and a 3D card for siblings far apart, in the Diwali card for family and Bhai Dooj guide.
Chhath Puja, Sunday 15 November
Chhath is a week after Diwali and the cards are quieter: the river, the sun, the arghya. Chhath Sun River is a 4:5 with the sun rising over water and a family name line. Chhath Arghya is a square with the offering motif. Chhath River Story is the 9:16 version with the sun climbing as the story plays.
Write "Chhath Puja ki hardik shubhkamnayein" or "Happy Chhath Puja", and keep the colours as they are; the orange-and-gold palette is what people expect.
Family card or business card
The same template can do both; the layers you change are different.
| Family | Clients and teams | |
|---|---|---|
| Template | Diwali Deepak, Family Portrait, Diwali Blessing | Diwali Greeting Post, Rangoli Circle |
| Headline | "Shubh Deepavali" or a Hindi line | "Happy Diwali from [Company]" |
| Name layer | The family name | The company name, with the logo uploaded as an image layer |
| Extra line | A blessing or an inside joke | One line of thanks: "Thank you for a bright year" |
| Photo | The family, in the frame | The team, or no photo |
| Send as | Link in WhatsApp, GIF in the group | PNG in email, link in WhatsApp, MP4 on LinkedIn |
For a team, save the project once with the logo and colours and duplicate it for each client list. For a store, use the Dhanteras Shopping Story for the offer and Diwali Greeting Post for the thank-you.
What to write
Three structures that work on every card:
- Wish, name. "Shubh Deepavali. With love, the Sharma family." The default.
- Wish, line, name. "Happy Diwali. May the lamps you light this year find their way back to you. Priya, Arjun and Ira."
- Wish, thanks, name. "Happy Diwali from Meridian Studio. Thank you for a bright year; here is to a brighter one."
More lines, in Hindi and English and by relationship, are in Diwali wishes and greeting card ideas, and the Diwali wish generator writes one from a name.
Sizes and how to send
| Going to | Use | Export |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp chat, one person | 4:5 card | Share the link: the diyas light and the music plays in the browser |
| WhatsApp family group | 4:5 card | GIF, so it plays inside the chat and forwards cleanly |
| WhatsApp or Instagram status | 9:16 story | MP4 |
| Instagram feed | Square or 4:5 | MP4 or PNG |
| Email to clients | 4:5 or square | PNG, with the link in the body |
| Society notice board or print | 4:5 | PNG |
The link is the only option that keeps the sound. The GIF is the one that gets forwarded furthest.
Before you send
Make the Diwali card on Saturday, 7 November and send it that evening when the first diyas go up; by Sunday afternoon every group is full of cards. Keep the project saved and change only the greeting for Bhai Dooj on Tuesday.
Studio template or 3D Diwali card?
Momento has both. The Studio templates above are editable designs: you change every word, photo and page and export a video, a GIF, an image or a link. The 3D Diwali cards are finished interactive scenes, diyas you light with a tap, rangoli that fills in, fireworks that go off when the card opens, and you fill in a name and share a link in a minute.
A good split for the week: the Studio card goes to the building group, the office and the clients; a 3D card like Diwali Family Lights or the Diwali ghar wapsi card goes to the parents and the sibling who could not come home. For the story of the festival itself, there is the Diwali story card.
