The festival of Bhai Dooj celebrates the special bond that is shared between a brother and sister. It falls two days after Diwali. This year Bhai Dooj is going to be celebrated on 16th November. The festival calls for celebrations and gift exchanges. Siblings from the city and even across cities visit each other to celebrate this festival together. The commercials by chocolate, jewellery, clothes companies, etc romanticise the festival and put unnecessary social pressure on people to spend a lot on this auspicious occasion.
Let us look at some cost-friendly ways to spend Bhai Dooj with your siblings.
- Games from Childhood Memories - We all have memories of games like monopoly or darkroom that we used to play with our siblings when we were children. It can be a great fun activity to relive those memories and play a game that you used to play together as a child. While it might feel a bit weird being in your late twenties playing dark room with your similarly old siblings, once you start playing, the weirdness is gone, and all that is left is laughter and happy memories.
- Planned Gifting - The culture of exchanging gifts can be useless if not done right. If you are not entirely sure of your siblings’ clothing choices, do not give them clothes. They will not wear it if they do not like it or if you make a mistake figuring out the right size. It will be a waste of time and money. Choose products that are not too heavy on your pockets and will be useful for the person you are gifting them to. Let's say you have a cousin who has a job that requires them to be on their phones all day. You might want to give them Bluetooth earphones. Planning your gifts well in advance will not only help you choose the right product but also find the best deal on it.
- Plan a House Party - It often happens that siblings get together in one place and do not have a plan in mind. In such scenarios, the first thought is to go out to some nice place and have a good evening. While that is not an evil plan, it could cost you a lot of money. If instead, you pre-plan your evening and decide to have a house party and make all the necessary arrangements in advance, you will be able to have a lovely evening together and even save a lot of money.
- Talk About and Change Unnecessary Rituals - The ritual of gifting sweets is familiar throughout Diwali’s occasions. By the end of the festival, each household has way more sweets than they can consume before going bad. This causes a lot of wastage of food as well as money. Talk about all such rituals with your siblings and pledge to not indulge in them mutually from the next festival season. It will be a step in the right direction.
The festival is meant to celebrate the bond and the friendship between siblings, and it is not necessary to spend a buck load to celebrate that bond.
Happy Bhai Dooj!
